Posted on 05/17/2023 5:30:40 PM PDT by DallasBiff
American television, premieres on NBC on January 6, 1975. Created by television legend Merv Griffin and hosted since the early 1980s by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Wheel is one of the most popular television shows in the world.
Griffin, who had already created another iconic game show, Jeopardy!, conceived of Wheel as a combination between Hangman and roulette. Contestants guess letters as they attempt to solve a Hangman-like puzzle, spinning the wheel to determine how much money they will earn for a correct guess, with the ultimate goal being to solve the puzzle and accumulate as much money as possible. Since the show's inception, the price of a vowel has stood at $250 and has not been adjusted for inflation. The phrases "I'd like to buy a vowel" and "I'd like to solve the puzzle" have entered the American cultural lexicon
(Excerpt) Read more at history.com ...
Met Vanna as a bellman at a Disney world hotel when working as a bellman and could not believe how short she was in real life, but she was very gracious to us
Well I watched "Wheel Of Fortune" tonight and it brought back better times.
Throw stones at me if you wish.
Pat Sajak was fine on Wheel of Fortune, but I much preferred the dignified Art Fleming on Jeopardy!
Alex Trebek couldn’t shake off his High Rollers vibe. And Ruta Lee flirted with him too much.
I read Vanna White’s autobiography.
The media was going after her and although I wasn’t a TV owner I was aware of who she was and was curious why the left would be going after her.
I’ve met Pat Sajak a couple of times. He’s a decent guy and a VERY good conservative. He’s actually kind of embarrassed to be just a game show host,
My late mother (a widow) loved “Wheel of Fortune”. It was a nightly ritual with her. It distracted her from her many problems. And since I lived nearby, I’d often visit and watch the show with her.
I wonder if Pat and Vanna know how much good they have done in that regard.
“I’ve met Pat Sajak a couple of times. He’s a decent guy and a VERY good conservative. He’s actually kind of embarrassed to be just a game show host,”
IIRC he’s a Vietnam vet.
Chuck Woolery was hampered by contenstants having to buy overpriced crap with the money they won.
He had to think it was total Cringe. I would have bailed, too.
High Rollers is where I first saw Trebeck as well. In my mind, I’d hear the old announcer bark “Hiiiigh Rollllers!!!” whenever Alex entered stage for Jeopardy.
WOF used to be one of wife’s favorite slot machine games...
"Oh Please" as the Three's compamy gang thought Ruta was having an affair with Mr. Roper.
LOL!
One of the best lines in TV ever.
I have been on the show. I can’t remember how many tapings I had to sit through but it was a lot. Like 6 or 8. You weren’t even guaranteed you would get on the show once you showed up since there had to be alternatives. Plus, I had booked my travel and had to cancel once because they cancelled the taping or maybe it was because I was deemed an alternative to even fly out there.
They do pay you your misc prizes if they re-air the episode but they don’t pay you the money twice. I don’t remember what prizes I got as promotional consideration but it was a lot of coupons for free things. One of them was a bunch of coupons for Stouffers.
And no, I didn’t make it to the final round. It’s a heck of a lot harder on the set than watching at home. I had an enormous pot and blew it. Of course all my family knew the phrase!!!
And the wheel is very heavy. And hard to do if you are short. I can’t remember if I stood on a box or not. I think probably not because it was hard for me to get to the wheel.
I was on a game show also, MTV's "Remote Control". they came to campus looking for contestants and I made the grade.
Flew me up to New York, and gave a hotel room for free, but had to find the studio by myself from the subway. Was waiting for the train and Thought the big animal looked like a a cat and the person next to me "that's no cat, it's a rat""
Well anyway made it to the studio on East 96th street, and made it to the final round, and had to idenitfy all 9 videoes, I got four, mostly minor prizes, and an MTV LeRun bike, which I never received, but it was a fun experience.
Pat is chairman of the board of Hillsdale College. It doesn’t get more conservative than Hillsdale.
https://www.hillsdale.edu/about/board-of-trustees/
He is a class act.
Pat and Chuck have very similar political views.
On The Game Show Show tonight, Vanna said she sent a letter applying to be a contestant. Sometime later, she got a letter saying they'd like to have her come in for an interview. When she got there, she realized it wasn't an interview to be a contestant, but to be the "hostess."
For a while, Pat Sajak was on the Board of Trustees of Hillsdale College. Chaired it for a year or two, I believe.
Pat was a weatherman on a local newscast in LA. Merv Griffin spotted him and said, “That guy would make a good ggame show host.”
“But Merv,” they said, “he wants to be Johnny Carson.”
“Well,” said Griffin, “Carson started as a game show host.”
I watch Wheel and Jeopardy every night.
My alma mater.
For kicks, here is Vanna White as a contestant on The Price Is Right (June 20, 1980):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4lwNLFOpFA&t=38s
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