Posted on 09/15/2014 6:35:16 AM PDT by rktman
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak never pictured himself as a game show host and neither he nor the shows creator, Merv Griffin, thought the show would last very long but Griffin took a chance when he hired the little-known local weatherman to replace Chuck Woolery as host in 1981, and America responded by taking to The Wheel like few other game shows in history.
When he hasnt been manning a big, multicolored wheel and awarding contestants millions of dollars in cash and prizes, Sajak has spent the last three decades giving other things a spin. He hosted a short-lived late-night talk show on CBS, frequently filled in for both Larry King and Regis Philbin on their talk shows, and has written about politics for Human Events, National Review Online and Ricochet.com.
An unabashed Republican, Sajak now saves most of his political commentary for his Twitter feed, where the television icons musings have earned him both cheers and the occasional jeers.
Sajak recently chatted with The Daily Caller via email about his career, being a Republican in Hollywood and the perils of social media.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
Why was Chuck Wollery replaced? I had forgotten about him.
I don’t recall but I know I’ve seen some of his opinion pieces on YouTube. He’s good. Painfully in some instances.
Vietnam combat vet that doesn’t match how Dan Rather liked to portray them on report hit pieces.
In 1981, Woolery was involved in a salary dispute with the program's producers. Woolery stated in a 2007 interview that he demanded a raise from $65,000 a year to about $500,000 a year because the program was drawing a 44 share at the time, and other hosts were making that much. Griffin offered Woolery $400,000 a year, and NBC offered to pay the additional $100,000, but after Griffin threatened to move the program to CBS, NBC withdrew the offer. Griffin dismissed Woolery, whose final episode aired on December 25, 1981. Pat Sajak replaced him
LOL. Its rare that people leave at the right moment. I hope he does. He's always struck me as a down-to-earth, humble guy. The one thing that came across to me in prior interviews is that he values work. And he is horrified that our society has been moving away from valuing hard work. Its a conservative theme that resonates with a lot of people.
does he drive a company car?
Really like both of them. Outspoken conservatives. :)
RVN vet.
“Welcome home, Pat!”
Thanks for that info. I am VietNam weatherman. I remember Pat in LA. I wanted to be a TV weatherman in LA but learned I had to start in ND to WY so when I retired from the AF I went to work in LA as an engineer in space launch.
I urge everyone to follow him on Twitter just because his tweets are hilarious.
Roger that. I’ve seen some and they are good.
Years before that, Clint Walker had the same kind of issue with Warner Brothers and ABC on his ‘’Cheyenne’’ show, but Walker survived, and 108 episodes are still in reruns on the Western Encore channel. Plus ‘’Bronco’’ was born out of the dispute
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