After 41 years and over 8,000 episodes, Pat Sajak made his final appearance as the beloved Wheel of Fortune host on Friday. The season 41 finale, dubbed the “Thanks for the Memories” show, opened with a clip from Sajak’s first episode as host in 1981. It closed with Sajak’s warm message of gratitude to many, including those he called the “real stars of the show.”
Sajak became the longest-serving game show host in 2019, surpassing Bob Barker of The Price Is Right.
In his farewell message, Sajak thanked viewers for granting him the “incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes, night after night, year after year, decade after decade.”
Sajak, 77, also gave a heartfelt thanks to Vanna White, who co-hosted with him for over 40 years. “We’ve seen a lot of changes in each other’s lives over the years, but we’ve always been there for each other,” he says. “I will miss our nightly closes and her laughter and her good nature.”
Among the many shoutouts Sajak offered, he said the crew and staff, some of whom have worked on the show as long as he has, were a “joy” to work with.
Sajak thanked one staff member by name: his daughter Maggie. She began working as the show’s social correspondent in 2021. He calls their collaboration the “best part of the last couple of years.” Sajak also mentioned his son, Patrick, and his wife, Lesly. He said that he is “blessed” to have his family.
The famed host says that the “real stars of the show” are the contestants who competed for cash and luxury prizes throughout the decades of the show’s run. “Every time we taped a show, I met three new people from all parts of this wonderful country—and the world—who were kind and considerate, who rooted for each other, who took great pride in talking about their family, their hometown, their friends, their schools, their jobs, even their pets,” Sajak says.
Sajak announced in June 2023 that he would retire from his hosting duties at the end of the show’s 41st season. Ryan Seacrest will succeed him. White will stay on as Seacrest’s co-host through the 2025-2026 season, based on a contract extension she signed in September.
White delivered her emotional tribute to Sajak a day before his farewell. She says Sajak is “like a brother” and a “true lifelong friend.”
Seacrest commended Sajak and White in an Instagram post. “You’ve set the standard for hosts everywhere, and this marks the end of an era,” says Seacrest.
Reflecting on the show’s massive reach, Sajak says that he always found it important to keep the daily half-hour show a “safe place for family fun.” That meant excluding any social issues or political topics from the banter he shared with contestants and White. He said he wanted to keep the show “just a game,” before noting that to many, it became a part of their daily lives.
Sajak says the Wheel became “a place where kids learned their letters, where people from other countries honed their English skills, where families came together along with friends and neighbors and entire generations. What an honor to have played even a small part in all that.”
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. — Proverbs 22:1
