I’m angrier than a dude who ran out of toilet paper mid-wipe right now, because I’ll be forced to watch a show over the air today. On Friday, an American institution said goodbye to its host of over forty years.
Yes, the final episode, which was actually taped on April 5, almost certainly brought a record number of eyeballs to television stations all around the nation.
For over forty years, Sajak, 71, made the show his own with his, shall we say, unique personality. He’s known for going off on contestants who get answers wrong, which made the show more enjoyable.
Sajak has taped over 8,000 episodes of the beloved game show, which means that he’ll continue to collect residuals on re-runs that will almost certainly air on various cable channels for years to come. He’s also staying on as a consultant for three years, which means that he is not actually retiring. He’s merely stepping down from in front of the camera.
Prior to WOF, Sajak has appeared in movies, other game shows and more. His most memorable movie appearance lasted only a few seconds; he played a television anchorman reporting on the space shuttle disaster in Airplane II: The Sequel.
He also had a career in radio broadcasting, so he has accomplished a lot in his life. Despite all his other roles and jobs, he will forever be remembered as his four-decade stint on WOF.
A replacement was named a year ago. The new season will probably resume taping in July or August, and when that happens, famed television personality Ryan Seacrest will be the new face of WOF.
I’ve watched WOF off and on for many years, and I will be watching tonight just so see if they go maudlin or if they send Sajak off on a brief but professional way.
On Friday, I reached out to a representative of WTEN to get a comment from the station as to how long WTEN has aired the show and to get their thoughts on the many years of entertainment that Sajak has provided over the decades. As of the time this article was published, there was no response.
(Photo credit: Sony Pictures)