Pat Sajak’s farewell episode as host of “Wheel of Fortune” on June 7 drew in 11 million viewers, marking the game show’s highest viewership since April 2020. This milestone episode also achieved the highest household rating of the week at 6.2, excluding sports broadcasts. All five of Sajak’s final episodes landed in the Top 15 broadcasts of the week.
After over 40 years at the helm, Sajak bid farewell to “Wheel of Fortune,” passing the hosting duties to Ryan Seacrest, who will co-host alongside Vanna White.
In his closing remarks during the final episode, Sajak addressed viewers directly, reflecting on his long tenure: “It’s been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade, and I’ve always felt that the privilege came with a responsibility to keep this daily half-hour a safe place for family, fun, no social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing I hope, just a game.”
He went on to emphasize the show’s impact beyond entertainment: “But gradually it became more than that, 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. Thank you for allowing me into your lives.”
Seacrest and White will take over as hosts when “Wheel of Fortune” returns for Season 42 in the fall, marking a new chapter in the show’s storied history.
Next summer, Sajak will star in a play at The Hawaii Theatre, titled Prescription: Murder, alongside longtime friend, KHON-TV Hawai’i newscaster Joe Moore. The production, directed by Rob Duval, is based on the 1962 play Prescription: Murder, written by William Link and Richard Levinson, who later turned it into the popular 1960s drama series Columbo.
Gregory D. Dunn, President and CEO of Hawaii Theatre Center, tells PEOPLE exclusively that they’re “very fortunate” to have both Sajak and Moore volunteering their time to the program.
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“Pat Sajak and Joe Moore are longtime friends from their service in the army in Vietnam. Joe Moore is Hawaii’s leading broadcast anchor. He’s been on the KHON 2 news for decades, and he and Pat still enjoy acting together,” Dunn shares. “So through his relationship with Joe, Pat has been invited to perform at The Hawaii Theatre, which is the state’s premier historic performing art venue for several years.”
“They’ve done six shows together over the years and over that time, Pat has donated very generously his time and talents to raise money to support the nonprofit venue,” he continues. “We don’t receive any state or city or federal funding to operate the venue, which is 102 years old. So it’s a very expensive facility to maintain. Part of Pat’s philanthropy, he very generously donates his time and talents to raise money to help support the theater.”
Having worked with both Sajak and Moore over the years, Dunn enjoys being able “to see their authenticity and their genuine appreciation and love for people,” noting that “the arts comes through in each of the shows that they bring to the stage of Hawaii Theatre.”
