9 Pat Sajak TV & Film Roles That Aren’t ‘Wheel of Fortune’
Wheel of Fortune isn’t the only TV series that’s featured the on-camera talents of Pat Sajak. The celebrated host ends his time on the beloved game show this Friday, June 7. Ahead of his retirement, take a scroll down memory lane to see Sajak’s other TV appearances through the years, from recent comedies like Fresh Off the Boat to his short-lived stint as a late-night host in the 1980s and more.
This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s Wheel of Fortune: Farewell, Pat Sajak issue. For more inside scoop on the long-running game show and Pat’s final episode, pick up a copy of the issue available on newsstands and for order online at WheelofFortuneMag.com.
1. Fresh Off the Boat
In the ABC comedy’s “B as in Best Friends” episode, from 2017, competitive mom Jessica (Constance Wu) and her neighborhood BFF Honey (Chelsey Crisp) are going on Wheel of Fortune for the show’s Best Friends Week. The two have some issues that they air out during gameplay, and so do Pat Sajak and Vanna White. When Honey learns there are an astounding 11 Os in the puzzle, Sajak quips, “That’s the hardest Vanna will work in her life.” He even accuses his cohost of stealing his yogurts from the communal fridge! Thankfully, both duos hilariously work it out in the end. — Zoe Woolrich
2. The Pat Sajak Show
Back in the late ’80s, everyone was looking for the next Johnny Carson, and with the affable Sajak riding a wave of popularity during Wheel’s first decade in syndication, CBS launched The Pat Sajak Show in late night on January 9, 1989. They probably should have waited until Carson’s Tonight Show exit in 1992. With added competition from the younger-skewing The Arsenio Hall Show, which premiered in the same month, Sajak’s traditional series (above: guest Chevy Chase) never had a chance of breaking through and was canceled in April 1990. — Matt Roush
3. Airplane II: The Sequel
Just one year after taking over Wheel from Chuck Woolery, Sajak appeared in a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it scene in this 1982 comedy spoof. As a Buffalo news anchor, he reported on such calamities as a misdirected lunar shuttle heading for “certain disaster.” Though the outrageous segment — a montage of comical news clips — also features a Japanese broadcast with Godzilla, a Soviet anchor with a gun to his head and a pair of activists on public broadcasting, Sajak’s wry delivery makes his moment in the film particularly funny to watch. — Colleen Secaur
4. The Commish
“There sure are a lot of lonely, miserable people in the world, thank God,” remarks Sajak’s cocky psychologist Brian Brandon on ABC’s 1990s cop dramedy. The guest spot aired in 1992, onSeason 2’s “The Two Faces of Ed.” Dr. Brandon solves problems on his radio show — a mighty successful one at that — but being famous can have its downfalls, like when his advice angers the ex-husband of a fan, putting Brandon’s life in danger. The doc discovers a playing card in his car clueing him in on who his assailant might be, but nothing can prepare him for the masked man hiding in his backseat! — ZW
5. The Larry Sanders Show
Sajak appeared twice on Garry Shandling’s viciously funny HBO satire. In 1994’s Season 3 finale, four years after Sajak’s late-night show had been canceled, he guest hosts Sanders’ fictional talk show while Larry (Shandling) deals with a pill addiction. The joke: Sajak is the only star available whom Larry doesn’t consider a threat. In 1998’s final season, Sajak is a guest on Larry’s show, agreeing to audition sidekick Hank Kingsley (Jeffrey Tambor) as host of a game show he’s developing. It doesn’t go well. Hank misidentifies Pat as “Merv” (after Wheel of Fortune creator Merv Griffin). — MR
6. The A-Team
The action drama visited Sajak and White on set in this Season 4 outing from 1986, when Wheel of Fortune and The A-Team were both airing on NBC. In the episode, “Howling Mad” Murdock (Dwight Schultz) wins big on Wheel (including a trip for two to Hawaii), with marksman Templeton “Faceman” Peck (Dirk Benedict) watching from the dressing room. The ex-pilot wouldn’t have been as successful without Faceman’s help, but it seems they won’t be able to enjoy the winnings anyway. Murdock is kidnapped by criminals masquerading as CIA who want to recruit him for a mission. The best part of the episode? Sajak grilling Murdock between spins.
7. The King of Queens
In this 2001 episode of the blue-collar CBS sitcom, Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) lies to his wife, Carrie (Leah Remini), so he can play mud football-—and gets sick after the rainy game. He hallucinates himself, Carrie and zany father-in-law Arthur (Jerry Stiller, above left, with Remini and James) into TV shows such as The Young and the Restless, The Honeymooners and, yes, Wheel of Fortune, where the board spells out, “Doug Heffernan Is a Big Fat Liar.” For his part, Arthur insists on inserting the number 4 as a flustered Sajak tries to explain, “We only take letters.” —Colleen Secaur
8. Days of Our Lives
Not only was Sajak hosting daytime Wheel of Fortune in the 1980s, but he was also guest starring on daytime TV. The host was two years into his stint on Wheel when he showed up on Days in 1983. As news anchor Kevin Hathaway on the NBC soap, Sajak throws some accusations at Salem’s secretive Det. Sgt. Roman Brady (Wayne Northrop, above right) while challenging him on-air about an ongoing murder investigation. Determined to uncover the truth, Hathaway even tells the ornery officer, “You should turn this case over to someone else.” —Caroline Serpico
9. Just Shoot Me!
This special 2000 episode of the NBC sitcom—which, for laughs, transforms into a fictional installment of A&E’s Biography series—centers on the tumultuous life of devious fashion editor Nina Van Horn (Wendie Malick). Sajak cameos, as do Don Henley of the Eagles, producer Robert Evans and supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, among others. Sajak gets in one of the episode’s best jokes, when, reflecting on a Wheel contestant’s inability to correctly guess Van Horn’s name due to her lack of relevance in the 1980s, he says in exasperation, “We had less trouble with the word ‘vichyssoise!’” —Colleen Secaur
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