Vanna White celebrated the 40th anniversary of her Wheel of Fortune debut in December 2022, and now the syndicated version game show is hitting its 40th. But by the time the current, nighttime Wheel incarnation premiered — on September 19, 1983 — daytime versions of the show had been spinning for years. Read on for a chronology, Fortune fans. NBC introduced Wheel of Fortune as a daytime game show on January 6, 1975, with Chuck Woolery hosting and actor Susan Stafford turning the letters. Woolery, who’d go on to host the game shows Love Connection and Scrabble, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 that game-show mastermind Merv Griffin approached him to host a pilot called Shopper’s Bazaar, a proto-Wheel that also featured a roulette wheel and Hangman-like puzzles. NBC passed on that “horrible” pilot, Woolery explained, but when Griffin reconfigured the format and renamed it Wheel of Fortune, the network put in on the daytime schedule.
- 9/19/2023
- TV Insider
Vanna White is being temporarily replaced after she contracted Covid-19 amid her contract negotiations.
White came down with Covid in July while Wheel of Fortune was filming their yearly “Teachers Week,” during which all contestants will be teachers, which will air in October.
Elementary school teacher Bridgette Donald-Blue will take over for the week until White recovers. Donald-Blue won California’s Teacher of the Year award for 2023.
This is the fourth time White has missed the show since she started 41 years ago. In 1986, she was replaced by Susan Stafford when her boyfriend, John Gibson, died in a plane crash. Her second time missing the show was in 1991 when she went on her honeymoon with George Santo Pietro, whom she later divorced in 2002. Tricia Gist filled in for White then and later in the year when White was sick.
White is currently negotiating for more money after her host Pat Sajak...
White came down with Covid in July while Wheel of Fortune was filming their yearly “Teachers Week,” during which all contestants will be teachers, which will air in October.
Elementary school teacher Bridgette Donald-Blue will take over for the week until White recovers. Donald-Blue won California’s Teacher of the Year award for 2023.
This is the fourth time White has missed the show since she started 41 years ago. In 1986, she was replaced by Susan Stafford when her boyfriend, John Gibson, died in a plane crash. Her second time missing the show was in 1991 when she went on her honeymoon with George Santo Pietro, whom she later divorced in 2002. Tricia Gist filled in for White then and later in the year when White was sick.
White is currently negotiating for more money after her host Pat Sajak...
- 8/12/2023
- by Nina Hauswirth
- Uinterview
For the first time in more than three decades, Vanna White will be temporarily M.I.A. at Wheel of Fortune.
The iconic letter turner reportedly contracted Covid in late July while Wheel was filming its annual “Teachers Week” block, slated to air in October. In her absence, Puck News reports that producers tapped California-based “Teacher of the Year” recipient Bridgette Donald-Blue (pictured here) to stand at the letter board for the week’s worth of episodes. (Season 41 premieres Monday, Sept. 11.)
More from TVLineUpdate: Wheel of Fortune Insider Reveals the Real Reason Vanna White Was Temporarily Replaced (Exclusive)Ryan Seacrest...
The iconic letter turner reportedly contracted Covid in late July while Wheel was filming its annual “Teachers Week” block, slated to air in October. In her absence, Puck News reports that producers tapped California-based “Teacher of the Year” recipient Bridgette Donald-Blue (pictured here) to stand at the letter board for the week’s worth of episodes. (Season 41 premieres Monday, Sept. 11.)
More from TVLineUpdate: Wheel of Fortune Insider Reveals the Real Reason Vanna White Was Temporarily Replaced (Exclusive)Ryan Seacrest...
- 8/11/2023
- by Andy Swift
- TVLine.com
Ask around, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who has not seen at least an episode or two of the popular game show Wheel of Fortune. The show is fun and, let’s face it, a little addictive to watch. Pat Sajak has been hosting Wheel of Fortune for decades and is arguably one of the most recognizable faces on television. However, he wasn’t the first to be in that iconic position. Wheel of Fortune hired Pat Sajak after the original host asked for more money.
About the show
According to Paleymatters.org, the game show has been in syndication for about four decades. It continues to entertain people just like it did when it first premiered.
In 1975, creator Merv Griffin had the idea for a hangman-type game show. As a result, Wheel of Fortune was born. Three contestants compete in each episode, and The New Republic...
About the show
According to Paleymatters.org, the game show has been in syndication for about four decades. It continues to entertain people just like it did when it first premiered.
In 1975, creator Merv Griffin had the idea for a hangman-type game show. As a result, Wheel of Fortune was born. Three contestants compete in each episode, and The New Republic...
- 4/17/2023
- by Lisa Geiger
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Vanna White is approaching her 40th anniversary with Wheel of Fortune and isn’t ready to stop turning those letter tiles just yet. Speaking to People ahead of her Lion Brand Yarn event at Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts, White opened up about her time on the show and the idea of handing over the reins to someone else. “I think when Merv Griffin chose both of us, 40 and 41 years ago, he saw something between us — a brother-sister type relationship,” White said, referring to her on-screen relationship with Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak. White and Sajak have hosted the show for the past four decades since taking over from original hosts Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford. “And I think that is kind of what it is,” she continued. “[Griffin] saw that we would be able to get along, and we do. .” However, after 40 years, it’s not unreasonable to think...
- 12/6/2022
- TV Insider
After 40 seasons fronting the show, Pat Sajak has teased that he may be ready to relinquish his hosting duties on ABC’s Wheel of Fortune. But if he does decide to leave, who could possibly replace him and what does it mean for his long-time cohost Vanna White? Could she take over from Sajak, or will the show’s producers look to bring in a new face, or possibly a whole new hosting team? The show has been around since 1975 and was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford before Sajak took over in 1981. In 1983, a nighttime spinoff of the daytime show was announced, which he and Vanna have hosted ever since. During his tenure, Sajak has received 19 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, winning three times. So we ask, who in the current TV landscape would be perfect to take over Wheel of Fortune?...
- 9/16/2022
- TV Insider
“I’d like to buy a vowel.” That phrase has been a part of pop culture for a while now — “Wheel of Fortune” premiered 41 years ago today. That NBC daytime version of “America’s game” was later followed by the currently airing nighttime syndicated version of the show. The iconic game show was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford. Jack Clark, Pat Sajak and Vanna White each joined the show in the early 1980s. Other notable January 6 happenings in pop culture history: • 1949: “Gone with the Wind” and “Wizard of Oz” director Victor Fleming died suddenly. Two months later, his “Joan of Arc” starring Ingrid Bergman won two Oscars. • 1957: Elvis Presley performed on “The Ed Sullivan Show” for the third and final time. • 1963: “Oliver!” premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theater. The musical had had its world premiere in June 1930 in the West End. • 1968: The...
- 1/6/2016
- by Emily Rome
- Hitfix
We rejoiced when Boston model/actor Rob Wilson was announced as the The Price is Right's first male model. Hooray for bare chests adorned with price-tag stickers! Wilson will begin straddling jetskis and wielding Plinko chips for a one-week stint beginning October 15, and hopefully he'll do well enough that men become a permanent addition to the modeling staff. In the meantime, we have a few decades of game show brawn to remember:
$ale of the Century's beaming hunks Gregorio Gaviati and David Gibbs want to strike a deal with you.
$ale of the Century: It's the thinking man's Let's Make a Deal! When contestants correctly answered enough questions on this Jim Perry-hosted jam, they became eligible to win prizes for giving up points. If you're shocked to find this 1980s U.S. game show featured male models, consider that $ale of the Century's main gimmick is tempting contestants into buying personal luxury gifts,...
$ale of the Century's beaming hunks Gregorio Gaviati and David Gibbs want to strike a deal with you.
$ale of the Century: It's the thinking man's Let's Make a Deal! When contestants correctly answered enough questions on this Jim Perry-hosted jam, they became eligible to win prizes for giving up points. If you're shocked to find this 1980s U.S. game show featured male models, consider that $ale of the Century's main gimmick is tempting contestants into buying personal luxury gifts,...
- 10/10/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
I hope you all had a happy holiday weekend and survived Black Friday if you ventured out. Here are some TV tidbits to start off your week...
Walter Doniger
Writer, director, and producer Walter Doniger passed away on Thanksgiving at the age of 94. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease. Doniger wrote several scripts for the big screen and directed many episodes of dramatic television shows, including 64 installments of Peyton Place. During the '50s, '60s, and '70s, he also helmed episodes of shows like Cheyenne, Bat Masterson, Kung Fu, McCloud, Black Sheep Squadron, and Marcus Welby, MD. He is survived by his wife, Susan Stafford Doniger.
Irving Elman
A prolific writer for Broadway, movies, and television, Irving Elman died on November 22nd. He passed away in La Jolla, California, of cardiopulmonary arrest at the age of 96. He wrote...
Walter Doniger
Writer, director, and producer Walter Doniger passed away on Thanksgiving at the age of 94. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease. Doniger wrote several scripts for the big screen and directed many episodes of dramatic television shows, including 64 installments of Peyton Place. During the '50s, '60s, and '70s, he also helmed episodes of shows like Cheyenne, Bat Masterson, Kung Fu, McCloud, Black Sheep Squadron, and Marcus Welby, MD. He is survived by his wife, Susan Stafford Doniger.
Irving Elman
A prolific writer for Broadway, movies, and television, Irving Elman died on November 22nd. He passed away in La Jolla, California, of cardiopulmonary arrest at the age of 96. He wrote...
- 11/28/2011
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
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