for over four decades Pat sjac has been the host of one of America's most popular game shows Wheel of Fortune through his humor and Lively personality he has been able to Captivate the attention of millions of viewers across the country it's safe to say that Pat has been an absolute Legend on the show and he will certainly be remembered as one of the greats in the game show genre unfortunately Pat sjac has recently decided to retire from the show ending his long four de career at the famous game show viewers who have embraced the longtime TV personality have expressed their sadness knowing that their favorite host will no longer be on their screens daily this has created a lot of anticipation and everyone is eagerly waiting to see what will happen next what really happened to cause his exit after so long who will be the new host of the show join us as we unravel the mystery behind this shocking decision and what the future holds for the iconic game show Wheel of Fortune Pat saac was born on October 26th 1946 in Chicago Illinois born in the west side of Chicago to two Polish American parents he did not have a close relationship with his father Leonard sdock or his paternal grandparents his parents separated in his early childhood and his mother Joyce sajdak got remarried to Walter ble in 1956 Sajak's father died in 196 61 and after that sajac lost contact with his father's side of the family he attended high school at faragut high school where he completed his studies in 1964 he then joined Columbia College in Chicago while working as a desk clerk at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel Sajak's interest in broadcast entertainment was developed at a tender age watching Jack par on The Tonight Show in an interview with the Hoover institution in 2012 sajac said I would sneak out of bed at night not to go out with the guys or grab a beer but it was to turn on The Tonight Show and see what Jack was up to sjac during his early adulthood was like Jack Parr his role model he started his career as an announcer with a local radio station in 1966 he was a guest teen DJ on the WLS radio's dick beyonde show having emerged the winner of a contest at Columbia College Chicago his broadcasting teacher Al Parker informed him that a local radio station wedc needed a newsman sjac applied for the job and was hired to work from midnight to 6:00 a.m. he then joined the United States Army in 1967 and served his country for 2 years when he was deployed to Vietnam he ended up becoming a disc jockey for the Army's radio station in Saigon when saac was released by the Army in 1970 he struggled to find another job in in his field he later moved to NBC affiliate WSM in Nashville where he was a disc jockey on the radio station and an announcer on their television channel he was a usual substitute for the regular newscasters and so when the weekend weatherman left the station sjac was the perfect candidate for the position Sajak's humorous disposition was noticed by Los Angeles's NBC affiliate KBC which hired sjac as one of its weathermen in 1977 thus with sjac presenting the weather report for the West Coast's epicenter of Television he came to the attention of many influential people including Jack par who sent sjac a letter of commendation sjac was also spotted by MV Griffin the producer of Jeopardy which aired from 1964 to 1975 and Wheel of Fortune which has been airing since 1975 up to the present time when the wheel of Fortune was in search of a new host in 1981 Griffin convinced NBC to hire sagac there was some controversy at first because saac was not a very popular figure but sjac was offered the job he hosted Wheel of Fortune for the first time on the 28th of December 1981 on that day a new element of the game was introduced known as the bonus round in which the contestant who had won was given an opportunity to win more prizes by solving an additional puzzle during his time as the host sajac was also behind the scenes giving directions to the games contestants and sharing his thoughts with the viewers on the show he is usually accompanied by a co-host which was initially Susan Stafford she would stand beside the letter board and uncover each letter as it was being called by the contestants when Stafford resigned from the show in 1982 to study Clinical Psychology white took her place white became so much a part of the show that by 1988 the New York Times noted that sjac was perhaps best known as Vanna White's co-host Wheel of Fortune moved to nighttime syndication in September 1983 while also remaining on NBC during the daytime this was an effort to expand its audience base however only a few local stations could take the show at first because it occupied half of an hour and the station had to find something to put in the second half in an attempt to complement Wheel of Fortune in the second half of an hour Griffin proposed a Revival of Jeopardy with the Canadian host Alex tbec as the new host of the show and offered the show for syndication in 1984 the tactic worked the two shows became the first and second most watched programs in syndication by 1986 due to the show's success sck gained Fame across the country with Wheel of Fortune syndication and was offered other shows he worked as one of the hosts of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1984 to 1986 he was also offered the pat sagac show in 1989 which was a late night show on CBS and it ran until 1990 some of the guests during the show's brief tenure included Jack par who had left hosting late night television in 1965 to host the late night talk show on CBS sajac had to leave NBC and thus The Wheel of Fortune's daytime version he was succeeded by Ralph benki who was then succeeded by Bob Goen when the show shifted to CBS in July 1989 however Pat still remained as the host of the syndicated evening version of Wheel of Fortune in the 1990s sajac extended his business in the broadcasting industry though he chose to put his money where his passion Li eyes rather than where the money is in 1998 he bought the broadcast license for wnav an AM radio station based in Annapolis Maryland this became one of the key components of his business venture sjac Broadcasting Corporation in 2005 his company also got the license for another AM radio station wttr located in Westminster Maryland several years after that purchase sjac decided to sell both licenses wt's license was sold in 2013 for $325,000 while WN av's license was sold in 2021 for $11,000 sajac however contributed $100,000 for wnav to move from the land that he wanted to sell sjac also founded Pat Productions and Bojack records small production companies that develop and provide ideas and materials for television and music Industries it is apparent that Sajak's life outside Wheel of Fortune is largely in line with his conservative ideology he usually expresses his honest opinions about the culture of the entertainment industry and is an open advocate for his political views in 2018 Seck returned for the 36th season and became the longest reuning game show host ever surpassing Barker who hosted The Price is Right from 1972 to 2007 sjck was officially recognized by the Guinness World Records for this on the episode that was aired on May 8th 2019 besides being the longest serving game show host in the American television he has been honored with many awards and recognitions including People's Choice Award in 1987 and Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding game show host in 1993 1997 and 1998 respectively he was awarded the Daytime Emmy life time Achievement award in 2011 he also honored with a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the year 1994 Pat sjac has been married to Leslie Brown since 1989 his first wife was Cheryl sjac whom he married in 1979 unfortunately the marriage was short-lived and the two divorced in 1986 sjac got married to Leslie Brown a photographer and a former model in the year 1989 the couple was introduced to each other by their friends and have been an item since then they currently reside in sna Park Maryland with a second home in Los Angeles Leslie has been on the show Wheel of Fortune several times and has even hosted one of the show's anniversary specials on a personal level Pat revealed that marrying Leslie made him a happy and contented man Leslie is a very caring and supportive wife and she has been a great support to Pat in his working life together they have grown and nurtured two children and have created a happy family Pat and Leslie have two children together a son named Patrick Michael James sjck and a daughter named Maggie sajac Patrick Michael James sjac was born in September of 1990 and is a doctor having graduated from medical school in 2021 Maggie was born in 1995 and is a country music singer and has done guest appearances on the Wheel of Fortune she replaced Vanna White as a letter Turner for a while when Vanna was hosting the show in the absence of Pat apart from being a television host there are other things that Pat sjac likes to do he is a sports Enthusiast and his favorite sport is baseball with the Baltimore Orioles being his favorite team sjac also likes to write and has contributed columns for some conservative papers in the past also he holds a pilot's license and has an interest in flying planes as a hobby during a guest appearance in the broadcast booth at a Baltimore Orioles versus Boston Red Sox spring training match in March 2012 sjck revealed that he had announced some baseball games in the past in terms of his work in media Pat sjac has been involved in a short educational video entitled The Great American Constitution which is used in the George Washington Estates famed Mount Vernon this film aimed at increasing awareness of visitors about the US Constitution features sjac who plays the role of a reporter with his historical information and facts about the Constitution this role enabled sjac to bring his familiar broadcasting character and mix it with something that is more educational and historical sajac is a Republican and before his new job had pinned several articles for the conservative weekly human events he is also a frequent contributor and a podcaster at a rightwing website Ricochet in the year 2019 Pat sjac had what could have been the Pinnacle of a Health crisis when he was operated on for an intestinal blockage while he was recovering from this incident Vanna White assumed the hosting jobs for Wheel of Fortune sajac has since gotten well and resumed hosting the show though he frequently discussed the need to pay attention to his health and that of his family as he planned to retire soon sajac is a great fan of the Washington Capitals a team that plays in the National Hockey League he is a season ticket holder for the Philadelphia Flyers and skated to the ice prior to game three of the 2018 Stanley Cup finals it is evident that sajac has not only revolutionized Wheel of Fortune but also the whole game show industry due to his professionalism and uniqueness in making jokes and at the same time being able to entertain the contestants and audiences he has become an icon in the entertainment industry it is also noteworthy that sjac was not only a host but also actively participated in various charitable activities which demonstrate that he is using his popularity to help others and make the world a better place whether participating in charity events campaigning for worthy causes he has proven that the power of His personality goes beyond the television screen Pat sjac is a television personality actor and game show host and has an estimated net worth of more than $75 million he is well known for hosting the game show Wheel of Fortune and he has been hosting the show for many years now since 1981 he is among the highest paid TV hosts with an annual salary of $15 million sjac and white only shoot Wheel of Fortune four days in a month it may not look like much work for $15 million but given that there are four shoot days in a month you can only imagine that they can be very tiring it is important to note that it takes 195 episodes to complete a season of The Wheel of Fortune additionally saac and Whit star in the spinoff titled celebrity Wheel of Fortune which began airing in 2021 sajac also earns a good amount of money from licensing His image for The Wheel of Fortune slot machine which is a popular offering in casinos this licensing deal generates approximately $15 million of royalties and Licensing fees for sjac yearly sjac recently stated that the 41st season of Wheel of Fortune will be his final one the TV personality shocked his fans on June 12th 2023 when he declared that he was to retire from hosting Wheel of Fortune after being with the show for 41 years with a short message on Twitter sjac commented on his career well the time has come he tweeted for various reasons I have decided that our 41st season which will start in September will be my last I have had a great time and will have much more to say in the coming months thank you all people were quick to come out and pay homage to S Jack's time on the show including his former co-host Vanna White following this announcement people wondered if Vanna White s Jack's co-host for several years would replace him as the show host Vanna has been associated with Wheel of Fortune for more than 40 years and viewers are still captive ated by her Elegant Style and smile despite the fact that she is more associated with reading those famous letters she has sometimes hosted in Sajak's absence and has proved she can host the show as well I've been incredibly fortunate to work alongside Pat for all these years he has been an amazing mentor and friend to me as for taking over as the host well it's something that I would definitely consider if the opportunity arises but Pat is irreplaceable and it will be a big challenge to fill his shoes Vanna said when asked if she would be the one to take over from sjac there has also been increasing Rumors in recent years that Maggie sjac the daughter to Pat sjac could be next in line to take over the hosting of Wheel of Fortune having watched a short clip of Pat and Maggie teasing each other during a segment of Wheel of Fortune trivia show the audiences started to get an impression that Maggie who is 28 years old is the one who might become the new host of Wheel of Fortune in January 2020 Maggie made her debut in Wheel of Fortune as Vanna White's substitute for one week when she was replacing Pat sjac who had to be taken to surgery and then in 2021 Maggie began her career at Wheel of Fortune as a social media correspondent officially the show's fans have centered their attention on the recent comments made by Pat as regards to the abilities of Maggie as a host during the holiday trip with Pat and Vana special that was featured in December 2022 Maggie took the seat of the host while amusingly quizzing Pat and Vanna on some simple holiday questions at the end of the episode on December 27th 2022 Pat could not help but share his observation that his daughter was actually a good host his remark reignited media gossip that she has been in training to replace star anchor Pat sjck in The Wheel of Fortune television show audiences have also theorized that Maggie might still become a permanent letter Turner on Wheel of Fortune like Vanna White though the social media correspondent Maggie joined the wheel family in 2021 she featured in the program both on screen and behind the camera several times currently she has not been assigned any major responsibilities apart from managing the social media handles however there are some supporters of the idea that her small part of the show is the first step towards her becoming the host of the program to the people who have been following the interviews made by sajac in the past years his retirement is not really a big surprise during an interview with Entertainment Tonight in September 2022 sjac revealed his desire to step down from the show we are not going to do this for another 40 years the end is near he said speculations rose that sajac may leave after he had to go off set during taping of the show on April 26th 2023 the absence of Pat sajac was also seen when the bonus round was being played the longtime show announcer Jim Thornton assumed the presenting role some of the show's viewers could not understand where the longtime host went and some of them thought that sjac was either ill or he lost his job the primary reason behind Sajak's decision to retire is to spend more quality time with his family and to step back from the demands of the show sjac who is now 77 indicated that it was simply time for him to retire a sentiment he expressed in His official announcement last year Ryan CEST was announced as Pat SE Jack's successor as the host of Wheel of Fortune on June 27th 2023 CEST will take over starting with the 2024 to 2025 season following Sak's retirement after 41 years on the show Sony Pictures Television confirmed that CEST known for his roles on American Idol and Live with Kelly and Ryan signed a multi-year deal and will also serve as a Consulting producer on the show this was a choice that sjac has supported expressing confidence in crest's ability to carry on the show's Legacy alongside Vanna White who will remain on the show through at least the 2025 to 2026 season Sajak's retirement marks the end of an era for Wheel of Fortune a show he began hosting in 1981 his tenure alongside co-host Vanna White has become a beloved staple of American television despite his retirement sjac will remain involved with the show as a consultant for 3 years ensuring a smooth transition for his successor Ryan CEST