Pat Sajak, the host of Wheel of Fortune, was born on October 26th, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. In the year 2022, he will be 76 years old.
Pat began his career as a DJ before moving on to reading the news on the radio. He later joined the US Army in 1968 and worked as a DJ for the American Forces Vietnam Network during the Vietnam War.
He became the host of Wheel of Fortune in 1981.
Pat is @patsajak on Twitter, where he has over 285k followers.
Early Life
Pat Sajak was born Patrick Leonard Sajdak in Chicago, Illinois on October 26, 1946. He was the son of Joyce Helen and Leonard Anthony Sajdak and grew up in Chicago.
His grandmothers and grandfathers were all Polish. Pat’s father passed away while he was a child, and his mother remarried. Farragut High School was Sajak’s alma mater, and he graduated in 1964.
He attended Columbia College Chicago and worked at the Palmer House Hotel as a front desk receptionist.
Pat Sajak’s Income and Net Worth
Pat Sajak has a net worth of $70 million and is a former weatherman, current television personality, actor, and game show presenter. Sajak is most known for hosting the game show “Wheel of Fortune” for a long time. Pat is paid $14 million a year for his work on “Wheel.”
As we’ll see later in this piece, it isn’t Pat’s primary source of income every year. Pat and Vanna White earn more money each year by licensing their images to casino slot machines than they do from the game show itself.
Early Career
Sajak’s broadcasting instructor told him that the local radio station WEDC was looking for a news anchor while he was still in college.
He applied and was offered the 6 a.m. slot at the station. During the Vietnam War in 1968, Sajak enlisted in the US Army. He worked as a deejay for Armed Forces Radio while in the Army.
He started each program with the statement “Good morning, Vietnam!” as Robin Williams‘ character did in the film of the same name. Sajak was a DJ in Nashville in the early 1970s, working in the 3:00-5:00 p.m. time slot as their afternoon personality.
When Will Pat Sajak Retire from ‘wheel of Fortune’?
Pat is in his seventies. He hasn’t said when he’ll retire, but he did tell ET that his time as host is coming to an end. “We’re definitely closer to the end than the beginning,” he told the site bluntly.
“I’d like to get out of here before people tune in and say, ‘Ooh, what happened to him?'” Sajak relocated to Los Angeles in the late 1970s in search of work in the entertainment sector. In 1977, he earned a full-time weatherman job with KNBC-TV in Los Angeles.
Vanna will leave the show with him. “I wouldn’t put money on us seeing each other in, like, ten years,” Pat added, before asking Vanna, “Is that fair to say?” “Probably, yes,” she said.
How Did Pat Sajak Get This Chance?
In 1983, TV game show impresario Merv Griffin gave Sajak the opportunity to host Wheel of Fortune. Pat was turned down by NBC’s President because he was “too local.”
Merv Griffin refused to record fresh episodes until Pat was hired, in order to provoke this answer from the President.
Pat Sajak was the show’s host for more than 30 years as a result. Pat Sajak’s net worth increased significantly as a result of his $15 million annual compensation as the host of this show.
Despite this, Sajak won three Emmys. From January 9, 1989, through April 13, 1990, he held his own talk show on CBS.
Personal Life
In December 1989, in Annapolis, Maryland, Sajak married photojournalist Lesly Brown Sajak. From 1979 through 1986, he was married to an unnamed woman. Pat and Lesly have two children: Patrick Michael James Sajak (born 1990) and Maggie Marie Sajak (born 1995). Maggie is a country artist who has released three singles thus far.
The pair has two homes: one in Severna Park, Maryland, and the other in Los Angeles. Pat Sajak has stated that he does not believe in climate change. He also contributes to Young America’s Foundation, which funds conservative speakers on college campuses across the country.
The Sajaks belong to the Churches of Christ. Pat had emergency intestinal surgery to relieve a blockage in November 2019. During his rehabilitation, Vanna White hosted in his stead. Three weeks later, on December 5, 2019, he returned to work.
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