A man everyone knows from sick days and Sunday afternoons, game show host Pat Sajak for wheel of fortune is saying goodbye after 8 000 episodes and 41 years. 

Sajak is currently 77 years old and will be handing the torch to Ryan Seacrest. 

Vana white in a statement said that Sajak is a close personal friend and couldn’t imagine doing the show without him. White’s time isn’t up though with sources stating that White has signed on to continue with the show until 2026. 

Pat Sajak started his career in radio. As a teenager he won a contest to become a guest DJ. Later he took his career to the military, serving in Vietnam as a disc jockey for the armed forces radio. 

It wasn’t until 1981 that he was given the opportunity to take over hosting Wheel of Fortune, and from there he became the longest running host of any game show surpassing Bob Barker who hosted The Price is Right from 1972 to 2007. 

Next time you spin a wheel, guess a sentence or buy a vowel, remember the legacy left behind in game show history as the era comes to a close.