Pat Sajak

Pat Sajak (born Patrick Sajdak, October 26, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois) is the current host of the Wheel of Fortune game show and hosts The Pat Sajak Baseball Hour, a syndicated radio show.

Career

Sajak won a random contest on WLS radio's Dick Biondi Show to be a guest "teen deejay". While at Columbia College, his broadcasting instructor told him that a local radio station (WEDC) was looking for a newsman. He was hired to work from midnight to 6:00 AM. In 1968, Sajak joined the U.S. Army, and was sent to Vietnam, where he deejayed on Armed Forces Radio. Later in 1977, KNBC-TV in Los Angeles was looking for a weatherman, and spotted Sajak working for NBC affiliate WSM-TV in Nashville. Sajak accepted KNBC's request for him to be a full-time weatherman for the station.

Related Topics:
WLS radio - Dick Biondi Show - Deejay - WEDC - AM - 1968 - U.S. Army - Vietnam - Armed Forces Radio - 1977 - KNBC - Los Angeles - NBC - WSM-TV - Nashville

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Finally, in 1981, Merv Griffin, the designer of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, called in and asked if Sajak would be interested in taking over as host of Wheel of Fortune from Chuck Woolery. Sajak accepted, and still hosts the show to date. In 1997, as part of an April Fool's joke, Sajak hosted an episode of Jeopardy! and became a contestant (along with cohost Vanna White) on Wheel of Fortune, which was being hosted by Jeopardy!'s Alex Trebek on that day.

Related Topics:
1981 - Merv Griffin - Jeopardy! - Chuck Woolery - 1997 - April Fool's - Vanna White - Alex Trebek

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Sajak hosted a late-night talk show on CBS in 1989 that failed miserably (a typical fate for talk shows up against Johnny Carson). He has, however, been a frequent guest host for CNN's Larry King Live when King is unable to attend. Sajak has also hosted a program, Pat Sajak Weekend, on the Fox News Channel.

Related Topics:
CBS - 1989 - Johnny Carson - Larry King Live - Fox News Channel

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Sajak is an External Director of conservative publishing house Regnery, and is on the Board of Trustees at Hillsdale College, and also has written for Human Events and served on the Board of Directors for the Claremont Institute. Sajak was a major donor to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and sometimes posts political commentary on his official website.

Related Topics:
Conservative - Regnery - Hillsdale College - Human Events - Claremont Institute - Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

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One of Sajak's philanthropies is an expansion of the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland. It is named the Sajak Pavilion in honor of his donations. He is also part-owner of Annapolis radio station WNAV 1430, which broadcasts Naval Academy events and other local items of interest. He has also donated $100,000 for Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.

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