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Pat Sajak (pronounced /ˈseɪdʒæk/ , -jak ; born Patrick Leonard Sajdak on October 26, 1946) is a television personality, former weatherman, actor and talk show host, best known as the host of the American television game show Wheel of Fortune .

Early life

Sajak, son of a Polish American trucking foreman, was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Joyce, remarried Walter Backal. He graduated from Farragut High School in 1964 and then went on to Columbia College Chicago while working as a desk clerk at the Palmer House hotel.

Career

Sajak won a contest on WLS radio's Dick Biondi Show to be a guest "teen deejay". While at Columbia College Chicago, his broadcasting instructor Al Parker told him that a local radio station (WEDC) was looking for a newsman. Sajak applied for the job and 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. In 1975, he began DJ'ing at 50,000-watt WSM in Nashville; at the time WSM was playing pop music during the day, and Sajak was the 3:00–5:00pm afternoon personality. Sajak moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to find work, and answered phones as a clerk at numerous hotels while job hunting. 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.

In 1981, Merv Griffin asked Sajak if he would be interested in taking over the duties as emcee of Wheel of Fortune from Chuck Woolery. However, Fred Silverman, then president and CEO of NBC, rejected his hiring, claiming he was "too local", and Merv responded by imposing a moratorium on new tapings until Sajak was hired. Sajak, who had already hosted a few game show pilots, accepted the position. He hosted both the daytime (NBC) and syndicated evening versions of Wheel from 1983 to 1989, and continues to host the latter version.

Sajak had a small role as a Buffalo, New York newscaster in the 1982 spoof film Airplane II: The Sequel . When his late-night talk show on CBS premiered in January 1989, he left the daytime version of Wheel, and was replaced by former San Diego Chargers place-kicker Rolf Benirschke. Sajak appeared on Super Password several times from 1984–1989, as well as Password Plus in 1981, shortly after taking on hosting duties on Wheel .

Sajak hosted a late-night talk show on CBS from January 9, 1989 – April 13, 1990. He has since been a frequent guest host for CNN's Larry King Live when King himself was unable to attend. Sajak is also a regular substitute host for Regis Philbin on the syndicated Live With Regis and Kelly . Sajak also hosted a program, Pat Sajak Weekend , on the Fox News Channel in 2003. Sajak also currently hosts The Pat Sajak Baseball Hour , a syndicated radio sports talk show.

Sajak is an External Director of conservative publishing house Eagle Publishing and is on the Board of Trustees at Hillsdale College in southern Michigan, currently as vice chairman. He has written for Human Events and served on the Board of Directors for the Claremont Institute.

In 1983, Sajak appeared as Kevin Hathaway in the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives .

In 1993, Sajak appeared as himself on the popular children's cartoon show Rugrats .

In mid-November 2009, Sajak started as the national spokesperson for BigCityDeals.com.

Personal life

Sajak is divorced from his first wife, Sherrill, and is currently married to his second wife, Lesly Brown, a photographer, with whom they have son, Patrick (born September 22, 1990) and a daughter, Maggie (born January 5, 1995). The couple splits time between Severna Park, Maryland, and Manhattan Beach, California.

In 2005, Sajak became an investor in the Golden Baseball League, a professional, independent baseball league with teams in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Alberta, British Columbia, and Baja California.

According to NEWSMEAT, Sajak has donated over $17,000 to candidates and election committees; all are associated with the Republican Party.

References

  1. ^ "Pat Sajak Biography". TV Guide . http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/pat-sajak/195266 . Retrieved 2007-10-15 .  
  2. ^ "Pat Sajak". nndb.com . Soylent Communications . http://nndb.com/people/377/000022311/ . Retrieved February 15, 2010 .  
  3. ^ "Meet Pat Sajak". patsajakgames.com . P.A.T. Productions and Uclick . http://www.patsajakgames.com/about/aboutpat.html . Retrieved November 15, 2009 .  
  4. ^ Griffin, Merv. Merv: Making the Good Life Last . New York: Pocket Books, 2003, page 101
  5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0756929/
  6. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356288/
  7. ^ Regnery Publishing: "Eagle Publishing Corporate Information"
  8. ^ "Rugrats Episodes for 1993". rugratonline.com . Steve Mindykowski . http://www.rugratonline.com/rrep1993.htm#chuckie_is_rich . Retrieved October 28, 2009 . "Pat Sajak appeared as himself in this episode as the presenter of the $10 million check, as well as endorser of the magazine contest."  
  9. ^ "Up close with Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak". abclocal.go.com . KGO-TV. November 19, 2009 . http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/everything_else&id=7128311 . Retrieved November 27, 2009 .  
  10. ^ http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/pat-sajaks-house-1/
  11. ^ http://www.movoto.com/off-market-homes/ca/manhattan-beach.html
  12. ^ Golden Baseball League Ownership Group (Biographies)
  13. ^ Vanna gives us letters, but Sajak gives us baseball! (GBL Medford website, August 28, 2008)
  14. ^ NEWSMEAT ▷ Pat Sajak's Federal Campaign Contribution Report

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