Pat Sajak Receives Huge Honor for Final ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Episodes

Pat Sajak’s final season as the host of Wheel of Fortune was an award-winning one. Sajak, 77, retired in June after over 40 years of hosting the long-running ABC game show, and on Sunday, Sept. 8, he was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Game Show during the Creative Arts Emmys.

Sajak was nominated against Steve Harvey for Celebrity Family Feud, Ken Jennings for Jeopardy!, Keke Palmer for Password and Jane Lynch for The Weakest Link. Sajak was not present to accept the award. 

Prior to Sunday, Sajak had last been recognized by the Television Academy for his hosting work on Wheel of Fortune in 1998, when he was awarded a Daytime Emmy. He previously won Daytime Emmys in 1993 and 1997 and received a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 for his 25 total career nominations. 

Sajak’s daughter, Maggie Sajak, shared a photo with her father on the set of Wheel as she wrote Sunday, “So proud of this one on his Emmy win! He also gets the award for best dad.”

In his final episode of Wheel of Fortune, which aired June 7, Sajak told the audience, “It’s been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade.” He continued that he’s “always felt that the privilege came with a responsibility to keep this daily half-hour a safe place for family, fun, no social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing I hope, just a game.”

Sajak’s longtime co-star Vanna White is set to remain on Wheel for two more years, helping to ease the transition as new host Ryan Seacrest takes over Sajak’s role. During Seacrest’s first episode as host, which aired Monday, Sept. 9, he addressed the audience with a brief message. 

“I still can’t believe my luck of being here with you tonight to continue this legacy of this incredible show with all of you, and of course, my good friend Vanna White,” he said. “Thank you for the very warm welcome. Hosting Wheel of Fortune is a dream job. I’ve been a fan of this show since I was a kid watching it in Atlanta with my family. And I know how special it is that Wheel has been in your living rooms for the pat 40 years. And I’m just so grateful to be invited in. I also know I’ve got some very big shoes to fill. So, let’s play Wheel of Fortune.”