She’s prepared for it! Whoopi Goldberg revealed she’d be up for taking on Wheel of Fortune after Pat Sajak steps down as host subsequent 12 months.
“I want that job,” the Sister Act star, 67, stated through the Tuesday, June 13, episode of The View. “I think it would be lots of fun.”
Cohost Joy Behar, for her half, supported Goldberg’s sentiment — and even joked that she might have her personal position within the sport present’s subsequent chapter. “You know what? Sara [Haines] and I could be Vanna White. We’ll take turns walking back and forth!”
Goldberg’s declaration got here simply at some point after Sajak, 76, revealed that his tenure at Wheel of Fortune is coming to an finish.
“Well, the time has come,” the Daytime Emmy winner informed Bloomberg News in a Monday, June 12, assertion. “I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all.”
Prior to making his official announcement, Sajak hinted at his inevitable exit throughout a September 2022 interview with Entertainment Tonight. “It’s an honor to have been in people’s living rooms for that long.” People have been on the market welcoming us. We’re joyful and proud,” he informed the outlet on the time.
The Chicago native additionally joked that he “may go before the show” will get canceled. “In most television shows by this time, you would have said, ‘That’s probably enough,’ but this show will not die,” he quipped.
Wheel of Fortune premiered in 1975 with Chuck Woolery as host. Sajak took the job over simply six years later in 1981 and has helmed the favored daytime program ever since.
“When I started hosting Wheel (with Susan Stafford) on this date 40 years ago, the top 10 TV shows included Dallas, Three’s Company, The Jeffersons and The Dukes of Hazzard,” he tweeted of his over 4 many years with the present in December 2021. “Ronald Reagan was in his 1st year as president. Number 1 song: Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Physical.’”
After Sajak shared the information of his departure on Monday, his longtime cohost, White, 66, took to social media to assist her pal’s resolution to exit the beloved TV collection.
“When we started @WheelofFotune who could have imagined we’d still be at it 41 seasons later?” The Vanna Speaks writer wrote through Twitter, quoting Sajak’s authentic announcement tweet. “I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come. Cheers to you, @patsajak!”
The A-Team alum and White have fashioned a detailed bond over their practically 40 years sharing the display screen. “We’ve been together for, like, 38 years and he’s like my brother,” the Vanna’s Choice cofounder informed ET in 2021. “He’s funny. I mean, we could finish each other’s sentences if we wanted to. We know each other that well.”
Sajak, for his half, opened up about his dynamic with White throughout a 2017 speak on the Paley Center for Media in New York City. “I can’t imagine being up there with someone else,” he gushed to the viewers on the time.
Who will take over Sajak’s duties after he says his goodbyes stays up within the air, however Ken Jennings — who took over internet hosting Jeopardy in November 2022 alongside Mayim Bialik following the demise of longtime emcee Alec Trebek — joked throughout Monday’s episode of The View that he hopes Wheel of Fortune has a neater time passing the torch than his personal sport present.
“Pat’s a legend. I mean, over 40 years and the price of a vowel has not gone up one penny. Like, nobody controlled inflation like Pat Sajak,” Jennings, 78, joked. “I mean, Jeopardy had its own succession crisis. Hopefully, ‘Wheel’s’ got an envelope saying what happens when Pat packs it in.”
While no successor has formally been named, reviews have surfaced that Ryan Seacrest is in talks to take Sajak’s spot. “Some sources say he’s the frontrunner. Others say he is just one of many interested,” Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw tweeted on Monday.
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