The television world is about to lose a legend.
On Monday, Pat Sajak announced he would be retiring after the upcoming 41st season of Wheel of Fortune, which begins filming in September.
“Well, the time has come. I have decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be our last,” the iconic host wrote on Twitter.
“It was a wonderful race, and I will have more to say in the months to come. Thank you to all of you. (If nothing else, this will keep clickbait sites busy!)”
Sajak hinted that he wouldn’t host Wheel of Fortune forever in an interview with Entertainment Tonight last year.
“We are nearing the end,” the 76-year-old said at the time. “We’re not going to do this for 40 years. The end is near.”
Sajak debuted as the host of Wheel of Fortune in 1981.
He had previously worked as a meteorologist for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles.
In a statement to People magazine and other celebrity gossip websites, Suzanne Prete, executive vice president of game shows at Sony Pictures Television, also confirmed Sajak’s upcoming retirement.
However, she noted that he would serve as a consultant on the program for the next three years.
“As host of Wheel of Fortune, Pat entertained millions of viewers across America for an incredible 40 years,” Prete said. “We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years and look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season. Pat has agreed to continue as a consultant on the show for three years into his final year in animation, so we’re thrilled that he remains close to the Wheel of Fortune family!
Sajak was joined on Wheel of Fortune by co-host and letter-turner Vanna White for all but one season of her time on the show.
“We are a team,” White told ET in 2022 of Sajak possibly walking away. ” It’s depressing. I don’t even want to think about it.
Sajak broke the Guinness World Record for longest-serving game show host in 2019… surpassing Bob Barker, who hosted The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007.
“It’s an honor to have been in people’s living rooms for so long,” Sajak also told ET.
No replacement has yet been named for Sajak.
From what we can gather, White has no intention of following his good friend out the door.
“When I started hosting Wheel (with Susan Stafford) on this date 40 years ago, top 10 TV shows included Dallas, Three’s Company, The Jeffersons and The Dukes of Hazzard,” Sajak tweeted in December 2021. .
“Ronald Reagan was in his 1st year as president. Song number 1: “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John.
What a race! We wish Pat Sajak the best.