Michelle Loewenstein, $1,026,800 on Wheel of Fortune. Michelle Loewenstein actually did it. Loewenstein had just returned from her honeymoon when she became a contestant on the show. With the phrase “leaky faucet,” she became the first contestant in Wheel of Fortune history to win a million dollars.
Wheel of Fortune (not to be confused with the Merv Griffin-created show of the same name) was a short-lived daytime and primetime game show where people who have done good deeds were rewarded. To be eligible as a contestant on this show, a person must have done a good deed. Heroes, good.

Pat Sajak is in his 38^th year as Host of Wheel of Fortune. He joined America’s Game® in 1981, when the show aired on network daytime television. The top-ranked syndicated version made its debut in 1983, with Sajak at the helm.

Play games, enter sweepstakes, check your SPIN ID, apply to be a contestant and get to know Pat and Vanna. Official site of America's Game®. Wheel of Fortune: 35 Years as America’s Game. Wednesdays to Sundays 12:00 to 6:00 pm, 12:00 to 8:00 pm on Thursdays; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The Paley Center is thrilled to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Wheel of Fortune, the highest rated syndicated show in television history, with an event with Pat Sajak and Vanna White in person on.

Since then, he has earned three Emmy® Awards, a People’s Choice Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In June 2011, Sajak was honored again by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences when he was presented with the Daytime Emmy® Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. In April 2018, he was inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, along with Co-Host, Vanna White; Executive Producer, Harry Friedman; and Wheel of Fortune, itself. Most recently, on March 22, 2019, Pat Sajak was recognized by Guinness World Records® for having “the longest career as a game show host for the same show,” totaling 35 years and 198 days when presented.

“I was very lucky in that I always knew that I wanted to be in broadcasting,” says Sajak. “My early heroes were people like Arthur Godfrey, Dave Garroway, Steve Allen and, especially, Jack Paar. They helped shape what a television personality was, paving the way for so many others.”

Sajak was born and raised in Chicago, where he broke into broadcasting as a newscaster and announcer at a small radio station. He joined the Army in 1968 and was sent to Vietnam. There, he spent a year and a half with Armed Forces Radio in Saigon — and, like Robin Williams in the feature film of the same name, he started each day by shouting, “Good morning, Vietnam!”

Following his discharge, Sajak spent a year at another small radio station in Murray, Ky. He then decided to move to the nearest big city, Nashville, and enter the television business. Sajak was hired by WSM-TV as a staff announcer, eventually expanding his role to talk shows and weather reporting. There, he was spotted by a talent scout for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles and, in 1977, he joined that station as its weatherman.

Four years later, he was chosen by Wheel of Fortune’screator, Merv Griffin, to assume hosting duties on the series’ network daytime edition. In 1983, the nighttime version of the show was launched, and it has been one of the top-rated syndicated TV programs ever since.

Quick Bits:

Wheel of Fortune
Genre	Game show
Created by	Merv Griffin
Presented by	Nicky Campbell Bradley Walsh John Leslie Paul Hendy
Starring	Angela Ekaette Carol Smillie Jenny Powell Tracy Shaw Terri Seymour
Voices of	Steve Hamilton
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	14
No. of episodes	746
Production
Running time	30 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company(s)	Scottish Television Enterprises
Distributor	King World Productions The Walt Disney Company Limited and Action Time Productions (1988-1989) Buena Vista International Television (1991)
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	19 July 1988 – 21 December 2001
Chronology
Related shows	Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune is a British television game show based on the American show of the same name created by Merv Griffin. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that contestants spin throughout the course of the game to determine their cash and/or prizes. The programme aired between 19 July 1988 and 21 December 2001 and was produced by Scottish Television in association with King World Productions^[a], and with for the ITV network - having effectively replaced Now You See It as STV's prime time game show offering for the ITV network. It mostly follows the same general format from the original version of the programme from the United States, with a few minor differences.

2Prizes
7Transmissions
- 7.2Specials
  - 7.2.1Regional transmissions information

Gameplay[edit]

Unlike the American version, where the numbers on the wheel correspond to the amount of money won by each contestant, the British version instead referred to these amounts as 'points' – they had no cash value, their only purpose was to determine the grand finalist, or to choose a winner for a particular round. There was a reason for this: between 1960 and 1992, the Independent Broadcasting Authority and for the last two years its successor the Independent Television Commission imposed caps on the top prize game shows could give away per week, and standardising the prize on offer per episode ensured the programme did not breach the set limits.

Points earned from all players carried on to proceeding rounds, and only scores for the current round were susceptible to Bankrupts, meaning a winner could be crowned that never solved a puzzle, but acquired a large number of points. This rule would actually encourage sacrificing a player's turn if he or she did not know the puzzle rather than risking his or her points by spinning again.

For the first three series, before the recordin

Wheel Of Fortune Game Show History