| Pat Sajak |
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Pat Sajak (born '''Patrick Leonard Sajak''' on October 26 , 1946 ), is an Emmy Award -winning Television Personality and one-time Talk Show host, best known as the host of the popular and long-running American Television Game Show , '' Wheel Of Fortune ''. BIOGRAPHY Early life Sajak, son of a Polish American trucking foreman, was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois . His mother, Joyce, remarried to Walter Backal. During his elementary years, he attended Goethe Elementary School , as well as Gary Elementary School. He graduated Farragut High School in 1964 and then went on to Columbia College Chicago . Career Sajak won a contest on ''. In 1981, Merv Griffin , the designer of '' Jeopardy! '' and ''Wheel of Fortune,'' asked Pat if he would be interested in taking over the duties as host of ''Wheel of Fortune'' from Chuck Woolery . Pat, who already had hosted a few game show pilots, accepted the position. From 1983 to 1989, Sajak hosted both the daytime (NBC) and nighttime (syndicated) versions of ''Wheel of Fortune''. He still hosts the syndicated nighttime version of the show. 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 . Since 1995, ''Wheel of Fortune'' and ''Jeopardy!'' have been produced at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City . In 1997, as part of an April Fool's joke, Sajak and Alex Trebek switched jobs. Sajak hosted ''Jeopardy!'' and became a contestant along with the hostess Vanna White on ''Wheel of Fortune'', which Trebek hosted. Both Sajak and White played for charity, he for the Boy Scouts Of America and she for the American Cancer Society . Sajak's wife Lesly took Vanna's place on the letter board. On an episode which aired in 2000, Sajak's children Patrick and Maggie delivered the show's closing comments in place of their father and White. Sajak hosted a Late-night Talk Show on CBS from January 9 , 1989 - April 13 , 1990 that failed to make ratings headway against Johnny Carson . 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 also is an External Director of , 2007 . Sajak once commented on ''Wheel of Fortune'' that his star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame has the wrong emblem. His emblem is a movie camera when it should be a TV set. He quipped on the show that "someone should pry it off and sell it on eBay - it's a collectible!". Personal life Pat is married to his second wife Lesly Brown, and has a son named Patrick and a daughter named Maggie. The couple lives in Severna Park, Maryland . One of Sajak's philanthropies is an expansion of the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland ; it is named the Sajak Pavilion in honor of his donations. He is also part-owner of Annapolis radio station WNAV 1430, which broadcasts Naval Academy events and other local items of interest, and Westminster, Maryland radio station WTTR , which plays Oldies . He has also donated $100,000 to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. References in popular culture Pat Sajak has been referenced and parodied in many TV shows, movies, and Animated Television Series .
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