As Wheel of Fortunefans and host Pat Sajak count down the episodes until he officially retires from the popular, long-running game show, the 77-year-old sat down with his daughter Maggie for a special interview recounting his life and career.
The official YouTube account for the show shared the first part of the conversation on social media on Monday, June 3, saying, “Who’s cutting onions in here?? 🥹🥹 Today kicks off the first of Maggie’s exclusive 4-part interview series with Pat, Thanks For The Memories, in honor of her dad’s final week as host of Wheel of Fortune.”
Previewing the other parts of the interview, the account promised “a few tears and, if you know Pat, more than a few laughs” in honor of the host’s 41 seasons.
After Maggie thanked her father for participating in the “farewell interview,” Sajak joked, “It was between you and 60 Minutes.” She then asked him about how he was as a kid.
Sajak noted that many described him as “witty,” before admitting that he didn’t dream of being a game show host as a kid but was always drawn to broadcasting, thanks in part to his great aunt.
He described how “she loved radio and television, and when I’d be at her house…she had radio talk shows on with broadcasters. But they really influenced me and I kind of grew up in that environment.”
At the start of his career, he said he “begged” for a job at a radio station and was hired thanks to some lucky timing, telling Maggie, “One time I went, probably the 12th time I barged in, a half hour before one of the staff announcers had announced he was retiring, and they said, ‘Okay, go down and do a tape for us.’” They ended up giving him the job and he worked there for five years.
Fans shared how thankful they were for Sajak as they reacted to the new interview, with one writing on Instagram that the conversation “got me all emotional here!!😭.”
“This man is an icon of my childhood,” said another, as a third replied, “We love Pat and will miss him dearly!❤️.”
The father-daughter duo talked about a lot more throughout the interview and there are sure to be more fun tidbits coming out this week as Sajak says goodbye.
