Chuck Woolery Susan Stafford
Wheel of Fortune (American game show) was presented by whom between Nov 1980 and Jan 1981?
Wheel of Fortune ( American game show ) Wheel of Fortune ( often known simply as Wheel ) is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin that debuted in 1975 . The show features a competition in which contestants solve word puzzles , similar to those used in Hangman , to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel . The current version of the series , which airs in nightly syndication , premiered on September 19 , 1983 . It stars Pat Sajak and Vanna White as host and co-host . The original version of Wheel was a daytime series on NBC from January 6 , 1975 , to June 30 , 1989 , then on CBS from July 17 , 1989 , to January 11 , 1991 , and again on NBC from January 14 , 1991 , until it was cancelled on September 20 , 1991 , thereby co-existing with the nighttime version from 1983 to 1991 . The network version was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford . Woolery left in 1981 , and was replaced by Sajak . Sajak left the network version in January 1989 to host his own late-night talk show , while remaining as host of the nighttime Wheel . Sajak was replaced in daytime by Rolf Benirschke , who was in turn replaced by Bob Goen when the network show moved to CBS ; Goen remained as host for the second NBC run . Stafford left in 1982 , and was replaced by White , who remained on the network show for the rest of its run . Sajak and White have hosted the nighttime version since its inception in 1983 . Jim Thornton has been the shows off-camera announcer since 2010 . Charlie ODonnell served as the shows announcer from its debut until 1980 , and again from 1989 until his death in 2010 . Jack Clark announced from 1980 to his death in 1988 , with M . G . Kelly succeeding him until ODonnells return . Two spin-off versions exist as well . The first was Wheel 2000 , a version featuring child contestants which aired simultaneously on CBS and Game Show Network between 1997 and 1998 ; this versions hosts were David Sidoni and Tanika Ray , the latter in the role of a CGI hostess named Cyber Lucy . The second , Celebrity Wheel of Fortune , began airing on ABC on January 7 , 2021 . Wheel of Fortune ranks as the longest-running syndicated game show in the United States , with 7,000 episodes taped and aired as of May 10 , 2019 . TV Guide named it the top-rated syndicated series in a 2008 article , and in 2013 , the magazine ranked it at No . 2 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever . The program has also come to gain a worldwide following with sixty international adaptations . The syndicated series 38th season premiered on September 14 , 2020 , and Sajak became the longest-running host of any game show , surpassing Bob Barker , who hosted The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007 . Gameplay . Main game . The core game is based on Hangman . Each round has a category and a blank word puzzle , with each blank representing a letter in the answer , and punctuation revealed as needed . Most puzzles are straightforward figures of speech that fit within a mostly static list of categories , and this list has evolved over the course of the series . Crossword puzzles were added to the rotation in 2016 . In such rounds , a clue bonding the words in the puzzle is given instead of a traditional category . Contestants win by solving all the words in the crossword by saying them in any order , but contestants may not repeat or add any word ( such as and ) while solving the crossword . The titular Wheel of Fortune is a roulette-style wheel mechanism with 24 spaces , most of which are labeled with dollar amounts ranging from $500 to $900 , plus a top dollar value : $2,500 in round 1 , $3,500 in rounds 2 and 3 , and $5,000 for round 4 and any subsequent rounds . The wheel also features two Bankrupt wedges and one Lose a Turn , both of which forfeit the contestants turn , with the former also eliminating any cash or prizes the contestant has accumulated within the round . Each game features three contestants , or occasionally , three two-contestant teams positioned behind a single scoreboard with its own flipper . The left scoreboard from the viewers perspective is colored red , the center yellow , and the right blue , with the contestants positions determined by a random selection prior to taping . A contestant spins the wheel to determine a dollar value and guess a consonant . Calling a correct letter earns the value before the corresponding flipper , multiplied by the number of times that the letter appears in the puzzle . It also allows the contestant to spin again , buy a vowel for a flat rate of $250 , or attempt to solve the puzzle . Contestants may continue to buy vowels so long as they have enough money to keep doing so , until all of the vowels in the puzzle have been revealed . Control passes to the next contestant clockwise if the wheel lands on Lose a Turn or Bankrupt , if the contestant calls a letter that is not in the puzzle , calls a letter that has already been called in that round , fails to call a letter within five seconds of the wheel stopping , or attempts unsuccessfully to solve the puzzle . The only exception is the Free Play wedge , on which the contestant may call a consonant for $500 per occurrence , call a free vowel , or attempt to solve the puzzle , with no penalty for a move that would normally result in a lost turn . In the first three rounds , the wheel contains a Wild Card and a Gift Tag . The Wild Card may be used to call an additional consonant after any turn ( for the amount that the contestant has just spun ) or taken to the bonus round to call an extra consonant there . The Gift Tag offers either a $1,000 credit toward purchases from , or $1,000 in cash courtesy of the sponsoring company . A special wedge in the first two rounds awards a prize . All of the tags and the prize wedge are located over the $500 wedges , so calling a letter that appears in the puzzle when landed upon awards both the tag/wedge and $500 per every occurrence of that letter in the puzzle . The first three rounds also contain a special wedge which , if won and taken to the bonus round , offers an opportunity to play that round for $1 million . A contestant must solve the puzzle in order to keep any cash , prizes , or extras accumulated during that round except for the Wild Card , which is kept until the contestant either loses it to Bankrupt or uses it . Bankrupt does not affect score from previous rounds , but it does take away the Wild Card and/or million dollar wedge if either was claimed in a previous round . Contestants who solve a round for less than $1,000 in cash and prizes ( $2,000 on weeks with two-contestant teams ) have their scores increased to that amount . Each game also features five toss-up puzzles , which reveal the puzzle one random letter at a time , and award cash to whoever rings in with the right answer . The first puzzle , worth $1,000 , determines who the host interviews first ; the second , worth $2,000 , determines who spins first in round 1 . The third through fifth , collectively the Triple Toss-Up , take place prior to the fourth round . In the Triple Toss-Up round , three consecutive Toss-Up puzzles are played , each having the same category and a common theme . Solving any of these awards $2,000 cash , while solving the third also earns the right to start the fourth round . Contestants may only ring in once for each toss-up puzzle , and no cash is awarded if all three contestants fail to solve the puzzle , or if the last letter is revealed . In this case , the contestant closest to the host goes first . In addition to the toss-ups , each game has a minimum of four rounds , with more played if time permits . Rounds 2 and 3 are respectively started by the next two contestants clockwise from the contestant who began round 1 . Round 2 features two mystery wedges . Calling a correct letter after landing upon one offers the contestant the chance to accept its face value of $1,000 per letter , or forfeit that amount to flip over the wedge and see whether its reverse side contains a $10,000 cash prize or Bankrupt . Once either mystery wedge is flipped over , the other becomes a standard $1,000 space and cannot be flipped . Round 3 is a prize puzzle , which offers a prize ( usually a trip ) to the contestant who solves it . Starting with season 31 in 2013 , an Express wedge is also placed on the wheel in round 3 . A contestant who lands on this space and calls a consonant that appears in the puzzle receives $1,000 per appearance . The contestant can then either pass and continue the round normally , or play and keep calling consonants for $1,000 each ( without spinning ) and buying vowels for $250 . The Express play ends when the contestant either calls an incorrect letter ( which has the same effect as landing on a Bankrupt wedge ) or solves the puzzle . The final round is always played at least in part in a speed-up format , in which the host spins the wheel ; each consonant in that round is worth the value at the red contestants arrow plus $1,000 . If this spin lands on Lose a Turn or Bankrupt , it is edited from the broadcast and the host spins the wheel again . Vowels do not add or deduct money from the contestants scores in the speed-up round . The contestant in control calls one letter , and if it appears in the puzzle , the contestant is given three seconds to attempt to solve . Play proceeds clockwise , starting with the contestant who was in control at the time of the final spin , until the puzzle is solved . The three-second timer does not begin until the hostess has revealed all instances of a called letter and moved aside from the puzzle board , and the contestant may offer multiple guesses on his/her turn . After the speed-up round , the contestant with the highest total winnings wins the game and advances to the bonus round . Contestants who did not solve any puzzles are awarded a consolation prize of $1,000 ( or $2,000 on weeks with two-contestant teams ) . If a tie for first place occurs after the speed-up round , an additional toss-up puzzle is played between the tied contestants . The contestant who solves the toss-up puzzle wins $1,000 , and advances to the bonus round . Bonus round . Since season 35 , the winning contestant chooses one of three puzzle categories before the round begins ( prior to season 35 , the category and puzzle were predetermined ) . After doing so , the contestant spins a smaller wheel with 24 envelopes to determine the prize . The puzzle is revealed , as is every instance of the letters R , S , T , L , N , and E . The contestant provides three more consonants and one more vowel . A contestant holding the Wild Card may then choose a fourth consonant . After any instances of those letters are revealed , the contestant has 10 seconds to solve the puzzle . The contestant can offer multiple guesses , as long as the contestant begins the correct answer before time expires . Whether or not the contestant solves the puzzle , the host opens the envelope at the end of the round to reveal the prize at stake . Prizes in the bonus round include various cash amounts ( with the lowest being the season number multiplied by $1,000 ) , a vehicle ( or two vehicles during weeks with two-contestant teams ) , and a top prize of $100,000 . If the contestant has the Million Dollar Wedge , the $100,000 envelope is replaced with a $1,000,000 envelope . The $1,000,000 prize has been awarded three times : to Michelle Loewenstein ( October 14 , 2008 ) , Autumn Erhard ( May 30 , 2013 ) , and Sarah Manchester ( September 17 , 2014 ) . Contestants who win the $1,000,000 may receive it in installments over 20 years , or in a lump sum of that amounts present value . If the contestant did not land on the $1,000,000 , the host reveals the location of the envelope on the prize wheel after the bonus round . Previous rules . Originally , after winning a round , contestants spent their winnings on prizes that were presented onstage . At any time during a shopping round , most often if the contestant did not have enough left to buy another prize , a contestant could choose to put his or her winnings either on a gift certificate or on account for use in a later shopping round . However , a contestant lost any money on account by landing on Bankrupt or failing to claim it by not winning subsequent rounds . The shopping element was eliminated from the syndicated version on the episode that aired October 5 , 1987 , both to speed up gameplay and to alleviate the taxes paid by contestants . However , the network version continued to use the shopping element until the end of its first NBC run on June 30 , 1989 . Before the introduction of toss-up puzzles at the start of the 18th syndicated season in 2000 , the contestant at the red arrow always started round 1 , with the next contestant clockwise starting each subsequent round . In addition , if a tie for first place occurred , an additional speed-up round was played between the tied contestants for the right to go to the bonus round . If a tie for first place occurred on the daytime version , all three players returned to continue the game on the next episode , and it counted as a single appearance . The wheel formerly featured a Free Spin wedge , which automatically awarded a token that the contestant could turn in after a lost turn to keep control of the wheel . It was replaced in 1989 with a single Free Spin token placed over a selected cash wedge . Free Spin was retired , and Free Play introduced , at the start of the 27th syndicated season in 2009 . Between September 16 , 1996 and the end of season 30 in 2013 , the show featured a progressive Jackpot wedge , which had been in several different rounds in its history . The jackpot began at $5,000 and had the value of every spin within the round added to it . To claim the jackpot , a contestant had to land on the wedge , call a correct letter , and solve the puzzle all in the same turn . In later years , it also offered $500 per correct letter and $500 to the jackpot , regardless of whether or not it was won in that turn . The network version allowed champions to appear for up to five days originally , which was later reduced to three . The syndicated version , which originally retired contestants after one episode , adopted the three-day champion rule at the start of the seventh season in 1989 . In 1996 , this was changed to have the top three winners from the weeks first four shows returned to compete in the Friday Finals . When the jackpot wedge was introduced , it began at $10,000 instead of $5,000 on Fridays . The rules allowing returning champions were eliminated permanently beginning with the syndicated episode aired September 21 , 1998 , and contestants appear only on a single episode , reverting to the pre-1989 rules . Before December 1981 , the show did not feature a permanent bonus round . However , two experimental bonus rounds were attempted before then . In 1978 , some episodes featured a round known as the Star Bonus , where a star-shaped token was placed on the wheel . Contestants who picked up the token played an additional round at the end of the game to win one of four prizes , whose value determined the difficulty of the puzzle . The contestant provided four consonants and a vowel , and was given 15 seconds to attempt solving . In one week of episodes airing in March 1980 , contestants who won the main game were given 30 seconds to attempt solving a puzzle for a chance to win a luxury automobile , in a week called Super Wheel Bonus Week . When the current bonus round was introduced in 1981 , no letters were provided automatically . The contestant asked for five consonants and a vowel , and then had fifteen seconds to attempt solving the puzzle . Also , bonus prizes were selected by the contestant at the start of the round . The current time limit and rules for letter selection were introduced on October 3 , 1988 . Starting on September 4 , 1989 , the first episode of the seventh syndicated season , bonus prizes were selected by the contestant choosing from one of five envelopes labeled W , H , E , E , and L . One prize was always $25,000 in cash , and the rest were changed weekly . Any prize that was won was taken out of rotation for the rest of the week . During seasons 16 through 18 ( 1998–2001 ) , the $25,000 remained in-place the entire week of shows regardless if it was won . At the start of season 19 on September 3 , 2001 , there were three car envelopes and two $25,000 envelopes , which were available the entire week of shows . These envelopes were replaced with the bonus wheel on October 22 , 2001 . Conception and development . Merv Griffin conceived Wheel of Fortune using inspiration from Hangman after recalling long car trips as a child , on which he and his sister played Hangman . After he discussed the idea with Merv Griffin Enterprises staff , they thought that the idea would work as a game show if it had a hook . He decided to add a roulette-style wheel because he was always drawn to such wheels when he saw them in casinos . He and MGEs then-president Murray Schwartz consulted an executive of Caesars Palace to find out how to build such a wheel . When Griffin pitched the idea for the show to Lin Bolen , then the head of NBCs daytime programming division , she approved , but wanted the show to have more glamour to attract the female audience . She suggested that Griffin incorporate a shopping element into the gameplay , and so , in 1973 , he created a pilot episode titled Shoppers Bazaar , with Chuck Woolery as host and Mike Lawrence as announcer . The pilot started with the three contestants being introduced individually , with Lawrence describing the prizes that they chose to play for . The main game was played to four rounds , with the values on the wheel wedges increasing after the second round . Unlike the show it evolved into , Shoppers Bazaar had a vertically mounted wheel , which was spun automatically rather than by the contestants . This wheel lacked the Bankrupt wedge and featured a wedge where a contestant could call a vowel for free , as well as a Your Own Clue wedge that allowed contestants to pick up a rotary telephone and hear a private clue about the puzzle . At the end of the game , the highest-scoring contestant played a bonus round called the Shoppers Special where all the vowels in the puzzle were already there , and the contestant had 30 seconds to call out consonants in the puzzle . Edd Byrnes , an actor from 77 Sunset Strip , served as host for the second and third pilots , both titled Wheel of Fortune . These pilots were directed by Marty Pasetta , who gave the show a Vegas feel that more closely resembled the look and feel that the actual show ended up having , a wheel that was now spun by the contestants themselves , and a lighted mechanical puzzle board with letters that were now manually turnable . Showcase prizes on these pilots were located behind the puzzle board , and during shopping segments a list of prizes and their price values scrolled on the right of the screen . By the time production began in December 1974 , Woolery was selected to host , the choice being made by Griffin after he reportedly heard Byrnes reciting A-E-I-O-U to himself in an effort to remember the vowels . Susan Stafford turned the letters on Byrnes pilot episodes , a role that she also held when the show was picked up as a series . Personnel . Hosts and hostesses . The original host of Wheel of Fortune was Chuck Woolery , who hosted the series from its 1975 premiere until December 25 , 1981 , save for one week in August 1980 when Alex Trebek hosted in his place . Woolerys departure came over a salary dispute with show creator Merv Griffin , and his contract was not renewed . On December 28 , 1981 , Pat Sajak made his debut as the host of Wheel . Griffin said that he chose Sajak for his odd sense of humor . NBC president and CEO Fred Silverman objected as he felt Sajak , who at the time of his hiring was the weatherman for KNBC , was too local for a national audience . Griffin countered by telling Silverman he would stop production if Sajak was not allowed to become host , and Silverman acquiesced . Sajak hosted the daytime series until January 9 , 1989 , when he left to host a late-night talk show for CBS . Rolf Benirschke , a former placekicker in the National Football League , was chosen as his replacement and hosted for a little more than five months . Benirschkes term as host came to an end due to NBCs cancellation of the daytime Wheel after fourteen years , with its final episode airing on June 30 , 1989 . When the newly formatted daytime series returned on CBS on July 17 , 1989 , Bob Goen became its host . The daytime program continued for a year and a half on CBS , then returned to NBC on January 14 , 1991 and continued until September 20 , 1991 when it was cancelled for a second and final time . Susan Stafford was the original hostess , serving in that role from the premiere until October 1982 . Stafford was absent for two extended periods , once in 1977 after fracturing two vertebrae in her back and once in 1979 after an automobile accident . During these two extended absences , former Miss USA Summer Bartholomew was Staffords most frequent substitute , with model Cynthia Washington and comedian Arte Johnson also filling in for Stafford . After Stafford left to become a humanitarian worker , over two hundred applicants signed up for a nationwide search to be her replacement . Griffin eventually narrowed the list to three finalists , which consisted of Summer Bartholomew , former Playboy centerfold Vicki McCarty , and Vanna White . Griffin gave each of the three women an opportunity to win the job by putting them in a rotation for several weeks after Staffords departure . In December 1982 , Griffin named White as Staffords successor , saying that he felt she was capable of activating the puzzle board letters ( which is the primary role of the Wheel hostess ) better than anyone else who had auditioned . White became highly popular among the young female demographic , and also gained a fanbase of adults interested in her daily wardrobe , in a phenomenon that has been referred to as Vannamania . White also hosted the daytime version until its cancellation in 1991 , except for one week in June 1986 when Stafford returned so that White could recover after her fiancé , John Gibson , died in a plane crash . Sajak and White have starred on the syndicated version continuously as host and hostess , respectively , since it began , except for very limited occasions . During two weeks in January 1991 , Tricia Gist , the girlfriend and future wife of Griffins son Tony , filled in for White when she and her new husband , restaurateur George San Pietro , were honeymooning . Gist returned for the week of episodes airing March 11 through 15 , 1991 , because White had a cold at the time of taping . On an episode in November 1996 , when Sajak proved unable to host the bonus round segment because of laryngitis , he and White traded places for that segment . On the March 4 , 1997 episode , Rosie ODonnell co-hosted the third round with White after ODonnells name was used in a puzzle . On April 1 , 1997 , Sajak and Alex Trebek traded jobs for the day . Sajak hosted that days edition of Jeopardy ! in place of Trebek . Trebek presided over a special two-contestant Wheel celebrity match between Sajak and White , who were playing for the Boy Scouts of America and the American Cancer Society , respectively . Lesly Sajak , Pats wife , was the guest hostess for the day . In January and February 2011 , the show held a Vanna for a Day contest in which home viewers submitted video auditions to take Whites place for one episode , with the winner determined by a poll on the shows website . The winner of this contest , Katie Cantrell of Wooster , Ohio ( a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design ) , took Whites place for the second and third rounds on the episode that aired March 24 , 2011 . In November 2019 , three weeks of episodes were taped with White hosting in Sajaks place while he recovered from intestinal surgery . During her time as hostess , several guests appeared at the puzzle board , including costumed performers of Mickey and Minnie Mouse ( during the Secret Santa shows ) , and Maggie Sajak ( Sajaks daughter ) . Announcers . Charlie ODonnell was the programs first and longest tenured announcer . In 1980 , NBC was discussing cancelling Wheel and ODonnell agreed to take the position as announcer on The Toni Tennille Show . The network decided against the cancellation but ODonnell decided to honor his commitment and left the series . His replacement was Jack Clark , who added the syndicated series to his responsibilities when it premiered in 1983 and announced for both series until his death in July 1988 . Los Angeles radio personality M . G . Kelly was Clarks replacement , starting on the daytime series in August 1988 and on the syndicated series when its new season launched a month later . Kelly held these positions until ODonnell was able to return to the announcer position , doing so after his duties with Barris Industries came to an end at the end of the 1988–89 television season . ODonnell remained with the series until shortly before his death in November 2010 . Don Pardo , Don Morrow , and Johnny Gilbert have occasionally served as substitute announcers . After ODonnells death , the producers sought a permanent replacement , and a series of substitutes filled out the rest of the season , including Gilbert , John Cramer , Joe Cipriano , Rich Fields , Lora Cain , and Jim Thornton . For the shows twenty-ninth season , which began in 2011 , Thornton was chosen to be the shows fourth announcer . Production staff . Wheel of Fortune typically employs a total of 100 in-house production personnel , with 60 to 100 local staff joining them for those episodes that are taped on location . Griffin was the executive producer of the network version throughout its entire run , and served as the syndicated versions executive producer until his retirement in 2000 . Since 1999 , the title of executive producer has been held by Harry Friedman , who had shared his title with Griffin for his first year , and had earlier served as a producer starting in 1995 . On August 1 , 2019 , Sony Pictures Television announced that Friedman would retire as executive producer of both Wheel and Jeopardy ! at the end of the 2019–20 season . On August 29 , 2019 , Sony Pictures Television announced that Mike Richards will replace Friedman at the start of 2020–21 season . John Rhinehart was the programs first producer , but departed in August 1976 to become NBCs West Coast Daytime Program Development Director . Afterwards , his co-producer , Nancy Jones , was promoted to sole producer , and served as such until 1995 , when Friedman succeeded her . In the 15th syndicated season in 1997 , Karen Griffith and Steve Schwartz joined Friedman as producers . They were later promoted to supervising producers , with Amanda Stern occupying Griffiths and Schwartzs former position . The shows original director was Jeff Goldstein , who was succeeded by Dick Carson ( a brother of Johnny Carson ) in 1978 . Mark Corwin , who had served as associate director under Carson , took over for him upon his retirement at the end of the 1998–99 season , and served as such until he himself died in July 2013 ( although episodes already taped before his death continued airing until late 2013 ) . Jeopardy ! director Kevin McCarthy , Corwins associate director Bob Cisneros , and Wheel and Jeopardy ! technical director Robert Ennis filled in at various points until Cisneros became full-time director in November 2013 . Ennis returned as guest director for the weeks airing October 13 through 17 and November 17 through 21 , 2014 , as Cisneros was recovering from neck surgery at the time of taping . With the start of the 33rd season on September 14 , 2015 , Ennis was promoted to full-time director . Production . Wheel of Fortune is owned by Sony Pictures Television ( previously known as Columbia TriStar Television , the successor company to original producer Merv Griffin Enterprises ) . The production company and copyright holder of all episodes to date is Califon Productions , Inc. , which like SPT has Sony Pictures for its active registered agent , and whose name comes from a New Jersey town where Griffin once owned a farm . The rights to distribute the show worldwide are owned by CBS Media Ventures , into which original distributor King World Productions was folded in 2007 . The show was originally taped in Studio 4 at NBC Studios in Burbank . Upon NBCs 1989 cancellation of the network series , production moved to Studio 33 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles , where it remained until 1995 . Since then , the show has occupied Stage 11 at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City . Some episodes are also recorded on location , a tradition which began with two weeks of episodes taped at Radio City Music Hall in late 1988 . Recording sessions usually last for five or six episodes in one day . Set . Various changes have been made to the basic set since the syndicated versions premiere in 1983 . In 1997 , a large video display was added center stage , which was then upgraded in 2003 as the show began the transition into high-definition broadcasting . In the mid-1990s , the show began a long-standing tradition of nearly every week coming with its own unique theme . As a result , in addition to its generic design , the set also uses many alternate designs , which are unique to specific weekly sets of themed programs . The most recent set design was conceived by production designer Renee Hoss-Johnson , with later modifications by Jody Vaclav . Previous set designers included Ed Flesh and Dick Stiles . Shoppers Bazaar used a vertically mounted wheel which was often difficult to see on-screen . Ed Flesh , who also designed the sets for The $25,000 Pyramid and Jeopardy! , redesigned the wheel mechanism , in which the wheel lays flat while a camera zooms in from above . The first incarnation of the wheel was mostly made of paint and cardboard , and has since seen multiple design changes . Until the mid-1990s , the wheel spun automatically during the opening and closing of the show . The current incarnation , in use since 2003 , is framed on a steel tube surrounded by Plexiglas panels and contains more than 200 lighting instruments . It is held by a stainless steel shaft with roller bearings . Altogether , the wheel weighs approximately . The wheel , including its light extensions , is in diameter . The shows original puzzle board had three rows of 13 manually operated trilons , for a total of 39 spaces . On December 21 , 1981 , a larger board with 48 trilons in four rows ( 11 , 13 , 13 , and 11 trilons ) was adopted . This board was surrounded by a double-arched border of lights which flashed at the beginning and end of the round . Each trilon had three sides : a green side to represent spaces not used by the puzzle , a blank side to indicate a letter that had not been revealed , and a side with a letter on it . While the viewer saw a seamless transition to the next puzzle , with these older boards in segments where more than one puzzle was present , a stop-down of taping took place during which the board was wheeled offstage and the new puzzle loaded in by hand out of sight of the contestants . On February 24 , 1997 , the show introduced a computerized puzzle board composed of 52 touch-activated monitors in four rows ( 12 on the top and bottom rows , 14 in the middle two ) . To illuminate a letter during regular gameplay , the hostess touches the right edge of the monitor to reveal it . The computerized board obviated the stop-downs , allowing tapings to finish quicker at a lower cost to the production company . Although not typically seen by viewers , the set also includes a used letter board that shows contestants which letters are remaining in play , a scoreboard that is visible from the contestants perspective , and a countdown clock . The used letter board is also used during the bonus round , and in at least one case , helped the contestant to see unused letters to solve a difficult puzzle . Accommodations for COVID-19 pandemic . In March 2020 , Sony suspended production of the show due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In August 2020 , taping resumed with new safety measures . Taping is currently ongoing . New episodes tape without studio audiences ; only essential staff and crew are allowed on stage . Personal protective equipment is also provided to everyone behind the scenes for their safety . All staff and crew undergo testing on a regular basis , while contestants are tested before they step onto the set . Additionally , social distancing measures are enforced both on the set and off stage , and Sajaks and the players podiums have thus been widened to allow for greater distance during gameplay . Contestants spin the wheel with a white , tube-like device that fits over the wheels pegs so they do not have to touch the wheel directly ; Sajak also spins the wheel with his own device during the final spin . During the bonus round , Sajak picks up the prize envelope instead of the contestant and remains at the bonus wheel for the duration of the round . These new episodes began airing September 14 , 2020 when the shows 38th nighttime season premiered . Many season 37 episodes were taped before the pandemic began and before public health authorities had started enforcing current safety regulations . Because these episodes do not employ cautionary measures and were only aired in the middle of the crisis , they were broadcast with a message at the beginning stating that they had been taped before the pandemic started ( as not to mislead audiences into thinking incorrectly that the producers were ignoring public health advice ) . Music . Alan Thicke composed the shows original theme , which was titled Big Wheels . In 1983 , it was replaced by Griffins own composition , Changing Keys , to allow him to derive royalties from that compositions use on both the network and syndicated versions . Steve Kaplan became music director starting with the premiere of the 15th syndicated season in 1997 , and continued to serve as such until he was killed when the Cessna 421C Golden Eagle he was piloting crashed into a home in Claremont , California , in December 2003 . His initial theme was a remix of Changing Keys , but by the 18th syndicated season ( 2000–01 ) , he had replaced it with a composition of his own , which was titled Happy Wheels . Since 2006 , music direction has been handled by Frankie Blue and John Hoke . Themes they have written for the show include a remix of Happy Wheels and an original rock-based composition . In addition to Changing Keys , Griffin also composed various incidental music cues for the syndicated version which were used for announcements of prizes in the shows early years . Among them were Frisco Disco ( earlier the closing theme for a revival of Jeopardy ! which aired in 1978 and 1979 ) , A Time for Tony ( whose basic melody evolved into Think! , the longtime theme song for Jeopardy! ) , Buzzword ( later used as the theme for Merv Griffins Crosswords ) , Nightwalk , Struttin on Sunset , and an untitled vacation cue . Audition process . Anyone at least 18 years old has the potential to become a contestant through Wheel of Fortunes audition process . Exceptions include employees and immediate family members of ViacomCBS , Sony Pictures Entertainment , or any of their respective affiliates or subsidiaries ; any firm involved in supplying prizes for the show ; and television stations that broadcast Wheel and/or Jeopardy! , their sister radio stations , and those advertising agencies that are affiliated with them . Also ineligible to apply as contestants are individuals who have appeared on a different game show within the previous year , three other game shows within the past ten years , or on any version of Wheel of Fortune itself . Throughout the year , the show uses a custom-designed Winnebago recreational vehicle called the Wheelmobile to travel across the United States , holding open auditions at various public venues . Participants are provided with entry forms which are then drawn randomly . Individuals whose names are drawn appear on stage , five at a time , and are interviewed by traveling host Marty Lublin . The group of five then plays a mock version of the speed-up round , and five more names are selected after a puzzle is solved . Everyone who is called onstage receives a themed prize , usually determined by the spin of a miniature wheel . Auditions typically last two days , with three one-hour segments per day . After each Wheelmobile event , the most promising candidates are invited back to the city in which the first audition was held , to participate in a second audition . Alternatively , a participant may submit an audition form with a self-shot video through the shows website to enter an audition . Contestants not appearing on stage at Wheelmobile events have their applications retained and get drawn at random to fill second-level audition vacancies . At the second audition , potential contestants play more mock games featuring a miniature wheel and puzzle board , followed by a 16-puzzle test with some letters revealed . The contestants have five minutes to solve as many puzzles as they can by writing in the correct letters . The people who pass continue the audition , playing more mock games which are followed by interviews . Broadcast history . Wheel of Fortune premiered on January 6 , 1975 , at 10:30 am ( 9:30 Central ) on NBC . Lin Bolen , then the head of daytime programming , purchased the show from Griffin to compensate him for canceling the original Jeopardy ! series , which had one year remaining on its contract . Jeopardy ! aired its final episode on the Friday before Wheels premiere . The original Wheel aired on NBC , in varying time slots between 10:30 am and noon , until June 30 , 1989 . Throughout that versions run , episodes were generally 30 minutes in length , except for six weeks of shows aired between December 1975 and January 1976 which were 60 minutes in length . NBC announced the cancellation of the show in August 1980 , but it stayed on the air following a decision to cut the duration of The David Letterman Show from 90 to 60 minutes . The network Wheel moved to CBS on July 17 , 1989 , and remained there until January 14 , 1991 . After that , it briefly returned to NBC , replacing Lets Make a Deal , but was canceled permanently on September 20 of that year . The daily syndicated nighttime version of Wheel premiered on September 19 , 1983 . From its debut , the syndicated version offered a larger prize budget than its network counterpart . The show came from humble beginnings : King World chairmen Roger , Michael , and Robert King could initially find only 50 stations that were willing to carry the show , and since they could not find affiliates for the syndicated Wheel in New York , Los Angeles , or Chicago , Philadelphia was the largest market in which the show could succeed in its early days . Only nine stations carried the show from its beginning , but by midseason it was airing on all 50 of the stations that were initially willing to carry it , and by the beginning of 1984 the show was available to 99 percent of television households . Soon , Wheel succeeded Family Feud as the highest-rated syndicated show , and at the beginning of the 1984–85 season , Griffin followed up on the shows success by launching a syndicated revival of Jeopardy! , hosted by Alex Trebek . The syndicated success of Wheel and Jeopardy ! siphoned ratings from the periods three longest-running and most popular game shows , Tic-Tac-Dough , The Jokers Wild , and Family Feud , to the point that all three series came to an end by the fall of 1986 . At this point , Wheel had the highest ratings of any syndicated television series in history , and at the peak of the shows popularity , over 40 million people were watching five nights per week . The series , along with companion series Jeopardy! , remained the most-watched syndicated program in the United States until dethroned by Judge Judy in 2011 . The program has become Americas longest-running syndicated game show and its second-longest in either network or syndication , second to the version of The Price Is Right which began airing in 1972 . In 1992 , the show began airing on most of the owned-and-operated stations for ABC , currently known as the ABC Owned Television Stations . The syndicated Wheel has become part of the consciousness of over 90 million Americans , and awarded a total of over $200 million in cash and prizes to contestants . The popularity of Wheel of Fortune has led it to become a worldwide franchise , with over forty known adaptations in international markets outside the United States . Versions of the show have existed in such countries as Australia , , Denmark , France , , Italy , Malaysia , New Zealand , the Philippines , Poland , Russia , Spain , the United Kingdom , and . The American version of Wheel has honored its international variants with an occasional theme of special weeks known as Wheel Around the World , the inaugural episode of which aired when the 23rd syndicated season premiered on September 12 , 2005 . Between September 1997 and January 1998 , CBS and Game Show Network concurrently aired a special childrens version of the show titled Wheel 2000 . It was hosted by David Sidoni , with Tanika Ray providing voice and motion capture for a CGI hostess named Cyber Lucy . Created by Scott Sternberg , the spin-off featured special gameplay in which numerous rules were changed . For example , the shows child contestants competed for points and prizes instead of cash , with the eventual winner playing for a grand prize in the bonus round . In November 2020 , ABC ordered a prime time spin-off show , Celebrity Wheel of Fortune , with Richards as executive producer and Sajak and White as hosts , which premiered on January 7 , 2021 . Each hour-long episode consists of two complete games , with the same three celebrities playing on behalf of designated charities in both . In May 2021 , ABC renewed Celebrity Wheel of Fortune for a second season . Reception . Wheel of Fortune has long been one of the highest-rated programs on U.S . syndicated television . It was the highest-rated show in all of syndication before it was dethroned by Two and a Half Men in the 28th season ( 2010–11 ) . The syndicated Wheel shared the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show with Jeopardy ! in 2011 , and Sajak won three Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Game Show Host—in 1993 , 1997 , and 1998 . In a 2001 issue , TV Guide ranked Wheel number 25 among the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time , and in 2013 , the magazine ranked it number 2 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever , second only to Jeopardy ! In August 2006 , the show was ranked number 6 on GSNs list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows . Wheel was the subject of many nominations in GSNs Game Show Awards special , which aired on June 6 , 2009 . The show was nominated for Best Game Show , but lost to Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? ; Sajak and White were nominated for Best Game Show Host , but lost to Deal or No Deals Howie Mandel ; and ODonnell was considered for Best Announcer but lost to Rich Fields from The Price Is Right . One of the catchphrases uttered by contestants , Id like to buy a vowel , was considered for Favorite Game Show Catch Phrase , but lost to Come on down! , the announcers catchphrase welcoming new contestants to Price . The sound effect heard at the start of a new regular gameplay round won the award for Favorite Game Show Sound Effect . The sound heard when the wheel lands on Bankrupt was also nominated . Despite having been retired from the show for nearly a decade by that point , Changing Keys was nominated for Best Game Show Theme Song . However , it lost to its fellow Griffin composition , Think ! from Jeopardy ! A hall of fame honoring Wheel of Fortune is part of the Sony Pictures Studios tour , and was introduced on the episode aired May 10 , 2010 . Located in the same stage as the shows taping facility , this hall of fame features memorabilia related to Wheels syndicated history , including retired props , classic merchandise , photographs , videos , and a special case dedicated to Whites wardrobe . Two years later , in 2012 , the show was honored with a Ride of Fame on a double-decker tour bus in New York City . Merchandise . Numerous board games based on Wheel of Fortune have been released by different toy companies . The games are all similar , incorporating a wheel , puzzle display board , play money and various accessories like Free Spin tokens . Milton Bradley released the first board game in 1975 . In addition to all the supplies mentioned above , the game included 20 prize cards to simulate the shopping prizes of the show , with prizes ranging in value from $100 to $3,000 . Two editions were released , with the only differences being the box art and the included books of puzzles . Other home versions were released by Pressman Toy Corporation , Tyco/Mattel , Parker Brothers , Endless Games , and Irwin Toys . Additionally , several video games based on the show have been released for personal computers , the Internet , and various gaming consoles spanning multiple hardware generations . Most games released in the 20th century were published by GameTek , which produced a dozen Wheel games on various platforms , starting with a Nintendo Entertainment System game released in 1987 and continuing until the company closed in 1998 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection . Subsequent games were published by Hasbro Interactive and its acquirer Infogrames/Atari ; Sony Online Entertainment , THQ and Ubisoft . Wheel has also been licensed to International Game Technology for use in its slot machines . The games are all loosely based on the show , with contestants given the chance to spin the wheel to win a jackpot prize . Since 1996 , over 200 slot games based on the show have been created , both for real-world casinos and those on the Internet . With over 1,000 wins awarded in excess of $1,000,000 and over $3 billion in jackpots delivered , Wheel has been regarded as the most successful slots brand of all time .