FAQ

Given the number of years Wheel of Fortune has been on and the scope of this Wiki, there are some frequently-asked questions about various elements. This page will attempt to answer some of them.

Was the show always called Wheel of Fortune?
The show was originally called Shopper's Bazaar when it was first developed in 1973. The more familiar title appears to have been introduced in early August 1974, as a Variety blurb from July 31 uses the original name.

Does the 1973 pilot still exist?
While creator Merv Griffin and Lin Bolen (then NBC's Vice President of Daytime Programming) did not like it, admitting its shortcomings during the show's E! True Hollywood Story, Shopper's Bazaar nonetheless exists and can be found online. Interestingly, Wheel is aware of this fact.

The most likely reason why it never showed up anywhere until 2012 is music rights, as instrumental versions of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Spinning Wheel" were used as the main and commercial outro themes, respectively.

How many versions have there been?
In the United States, three: the original 1975-91 daytime series, the 1983-current nighttime run, and the 1997-98 spinoff Wheel 2000.

The show has been exported to quite a few countries since 1975; info on them can be found here, including two adaptations of Wheel 2000.

So why did the daytime version end?
The daytime show's demise can be traced back to several factors, all following Pat's departure:


 * His replacement by Rolf Benirschke, a former football player who had rarely been on television and never hosted a game show until doing an audition for Merv's Windfall (which led to Wheel). While a genial person, Rolf was visibly nervous and uncomfortable initially; this was not helped by a single pre-emption which caused his first four shows to air the same week as Pat's last day.
 * The Price Is Right continuing to climb the Nielsen ratings and, despite being head to head with the show's first half, Wheel managing to remain consistent in the audience figures it had prior to Pat's departure. While it is likely that some of the Wheel audience tuned out after Pat left, this was clearly a negligible number.
 * As a result of the show becoming a progressively more distant #2 in the ratings, NBC and Merv were unable to come up with a license fee agreement. NBC cancelled the show, kicking them out from Burbank after the June 30 episode despite the studio contract being scheduled to expire in 1990. CBS quickly picked up Wheel for a July 17 return, giving it an audiovisual makeover and a new host in Bob Goen.
 * At about this point, the game show genre as a whole began a downslide that would not fully manifest until 1995. Upon moving to CBS, the Wheel ratings began falling, which did not stop even after returning to the NBC schedule in January 1991.
 * Following the return to NBC, the show held at least three play-by-phone contests in an attempt to boost ratings; none worked, and may have been seen as a last-ditch grab for ratings.

Daytime Wheel took its last bow on September 20, 1991 after three weeks of repeats, having made a grand total of 4,215 episodes.

What about Wheel 2000?
While the child-oriented version followed in its adult predecessors' footsteps by consistently being #1 among CBS' children's programming, it finished (after its last first-run episode on February 7, 1998) in 46th place overall with approximately 350,000 viewers. This was still better than the average for the entire lineup CBS was offering that season, which continually ran a distant fourth with a 0.5 (about 190,000 viewers).

On January 8, with five episodes left to air, CBS announced that it would be overhauling its weekend schedule, replacing everything with new cartoons by Nelvana (Anatole, Mythic Warriors, Birdz, and Flying Rhino Junior High). Birdz ran for just one season of 13 episodes, while the others got two seasons and 26 episodes.

The show's demise has actually left at least one notable effect on the adult version: unlike Jep! (a child-oriented version of Jeopardy! whose one-season demise paved the way for regular Kids' Weeks), the adult Wheel has never used children as contestants, even during a 2011 Family Week that was sponsored and promoted by Wendy's solely through their Kids' Meals.

Why are relatively few daytime episodes out there?
From the 1940s-70s, networks generally saw television as one-time programming. The 1960s-70s were particularly notable for the practice of wiping, which affected hundreds of shows including Wheel; the last network to quit was NBC, in 1980. According to a King World representative in 2006, it was policy at Merv Griffin Productions/Enterprises to wipe and reuse the tapes, a policy they held until mid-1985.

Aside from this, Game Show Network has never held the rights to air the daytime version, only airing three episodes as part of a marathon after Merv's death in 2007.

A list of daytime episodes that we know to exist can be viewed here. Additions and corrections are of course appreciated.

When Wheel was mentioned in Billy Joel's 1989 historical song We Didn't Start the Fire, which version was it referencing?
While the show's placement between "Russians in Afghanistan" and "Sally Ride" covers the 1979-83 timeframe, the lack of any 1980-82 events would appear to suggest nighttime (despite it debuting about three months after Ride's space trip in June 1983).

What is the biggest one-round record to date?
$54,000, set on February 18, 2005 and tied on October 24 of that year plus February 7, 2007. All three were in the Speed-Up round.

That said, it is not the most money that could have been won. That record is $62,400, accumulated during Round 3 on December 5, 1985.

What is the main-game record to date?
$69,300, set on December 21, 2012.

How many $100,000 winners are there to date?
30, the first being on December 19, 2001. Note that this only counts those who won the $100,000 cash prize in the Bonus Round, rather than exceeding $100,000 otherwise.

Interestingly, two puzzles have each led to a pair of $100,000 wins: BRAINS AND BRAWN on January 24, 2006 and December 16, 2010, BACK IN A FLASH on May 15, 2006 and April 26, 2012. The inverse is also true, with QUALITY TIME leading to a $100,000 loss on February 18, 2005 and September 21, 2010.

How many $1,000,000 winners are there to date?
One: Michelle Loewenstein, on October 14, 2008. Her total was $1,026,080.

(As an aside, the largest non-millionaire record is $147,000, set on December 28, 2012 through a $100,000 win.)

Who was the first host?
This depends on whether the 1974 pilots are included. If one goes by the name Wheel of Fortune, then Edd Byrnes was the first host. If only aired episodes count, then Chuck Woolery was the first host; Chuck also hosted the 1973 pilot.

Based on questions asked to audience members by current announcer Jim Thornton, the show itself takes the stance that Chuck was the first host.

Who was the first hostess?
Susan Stafford, who had been a syndicated radio host beginning around 1971. According to Thornton, who sometimes asks this question to audience members at the show's current base of Culver City, nobody has ever been able to give the correct answer.

Who was the first announcer?
Mike Lawrence if one includes the pilots, Charlie O'Donnell otherwise.

If Chuck, Susan, and Charlie were so great, why did they leave?
Charlie left in mid-1980 after then-NBC head Fred Silverman announced the show was to be cancelled on August 1. He signed a commitment to the upcoming Toni Tennille Show shortly before the cancellation was overturned and, under the belief that "a handshake is my word", opted to stay with it.

Chuck left due to a salary dispute with Merv, wanting a raise in his annual pay from $65,000 to $500,000 (in line with what other emcees made) because Wheel was drawing a 44 share. Merv offered $400,000, and NBC agreed to pay the remaining $100,000 until Merv threatened to move the show to CBS. NBC withdrew the offer, and Chuck's last episode aired December 25, 1981.

Susan departed because she wanted to do humanitarian work. She took a trip to India in Summer 1982 and, after seeing the plight many people were in, felt that turning letters for the past seven years was not really a way for a grown woman to live her life. Many have noted that Susan seems visibly distracted on her last episodes. While her last regular episode aired October 22, Stafford returned to fill in for her successor for the daytime week of June 16, 1986.

Has anyone announced the show besides Charlie O'Donnell, Jack Clark, or Jim Thornton?
In order of appearance:


 * Don Morrow filled in as announcer in August 1980 between O'Donnell's departure and Jack's hiring.
 * Beginning on May 9, 1988, Charlie began filling in for Jack on nighttime, while both he and Johnny Gilbert (Jeopardy!) filled in on daytime.
 * M. G. Kelly announced both versions from roughly September 5, 1988 to February 17, 1989, barring the two nighttime weeks taped at Radio City Music Hall (aired November 14-25, 1988), which were announced by Don Pardo.
 * Gilbert filled in for Charlie on the weeks of November 27 and December 4, 1995. This stretch of episodes is notable for an exchange between him and Pat on the 29th: at the top of the show, Pat joked that Wheel "isn't like Jeopardy!, where if you finish in second place with $10,000, you get a lounge chair!", to which Johnny replied, "But it's a $10,000 lounge chair."
 * Gilbert also did part of the intro on April 1, 1997.
 * Following Charlie's death on November 1, 2010, the show underwent a rotation of guest announcers comprising Gilbert, Rich Fields, Jim Thornton, Lora Cain, Joe Cipriano, and John Cramer.

How did Pat Sajak and Vanna White get the roles?
Pat, then a weatherman at KNBC, was noticed by Merv for his quirky and odd sense of humor. However, then-head of NBC Fred Silverman rejected the decision, claiming Sajak was "too local"; Merv opted to cease tapings until Pat was hired, which only happened after Silverman left the network.

Vanna was selected from hundreds of applicants to do on-air auditions to replace Susan, and was chosen due to her chemistry with Pat. According to Vanna, the only reason Merv would give her is that she turned the letters better than anyone else.

So what happened to Susan?
She devoted her life to charity work and medicine, earning a B.A. in Nutrition and an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, plus a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Pacific Western University. Her official website has a full list of her accomplishments.

Unfortunately, her association with Wheel was quickly forgotten after Vannamania took off: a 1987 Chicago Tribune interview with her began by outright assuming the reader did not know who she was, while Susan herself became a bit annoyed and bothered that most people would say "You mean you were Vanna White before Vanna White?" upon telling them what she used to do.

The 1995 book Popular Culture, Educational Discourse, and Mathematics evidently did not see anything prior to Vanna's hiring, as it stated that Wheel "broke ground" by declaring Vanna a "hostess" and giving her equal billing with Pat, despite Susan having the former during her tenure and the latter at least twice (once with Chuck in 1981, again with Pat in 1986).

Wheel itself has very rarely acknowledged Susan's contributions, and she was not credited on the Byrnes footage that aired on the ceremonial 3,000th nighttime episode in 1998.

Why did Nancy Jones leave the show in 1995?
Nancy, who produced the show since its 1975 debut and had been the sole producer since April 1976, was dismissed over concerns by Sony that Wheel had become "tired and dated" under her watch.

How did Harry Friedman get his position?
Harry was contacted by an old friend, Sony Pictures Entertainment's then-CEO Alan Levine, around the time Nancy was dismissed. Shortly afterward (but not directly as a result of being contacted by Levine), Friedman became the show's producer for the last tapings of Season 12. He was promoted to co-executive producer (with Merv) in September 1999 and became the sole executive producer the following year after Merv retired.

How many touch screens does the puzzle board have?
52: 12 on the top and bottom rows, 14 in each of the two middle rows.

How big were the old puzzle boards?
The original 1974 board used 39 trilons, spread across three rows. On December 21, 1981, this was expanded to 48 trilons across four rows (11 on the top and bottom, 13 in each of the middle two); four more trilons were added to the corners by September 2, 1982, bringing the total to 52.

When was the curtain introduced?
Sometime between January 6 and November 3, 1975. The original curtain had vertical strings of lights, which were removed sometime between June 7, 1976 and January 24, 1977.

Why did some road-show bonus puzzles use the top two lines?
The most likely answer is that this was done to increase visibility in larger venues. This practice was done from about 1990 to 1995; by the Hawaii shows in early 1996, two-line bonus puzzles once again used the middle two rows.

What was the first letter ever revealed?
S, on the 1973 pilot. It was also the first letter given.

Has anyone ever solved with no letters showing?
At least one: the bonus puzzle BABY BOY on October 22, 1992.

What was the shortest puzzle ever used?
The shortest known main-game puzzle is SCRAM on March 24, 1995, while the shortest Bonus Round answer is AX sometime in Season 11.

Have there ever been any puzzles without a vowel?
At least one: the bonus puzzle MYTHS on April 9, 2004.

What is the longest puzzle ever used?
This depends on whether punctuation is considered a "space" on the board.


 * If it is, then the longest is SHE JUST WON A SEVENTH U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIP (Who Is It?, the answer being Michelle Kwan) on March 21, 2003, using 47 of the 52 monitors.
 * If it is not, then the longest is HERSHEY BAR GRAHAM CRACKER GOOEY ROASTED MARSHMALLOW (also the only appearance of What Are We Making?, the answer being S'mores) on October 23, 2007, at 46 letters.

Which categories have been used the least?
Besides the aforementioned What Are We Making?, Composer/Song and Show/Song were used only once each around March 1996.

How do contestants know if a letter has been called?
There is a monitor called the "Used Letter Board". After each letter is called, it is dimmed on the screen. If no more vowels remain in the puzzle, the vowels are dimmed even if all five had not yet been called.

Although rarely seen on-screen, the board is often acknowledged by Pat.

Why did some games in the 1990s have only three rounds?
Three-round games were sometimes done to accommodate for home viewer sweepstakes. They were also done occasionally on road shows in the late 1990s due to time constraints.

Has the host ever hit Bankrupt or Lose A Turn on the Final Spin?
Many times, along with Free Play. It only seems like Pat never does because those invalid spins have always been edited out since 1997, when they were only edited out sporadically before that point. Pat also hit Prize wedges on occasion, and at least once landed on Surprise.

Back when invalid Final Spins were aired, there was a running gag from 1977 through at least May 1985 where the Bankrupt slide whistle would play if it was hit. Airing bad Final Spins also led to notable incidents on June 14, 1990 and January 25, 1994 where Pat hit Bankrupt three times. His fourth attempt hit $5,000 on the former, and $1,500 on the latter.

What happened if someone used the Double Play and hit a prize or token?
While it never happened, the official rules stated that landing on a Prize wedge, Surprise, or Free Spin gave that player the choice of taking the token back or applying it to their next spin. The sole exception to this was the $10,000 Wedge, which doubled its value.

How many people have tried to solve on Free Play?
Two: November 24, 2010 and May 10, 2012. The first was correct, while the second was not.

Why do they sometimes briefly cut to Pat in the Speed-Up rounds?
To mask an edit of removing three incorrect letters, known as a "null" cycle, from the episode as aired.

During the main game, cycles are often edited out if all three players consecutively make moves that do not affect their score or the answer (i.e., cycles consisting entirely of wrong letters, Lose a Turn, and/or Bankrupts with $0).

When and why did the Bonus Round start offering RSTLNE?
RSTLNE was first offered on both versions (daytime and nighttime) on October 3, 1988. The rule change was made because, under the original rules of asking the contestant for five consonants and a vowel, nearly every contestant would choose those letters.

Have any bonus puzzles not used RSTLNE?
While sporadic, a few did not contain RSTLNE. The first known instance was GUM on a Bob Goen-hosted daytime episode in 1991, and the last known instance is PIKACHU sometime in 2001.

What happens if a Toss-Up is not solved?
If the $1,000 Toss-Up is not solved, then the red contestant is interviewed first; if the $2,000 Toss-Up is not solved, then the red contestant starts Round 1; and if the $3,000 Toss-Up is not solved, then the contestant who started Round 1 starts Round 4.

What is the record for the most amount of Bankrupt/Lose A Turn hits in one round?
The record for Bankrupt is believed to be six, achieved on March 27, 1979 (Round 2), December 30, 2008 (Round 3), and October 4, 2011 (Round 2); the 2008 episode involved one Bankrupt from a Mystery Wedge.

The record for Lose A Turn appears to be four, on November 13, 1989.

What is the smallest amount by which a contestant has won or lost?
Several contestants have won by a margin of $50. A win by $30 almost occurred on October 2, 2012, after a contestant tried to solve in the Speed-Up without calling a letter first.

What happens if the game ends in a tie?
Since the introduction of Toss-Ups, ties are broken by a fourth Toss-Up, without cash value; whoever solves proceeds to the Bonus Round. This has only happened twice: March 13, 2003 and March 2, 2006.

Originally on the daytime version, it was believed that ties resulted in the tied contestants returning the next day as co-champions, as is the case on non-tournament episodes of Jeopardy! Likely around the introduction of the Bonus Round, and definitely by November 1986, a tie game simply meant that no Bonus Round was played and all three contestants returned the next day. The continuation game did not count towards a champion's three-day limit, leading to an oddity in 1987 where a champion played five games due to two consecutive ties. Known tie games include November 13, 1986, the aforementioned 1987 episodes, and twice in 1989 during Rolf Benirschke's tenure as host. Benirschke's first tie quickly became infamous, as it resulted in him looking at the camera and admitting that he didn't know what to do.

Tie games on the nighttime show were originally broken by a Speed-Up round between the tied contestants. If a Speed-Up had already occurred, the tiebreaker had its own Final Spin (referred to as a "Final Final Spin" by Pat). Known tie games include a show taped in December 1987, and October 5, 1993. The former had the tiebreaker in its own segment, resulting in the Bonus Round moving to the final segment and Pat signing off immediately afterward, while the latter had the tiebreaker immediately after Round 5 with the rest of the game paced as normal. The nighttime procedure was also used for daytime weeks with the Friday Finals format, and at least twice had to be done at the beginning of Friday shows to break a tie at third place. It is believed that Goen-era ties were handled identically, and it was apparently used at least once on Wheel 2000.

Has a puzzle ever been thrown out?
Very rarely, a puzzle may be discarded. This is often due to an audience member shouting out an answer, a wrong letter being revealed (supposedly a frequent occurrence during Susan Stafford's tenure, as she often tended to turn the letters before they were lit), or the host accidentally ruling an incorrect answer as correct.

According to the 1987 book Wheel of Fortune by David R. Sams and Robert L. Shook, puzzles that were discarded for any reason other than an audience member shouting out an answer resulted in each contestant receiving a $200 gift certificate; the exception is Round 1, which is simply re-shot without such a bonus. The book also says that, if an incorrect answer is accidentally ruled correct, the two opponents to the contestant who gave the answer received a $200 bonus. Prior to the gift certificates being introduced in 1975, winnings from discarded rounds were still awarded to the contestant anyway.

At least two episodes have had visible indication of a puzzle being discarded: a September 1988 episode where the introduction of the original, thrown-out puzzle was accidentally left in, with the replacement puzzle not being seen until after the final spin; and October 6, 1989, where the blanks seen on the board in the opening pan clearly do not match up to the actual round that was played.

It is not known how "bonuses" for discarded puzzles were handled immediately after the retirement of shopping. According to a contestant who was on in March 2007, all three contestants received $100 cash bonuses after a round in which a wrong answer was accidentally ruled correct.

Pat has accidentally accepted at least one wrong Bonus Round answer as correct, in which case the Bonus Round was simply re-done with a new puzzle. At least twice, a letter was revealed in the Bonus Round that should not have been; on both instances, the contestant solved, and it was decided that the contestant would get to keep their bonus prize.

If an audience member shouted out the answer to a question asked by a "bonus" category, the bonus was simply discarded. This is known to have happened at least three times.

At least three episodes have had puzzles edited out for other reasons. The November 2, 1992 episode (from the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco) edited out Round 1 because the answer was VANNA'S PREGNANT; since she had a miscarriage before the air date, the round was replaced with a short spiel narrated by Charlie which gave some details on the taping, book-ended by footage of Pat explaining what had occurred in the round. November 16 and 17, 2005, taped at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans shortly before Hurricane Katrina, respectively had Round 1 and the $1,000 Toss-Up edited out, as their answers were deemed insensitive to hurricane victims. On the original airings, these rounds were both replaced with clips of Pat and Vanna asking viewers for donation to hurricane relief funds; summer reruns of the same episodes restored the Toss-Up, whose answer was THE LOUISIANA SUPERDOME, but replaced the "missing" Round 1 with another clip of Pat and Vanna thanking those who donated.