User:Daniel Benfield



Daniel Benfield (that would be me :) is a Co-Administrator and semi-frequent contributor of the Wheel of Fortune History Wiki (behind Wiki creator TenPoundHammer) who was born on August 23, 1988 and lives in Deerfield Beach, Florida – hometown of October 1994 contestant Scot, winner of at least $47,385; no, I don't know him. :)

I had thrown around the idea of a Wheel timeline in July 2009 and got support from the WOFL board, but a lack of familiarity with Wiki software and general confusion on my part led to only a partial Season 26/daytime being done (long since redundant) before I gave up.

Around March 2011, when TPH posted on the Sony Boards about his timeline on Angelfire, I quickly realized that such a page would be an absolute pain to edit and sent him a PM suggesting he put it on Wikia.

And so here we are with probably the #1 source of Wheel info on the internet. :)

What I'm Looking For

 * Any and all Variety articles on the show, especially what looks like their "first review" from the January 15, 1975 "Weekly" issue (the "free" text is a sentence on Bankrupt)...although I can't imagine why they waited over a week.
 * Wherever I found that August 1978 ratings info. I've searched through Google's News and Books archives with a variety of search terms, to no avail.
 * The two 1975 shows held by Archival Television Audio, Inc. and the Celebrity Sweepstakes episode with Chuck Woolery that they also hold. $150 (for the Wheel episodes) is more than my current funds, really...
 * Full-color PDF of the Second Edition instruction/puzzle booklet (1975)...or the Second Edition game itself. I'm not picky. :)
 * The A&E Biography episodes on TV Game Shows, Vanna White, and Merv Griffin.
 * A copy of the show's E! True Hollywood Story (although I've been promised one by a user on the WOFL board, that was in August 2011).

Created Pages

 * Awards
 * Board games
 * CBS
 * Daytime episodes known to exist
 * GSN
 * International versions
 * Misconceptions and Myths
 * NBC
 * Parodies and Appearances (which I blame on being up at 3:00 AM)
 * Video games
 * Wheel of Fortune - Live!
 * Wheel of Fortune timeline (network)

People

 * Alan Thicke
 * Arte Johnson
 * Cyber Lucy
 * David Sidoni
 * Don Morrow
 * Don Pardo
 * Edd Byrnes
 * Ed Flesh
 * Fred Silverman
 * Harry Friedman
 * Jo Ann Pflug (since deleted; that was before we knew she was on twice)
 * Katie Cantrell
 * Lin Bolen
 * Mike Lawrence (since deleted)
 * Nancy Jones
 * Summer Bartholomew
 * Tanika Ray
 * Vicki McCarty

Subpages

 * User:Daniel Benfield/Daytime Video Archive (upon suggestion by TPH)
 * User:Daniel Benfield/Nighttime Video Archive (upon suggestion by TPH)

Other Notes
One of my favorite Sajak quotes was during a Final Spin, when he landed on Surprise: "I may have to spin again because the host can't get a Surprise; he already has enough of those."

On January 6, 2011, during the Vanna for a "Day" contest, I recommended the only qualified candidate I could think of: Susan Stafford.

As a personal rule, I follow every article, picture, and user page on this Wiki to stay up-to-date on any changes. I began following whatever IP-address editors I could find on November 26, 2011.

I received the First Edition board game from 1975 on Christmas Day 2011. :)

I've used several signatures on the WOFL board:
 * Over one hundred thousand words just waiting to be read on the Wheel Of Fortune History Wiki!
 * (Gift certificates do not include sales tax.)
 * Over one million words just waiting to be read on the Wheel Of Fortune History Wiki!
 * (Signing-up isn't required, but encouraged.)
 * The famous Wheel is spinning, spinning, spinning! And our users are winning, winning, winning! Because there's lots of facts and some fabulous articles just waiting to be read on The Wheeeeeel Of Fortune History Wiki!
 * "...you know, we're not above spreading misinformation." -Pat Sajak admits what we all knew, 12/15/95.
 * What's killing the budget? If you said "the garlicky breath of Mr. Sajdak", please seek medical assistance. Or go to The Wheel Of Fortune History Wiki. Either way, you learn stuff. :)
 * "...you know, we're not above spreading misinformation." -Pat Sajak admits what we all knew, 12/15/95.
 * Category: What's killing the Wheel budget? Incorrect guess: THE GARLICKY BREATH OF MR. SAJDAK.
 * The Wheel Of Fortune History Wiki: the only place you'll find strawberry lip girls at their cat's end...I frickin' hope. Plus Abraham Bincoln, Brad Haisley, pill-pushers, and an ugly child – desi, dem, and dose guys.
 * "...you know, we're not above spreading misinformation." -Pat Sajak admits what we all knew, 12/15/95.

Variety Extracts
What I've been able to get out of the free search engine, because I'm not going to pay a lot for these articles. Any changes are to add article links, while my personal comments are in [brackets]. Also, I'm pretty sure "web" refers to the networks (albeit a pretty frickin' weird term for it).

Daytime
 * 1/15/75 (Weekly, Page 62): "WHEEL OF FORTUNE NBC-TV Supplier: Merv Griffin Prods."
 * "First of all, there are "bankrupt" slots on the wheel that "wipe the contestant out - and did on debut show, caught Jan. 6. The show's visual graphics are functional rather than neondazzly, which should help for the long run."
 * "Last but not least, host Chuck Woolery is personable and inclined to root for his contestants - a nice touch." [Searching for "Susan"/"Stafford" doesn't show anything.]
 * 8/25/76 (Weekly, Page 44): "Nancy Jones named producer of NBC-TV "Wheel Of Fortune" daytime gameshow, succeeding John Rhinehart, recently named daytime program development director, west coast, for the web."
 * 10/26/76 (Daily, Page 181): ""Wheel of Fortune." NBC's highest rated game show - Starring Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford - Produced by Nancy Jones - Directed by Jeff Goldstein." [Interestingly, this was meshed with info about The Merv Griffin Show, whose director was...Dick Carson.]
 * 2/2/78 (Daily, Page 16): "ROSELON INDUSTRIES CREATORS OF Silesta Commends The Staff Of ["Wheel" logo] On The Excellence Of Their Fashion Presentation For a "BRIDES WEEK" Airing Feb. 6-Feb. 10 on NBC, 10 A.M. Pacific Time Prod.: NANCY JONES Dir.: JEFF GOLDSTEIN Assoc. Prod.: DAVID S. WILLIGER Art Dir.: DICK STILES STAFF[:] PAUL GILBERT[,] ROBIN KENNER[,] COLLEEN GRIFFIN[,] SUSU MAJURE[,] RICH LYONS[,] GINGER ROTH[,] SCOTT PAGE[,] ANNE SIEGAL[,] NANCY ROBBINS [...] R. R. Adams President Roselon Ind. Tom Dove V.P. Merchandising"
 * 2/14/79 (Weekly, Page 82): "HOLLYWOOD Actress Susan Stafford will be cohosting on three web stations over the next 30 days: "It Takes All Kinds" on KNXT, "Wheel of Fortune" on KNBC and KABC-TV's "AM Los Angeles""
 * 5/16/79 (Weekly, Page 100): "Summer Bartholomew and Cynthia Washington will sub a week each for Susan Stafford as hostess of NBC-TV's "Wheel Of Fortune" daytime gameshow series until Stafford recovers from recent auto accident injuries"
 * 12/14/81 (Daily, Page 18): "Pat Sajak, weather forecaster on KNBC, takes over as host of "Wheel Of Fortune," on NBC-TV's game show, replacing Chuck Woolery, who departs the skein on Dec. 25."
 * 12/22/81 (Daily, Page 6): "Nancy Jones, Pat Sajak, Susan Stafford, to Hawaii." [Slightly later mention than Pat's appearance on Password Plus, although this is all I can extract. Amusingly, the January 8, 1982 Daily issue, Page 55, says "Nancy Jones, Pat Sajak, Susan Stafford In from Hawaii."]
 * 2/3/82 (Weekly, Page 102): "Noon anchor Dave Stanley interrupted "Wheel of Fortune" for a pick-up from Walt Hunter at 11:10 a.m. Wednesday (27)." [I presume the "27" refers to January 27, which was the previous Wednesday.]
 * 10/27/82 (Weekly, Page 43): "But in daytime programming shares are the most important numbers, and "Texas" can't hang onto the 21 share posted by "Wheel Of Fortune" which preceeds it at 10:30."
 * 12/26/82 (Daily, Page 26): "Vanna White has become hostess of "Wheel Of Fortune," on NBC-TV, filling the job vacated by Susan Stafford last October."
 * 3/21/84 (Weekly, Page 110): "NBC's "Wheel Of Fortune" is a respectable 8.1/ 31 for a 6 share improvement over the same two months of 1983."
 * 2/26/86 (Weekly, Page 47): "The strip ABC-TV will cancel for "Lifestyles [of the Rich and Famous]," "{Bruce Forsyth's] Hot Streak," averages only a 2 rating because it's up against the two most popular gameshows in network daytime, NBC's "Wheel Of Fortune" and the first half-hour of CBS' 60-minute "The Price Is Right.""
 * 6/16/88 (Daily, Page 12): "Deejay M.G. Kelly has left KIIS FM after only six months in the afternoon-drive slot, which will be taken over by Bruce Vidal, who was bumped into the latcnight seg when Kelly joined the station." [Considering the timeframe, this may be when he joined Wheel.]
 * 1/4/89 (Weekly, Page 54): [Searching for Benirschke pulls up this. Only problem is that my search term isn't in the displayed blurb!]
 * 2/1/89 (Weekly, Page 130): [See above.]
 * 5/24/89 (Weekly, Page 2): "NBC, in the first of what's expected to be several forthcoming adjustments to its daytime schedule, will replace "Wheel Of Fortune" with "The Golden Girls.""
 * 8/2/89 (Daily, Page 8): "He was recently a finalist to replace Pat Sajak on "Wheel Of Fortune."" [...That's all. Seriously. "Brando", "Connors", "Gabriel", "Kelly", and several variations of "McEnroe" (as in "John") turn up nothing. This is re-confirmed on the August 16 and 30 Weekly issues (Pages 57 and 88 respectively), altered first to remove "recently" and then to add "the daytime".]
 * 7/7/89 (Daily, Page 10): "Goen To Host 'Wheel' As It Moves To CBS [-] Bob Goen has been selected as the new host of "Wheel Of Fortune," which joins CBS-TV's daytime lineup at 10:30 a.m. July 17."
 * 8/4/89 (Daily, Page 8): "The web has also gained some ground on the a.m. sked with "Wheel of Fortune" (2.8/12), which has picked up a few tenths of a rating point over what "Now You See It" was averaging when viewers could see it in that 9:30 a.m. slot."
 * 10/25/90 (Daily, Page 2): "Rachins' character, Douglas Brackman, fulfills a dream — by meeting Vanna White and playing the "Wheel." It's quite a change from tonight's seg in which he deals with a sexual surrogate" [Specifically the L.A. Law episode "Vowel Play", which begins with daytime Wheel.]

Nighttime

Beginning in 1984, the listings become harder to distinguish between.


 * 2/2/83 (Weekly, Page 92): "Wheel Of Fortune' In lst-Run Syndie From King WorldKing World Productions has begun syndicating a proposed firstrun-syndication five-a-week version of the ongoing NBC daytime-tv strip "Wheel Of Fortune." Wheel," an eight-year veteran of the NBC daytime schedule, continues as the highest-rated gameshow on the network."
 * "The hosts are Pat Sajak and Vanna White."
 * 4/13/83 (Weekly, Page 46): "King World has given an official go to strip syndication of "Wheel Of Fortune," for release in September of 1983." Wheel" thus becomes the seventh new firstrun strip assured of a go for the 1983-84 syndication season." [Based on these and a few adverts from this time, I'm beginning to doubt whether the ratings really did go into the danger zone during 1982-83.]
 * "Pat Sajak will be the host of both versions. In syndication, King World is offering "Wheel" on cash-only deals."
 * 3/2/88 (Weekly, Page 86): "The syndicated "Wheel Of Fortune" confirmed reports it will become an interactive game with viewers at home via Mattel Toys. Plan is to have "Wheel," highest rated first run syndie strip ever, become "Television Play-Along Wheel Of Fortune" this fall, which starts the show's sixth season. The "play-along" feature is possible by" [Searching for "invisible" in this issue pulls up this blurb, so it's pretty likely they used "invisible signals". The fact it specifically mentions Season 6 would explain why the game still worked when those shows reran on GSN.]
 * 9/28/88 (Weekly, Page 64): "syndicated "Wheel Of Fortune" spins in Gotham Oct. 26 and 27 with tapings at Radio City Music Hall." [This is re-confirmed on Page 74 and again in the October 26 Weekly issue.]
 * 1/4/89 (Weekly, Page 27): "You could call this connectivity. Tip of iceberg Interactive Systems helped devise the technology for the "Wheel Of Fortune" game marketed by Mattel, which retails for roughly $70."

Lin Bolen

Unlike the Wikipedia article on her (which was apparently edited by Bolen herself), contemporary Variety has her there in June 1975 but gone by March 1976...and possibly September '75, suggesting that the end of Jackpot! due to her interference (namely, forcing Bob Stewart to overhaul it from big-money riddles to low-budget Q&A) was the catalyst.

It's also possible that the September blurbs below refer only to her schedule changes in the past tense, which would explain a bit.


 * 9/24/75 (Weekly, Page 54): "Under Bolen, the morning gameshow changes accelerated at a dizzying (and, it seemed at the time, pointless) pace, but eventually the move of "Celebrity Sweepstakes' to 10 o'clock network lead-in spot [on January 6, 1975] made the NBC morning game-and-quizshow block jell."
 * "CBS led by more than the combined efforts of NBC and ABC together in six of them. The expansion of the two afternoon serials ("Days" and "Another World") to one-hour formats was the stroke that turned NBC around during 1975."
 * 12/16/75 (Daily, Page 10): "NBC daytime programming veepee Lin Bolen specifically characterized the type of questions viewers will ask as, Should I sunbathe In the nude, even though my husband accuses me of being an exhibitionist? or Should I marry a woman who refuses to tell me about her past romances?"

Others

Various odds, ends, and weird crap.


 * 7/16/80 (Weekly, Page 68): "Bob Barker will host with Susan Stafford as cohost." [...I honestly have no idea...]
 * 9/3/80 (Weekly, Page 51): "Nine of the shows are scripted and going into production, the remaining three are in production.The initial programming list includes:- "Hittin' Home," a 60-minute strip talk-variety show, coventured with Post-Newsweek and produced by Michael Krauss. The show is to be hosted by Chuck Woolery of "Wheel of Fortune" fame. If the show works, Viacom will pick it up for syndication." [I'm honestly not sure what the first sentence refers to, although an advert for Hittin' Home is in the January 7, 1981 Weekly issue.]
 * 8/17/83 (Weekly, Page 75): "It will be hosted by Chuck Woolery, formerly of NBC's "Wheel of Fortune." "America's Music Tracks" is following close on the heels of "Night Tracks," a 12-hour-a-week show (six hours on Saturday, six on Sunday) which WTBS debuted on June 3."
 * 7/10/85 (Weekly, Page 51): "Wheel Of Fortune" toppers Pat Sajak and Vanna White will host "The Great Circus Parade" on WTBS-TV on Sunday (14), on latenight tape delay"
 * 5/14/86 (Weekly, Page 65): ""Wheel At Home" has been added to "Wheel Of Fortune" on KDKA to allow home viewers to play along at home and win prizes if they guess the correct answer before the player on the show."
 * 5/21/86 (Weekly, Page 99): "Jamie Baron is the Job-like character who goes through life cursed because he got one letter wrong on "Wheel Of Fortune."" [Not sure if this is an analogy, but noted just in case.]
 * 11/12/86 (Weekly, Page 70): "Wheel Of Fortune's" Pat Sajak will host NBC-TV's "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" coverage for third time."
 * 11/4/87 (Weekly, Page 50): "From Nov. 1-7, "Wheel Of Fortune" hosts N.Y. Contestant Week, wherein everyday will feature Gotham contestants, one of whom is a police officer, Heidi Podgorsky, a top winner" [First, a "week" is just five shows, not seven; second, I'm not sure what version this is. It's possible that this was a special set of five (or seven) shows made specifically for the New York market.]
 * 7/6/88 (Weekly, Page 52): "Scottish TV tee-off on commercial web with British version of gameshow "Wheel Of Fortune," July 19, for 13 weeks, in 8:30 p.m. slot Tuesdays."
 * 5/31/89 (Weekly, Page 5): "Target age group for most of Sharedata's computer games is 10-15. Sharedata product line includes "Jeopardy" and spinoffs "Sports Jeopardy" and "Junior Jeopardy," three "Wheel Of Fortune" versions and second editions of "Concentration" and "Family Feud.""
 * 6/20/89 (Daily, Page 2): "The Pat Sajak/Vanna White-vintage taped segs from "Wheel Of Fortune," which were ko'd from last night's reruns on Sajak's late-niter, included footage from Vanna's audition for "Wheel," Pat's first day as host plus bloopers." [And so, I boo Merv Griffin Productions.]
 * 12/19/89 (Daily, page 20): "Hazie (Rosemary Forsyth), 45, works as a waitress at a coffee shop with the much younger Rhonda (Laura Skill), who also rents a room from Hazie. Because Hazie is weak as a character and great at escaping, she avoids conflict."
 * "Her kids Dottie and Drew, in contrast, though unlikable, are thoroughly fascinating. Daley's Drew is a slick-haired slimeball who treats his wife just like his kid sister — someone who irritates him and gets in the way of a sixpack and a game."
 * "Hazie's whiny daughter Dottie (Laurel Green), her good-for-nothing 30-year-old stepson Drew (Andy Daley) and his bitchy pregnant wife Candy (Mary Scheer). Technical aspects are satisfactory: set design by Daley; lights by Dana Kilgore; sound by Todd Hughes."
 * "Hazie wins a chance to appear on "Wheel Of Fortune," [the taping to be shown Christmas Day,] and her kids immediately make up lists of things they want, in anticipation of money[.] Rhonda, in contrast, urges Hazie to follow her dream: get rid of the kids, quit the coffee shop, become an artist." [This is Happytime Xmas, a stage play redo of Changing Channels done at the Cast Theatre and redone in at least 1991, 1997, and 2001. Interestingly, it ends not with Hazie realizing the spirit of giving/preciousness of family/putting the Christ back in Christmas, but instead leaving her old life behind.]
 * 6/26/91 (Daily, Page 24): "Kevin Dobson and Joan Van Ark of "Knots Landing" and Vanna White of "Wheel Of Fortune" have been added as presenters for the 18th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, skedded for June 27 from 9 p.m.-11 p.m. at New York's Marriott Marquis Hotel CBS-TV will carry it live."

Chase Light Sequences
Three-Line Board (When I started realizing that hey, I better keep track of this as well. At the moment, these are all the available episodes.)
 * Sequence #1 [clockwise]:
 * June 7, 1976
 * March 15, 1978 (board seems to be back-lit, too)
 * March? 1978 (Barbara/Herb/Pat)
 * April 7, 1978
 * December 31, 1979
 * March 18 and 25/May 7/December 18 and 24, 1980
 * September 1981 (Linda/Frank/?)
 * Sequence #2 [counterclockwise]: March 2, 1979.
 * Uncertain [quality sucks too much, or the camera's too close, to tell]: May 31-June 1, 1979 (looks counterclockwise on both); November 6, 1980 (looks clockwise).

So even the original board switched it up occasionally. It seems the clockwise sequence was the main one, unlike...

Four-Line Board (Trying to make sense of what I formerly narrowed down to early '87. I still have episodes to look through, so this may change.)
 * Sequence #1 [counterclockwise on the left, clockwise on the right]:
 * [daytime]
 * December 28, 1981
 * March 12/December 13, 1982
 * October 31/November 9, 1983
 * July 1986 (Tom/?/?)
 * November 13/December 22 and 24-25, 1986
 * January 1987 (Mitzi/Tony/Cheryl)
 * [nighttime]
 * September 19/21, 1983
 * January 1984 (Lloyd/Linda/Debbie)
 * October 1986 (Julie/David/Nita)
 * January 1987 (Ann/Valerie/Helen)
 * Sequence #2 [clockwise on the left, counterclockwise on the right]:
 * [daytime]
 * January 1984 (Lynn/Doug/Cathy)
 * February 29/April or May, 1984
 * February 1, 1985
 * January 14 (A-Team episode)/June 20, 1986
 * Fall 1986 (Dean/Kathy/Karen)
 * February 13/March 17, 1987
 * [nighttime]
 * January or February 1984 (Tom/Cindy/Velma)
 * February 14, 1984
 * Early 1984 (Thelma/Sam/Lisa)
 * May? 1984 (Mark/Carol/Debi)
 * Fall 1984 (Janice/Faye/Marvin)
 * Fall 1984 (Dave/Joan/Kathy)
 * September? 1984 (Father Rob/Betty/Maria)
 * Fall 1984 (Jeannette/Tim/Colleen)
 * Fall 1984 (Bill/Brilla/Teddy)
 * January 1985 (Mike/Renita/Laura)
 * January 1985 (Rita/Lynn/Jonas)
 * February? 1985 (Hal/Chris/Rita)
 * Spring? 1985 (Lori/Peggy/David)
 * December 5, 1985
 * March 14/May 5, 1986
 * October 4, 1986 (227 episode)
 * October 5, 1987 and all points onward (including the May 12, 1988 Santa Barbara episode)
 * Uncertain [quality sucks too much, or the camera's too close, to tell]: December 23, 1986 (daytime).

So it was first reversed in January 1984, with the original appearing occasionally (less and less?) until February 1987 when the "new" sequence became the only one. No episodes from then until the switch to monitors a decade later use the original sequence, to the best of my knowledge, except this 1991 nighttime promo.

Memories (not mine)
Stuff I've found in various places (ATGS for 1994-2002, the Game Show Forum for 2004 onward). They may not be completely accurate (especially on older events), and I'm not sure whether the 7/30/01 thing is even true; still, I note these. Anything in [brackets] is my own personal comments or changes to clarify, partly so I don't have to quote a whole long post; the only other change was to add personnel links.

1994

 * davemackey on BIX, 5/12/94: Incidentally, as far as announcer fill ins were concerned. I think they've used Johnny Gilbert, Don Morrow, and even John Harlan.

1997

 * (unknown), around 1/10/97: Did ya'll notice Wheel of Fortune messed up today? They placed the "$10,000" space the wrong way, which ment no bankrupts on either side. The man in the middle landed on it, but did not pick it up. But instead, the $10,000 was added to his bank! Another time was when they kept messing up on the puzzle board, causing all the lights on the board to turn off.
 * calliaume, 1/10/97: (in response to above) Pat mocked this throughout. By the way, with all the balloon stars on stage -- is this a tribute to Merv's much-hated set from "Reach for the Stars," which debuted 30 years ago around this time? First thing I thought of.
 * Zach Horan, 1/15/97: The lowest winning total that got a player to the bonus round I have seen was $575(daytime)and $600(nighttime). The highest daytime winning total was about $26K or so(including a $22K cash jackpot in 1987), the highest nighttime winning total was $59,013 in 1987.
 * Randy Amasia, 3/18/97: They played two, 3-round games with two different sets of contestants (the returning champ played in the first set.) The winners of the two halves competed in a "head-to-head all-cash showdown," where the top dollar value on the wheel was $2,500 (or was it $2,000?).
 * David Hammett, 6/26/97: I just recently saw an audition tape of John Gabriel trying to host the show... let's just say that Gabriel made Rolf look like Bill Cullen. :)
 * Chris Holland, 6/27/97: Rolf's arrival was not (wholly) to blame for Wheel's departure from NBC. From January 3rd, 1983 until July 8, 1988, Wheel and TPiR's first half hour were dead even (on the average). Many weeks, Wheel overcame Price Power by a nice margin. Even after Sajak's departure, Wheel retained its audience and was doing significantly better than ABC's Home. Even though its audience stayed, Price's audience grew tremendously from that time until 1993. It should be noted that reruns of Golden Girls (which replaced Wheel) never did better than Wheel, nor did To Tell the Truth. And Wheel's audience dropped more sharply from the day it reappeared on CBS than any point on NBC.

1998

 * Adam Seigel, 10/9/98: From what I have heard, they have the NBC and CBS daytime WoF's from 1985 on.

2000

 * Foster-Gray, 8/3/00: Not to argue or anything, but the wagon shown in that [Woolery] clip [in the 3,000th nighttime show] looked like a Ford Fairmont/LTD wagon. I didn't think those were made till the late 70s. Were they made in the mid-70s or was that a totally different station wagon? [Wikipedia says the Fairmont was introduced for the 1978 model year, while the LTD debuted in 1965 and had a station-wagon style for its third and fourth iterations {1973-82}. I asked at Yahoo Answers, and the basic response was "mid-1970s Fairmont". Based on all this, I say it's the January 18, 1978 show held by Paley Center.]
 * Card Shark, 11/26/00: Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how far in advance Wheel taped when it moved to CBS in 1989. I was in the audience for the first of about 5 shows that taped on July 17, 1989. They made a big deal out of things because the show was slated to premiere on CBS that day. But, I was just curious as to how far in advance they taped so I can figure out about when the show I attended actually aired.
 * torcanada28, 11/30/00: There was a time during the NBC run of daytime "Wheel" where contestants could stay up to 5 days. When it first started the limit was 3, then after a couple of years they raised it to 5. A few years after that it was back down to 3 again.
 * Mark J., 11/30/00: Actually, it was five days when the show started. A few years into the run, when they actually got letters saying that the champs were winning *too much,* they shortened it to three days.
 * Zach Horan, 12/1/00: I think [the record for the Bob Goen era] was in the $40K-$50K range. The 1975-89 record on NBC was $65,271, set in Rolf's tenure. [He also stated the Benirschke record on 8/20/00.]

2001

 * Christopher Bogart, 4/29/01: I see on GSN's webpage that Rolf Benirschke also hosted wheel.
 * John Holder, 4/29/01: I remember watching an interview with Goen at the time in which he said he'd taped his first show on a Friday three days before it aired.
 * Also, I think the show left NBC for the last time on Sept. 13, 1991, not the 20th, because I have (and recently watched) a tape of a Goen ep. from early Sept., with a commercial plugging the show that would replace WoF on the local station as of Monday the 16th. (WoF was the last show to air on the network at 10 AM Eastern; NBC gave the 10-11 time slot back to its affiliates thereafter.)
 * When the show moved to CBS, it was known that [Rolf] would *not* be hosting it well before it was known who *would* be. (The TV Guide ad for the CBS debut didn't give Bob Goen's name -- it just said "New Host" -- because it apparently went to press before Goen was hired.)
 * Brian M. Bell, 5/6/01: I think it finally left NBC on 9/20/91, but some affiliates cancelled it earlier.
 * Don Del Grande, 6/19/01: I remember that the earliest episodes had maximum values of 250-500-750; the second round added a Bankrupt (replacing Buy A Vowel, I think), and the third added a Lose A Turn (replacing Free Spin). There might have been a 250-500-1000; there was definitely a 500-750-1000, then a 500-1000-1000, and the hour-long version was 500-1000-1500 (with the final puzzle having a 2000 space). I can't remember how long the "Buy A Vowel" space lasted (it was gone by the time they had the hour-long version).
 * Dan Berger, 6/30/01: Their was one time during the post game segment in '99 when Pat looked into a knight's suit on the set [dunno the name of the theme week off-hand] and jokingly asked if Chuck Woolery was in it.
 * Mark J., 7/6/01: The winner [of the playoff round in the hour-long shows] was declared the day's champion and returned to play in the first half of the next day's show. And despite what's described elsewhere, the puzzle choices before the playoff round (done in front of the puzzle board set to read WHEEL OF FORTUNE) weren't by difficulty, but by category (there were three bowls marked, say, PERSON, THING and PHRASE).
 * Streaming Wizard, 7/30/01: "On one of the Halloween episodes (1998, if I recall correctly), Pat and Vanna entered the stage from a "dungeon" and Pat said, "It was nice visiting with Chuck and Susan, wasn't it?"
 * John Holder, 11/27/01: But as far as the ratings go, the daytime show was on the verge of cancellation when the syndicated version launched in 1983 -- King World saw the evening version as a way to keep the show alive after they expected NBC to drop it. It was only because the nighttime show did so well that NBC kept its version on for a few more years. While Rolf Benirschke didn't help the ratings, the decline began well before Rolf got there. [...] I've read that the main reason the show left NBC in 1989 was that the network and Griffin couldn't agree on license fee payments. (The network wasn't willing to pay that much for a show that was doing relatively poorly in the ratings -- the daytime WoF was the second-highest-rated network game show on the air at the time, but that was a very distant second behind TPiR.)
 * Zach Horan, 11/27/01: According to the 1987 paperback book called Wheel of Fortune, a lady on the show in 1976 won over $64K in prizes, for a time when players were allowed to appear on five shows.
 * Yes it was flagging ratings-wise in 1982 and early 1983, but after that, the show was still the number three game show in daytime for a large chunk of the 80s(behind both half hours of TPIR).
 * Zach Horan, 12/28/01: During special weeks of shows on the NBC Daytime run when there were ties, they played a speed up round to determine the winner. That was also the case for the 1989-91 CBS and back to NBC Daytime version.

2002

 * Zach Horan, 2/14/02: Alex also filled in for one daytime episode in August 1985 for Pat.
 * Card Shark, 2/17/02: I attended a [Goen] taping, that just happened to be on the [CBS] premiere date. They were making a very big deal about it. I being only 12 at the time was very confused as to how WOF suddenly jumped to CBS and how many different networks aired it (being confused on syndication, etc). I hadn't watched the daytime version in years by that point, since it aired during school hours, but I knew that I had never seen $50 spaces on the wheel. Of the many things that happened prior to the tape rolling, (including Vanna White "yelling" at me for wearing a Price Is Right shirt in the audience), they were testing out the sound effects for the buzzer, bell, etc. I remember thinking how weak the buzzer sounded at this new location. But, what can you do? But, it was an enjoyable experience to finally attend the taping of a game show.

2004

 * Zach Horan, 7/4/04: It was reported in ATGS that a contestant in the Woolery era managed to win every round, put his money on account before he picked any prizes, and bought the car in the last round.
 * Michael Brandenburg, 7/5/04: The official rule on the show was that you could put any amount of your winnings from a round "On Account" at any time while you were "shopping" -- in fact, I recall one episode in which a contestant put part of her winnings "On Account" before buying anything else during her "shopping spree."
 * sshuffield70, 7/5/04: [T]hey couldn't put it on a gift certificate until after the dog, since "on account" could be used at any time.
 * ChuckNet, 7/5/04: [D]uring the early yrs, Chuck would always precede each shopping spree w/the question "Do you want to put your $$$ on account or go shopping?" (Except during the final round, where both he and the rule said "It's the final round, so you have to go shopping").
 * Ian Wallis, 7/6/04: I remember watching some early shows during the spring break from school that year, and contestants always had odd amounts that they won. I think it was sometime during that summer that contestants were given the option. Once that option was introduced, putting money "on account" was rare.
 * clemon79, 7/7/04: [T]he option was either to put the whole schmiel On Account, or shop until you could shop no mo', and then put the remainder On Account or on a gift certificate.
 * uncamark, 7/7/04: [S]ometim[e] during the first six months, they were allowed to pick whatever platforms they wanted to shop at first (I assume they had everyone rate the platforms 1-2-3). This was when the curtain replaced the doors behind Woolery. By the time we got to Sajak and the turntable, they may've lost the choice completely, or the first round winner's first choice was first and they then went in the order the turntable spun (although if there was a fourth round, they went back to the platform that was the least bought during the game).
 * Steve McClellan, 7/7/04: I distinctly remember seeing an episode on GSN where a guy was down to his last $300 or so. Pat started to tell him to take the Dalmation (or an equally undesirable small prize), but the contestant cut him off and said he wanted to put the rest on account, which was done.

2005

 * Ian Wallis, 1/31/05: I never saw the final show before they went to reruns (although I've been on the hunt for it). Did they ever do a "goodbye" on the last show, or was it just a regular "see you next time"?
 * zachhoran, 1/31/05: I remember seeing the final first-run Goen WOF on 8/30/91, which I didn't know until finding out on ATGS a few years later was the last first-run episode. There was no goodbye, just like on the Rolf finale.
 * SRIV94, 1/31/05: There may not have been an official goodbye on the Rolf finale, but sharp-eyed viewers might've noticed a longer than usual credit roll (including camera operators, which NBC almost never credited on its daytime games). From 1984 (GO!) to 1990 (SCRABBLE), most NBC daytime game exits included extra credits.
 * Jimmy Owen, 2/1/05: On Rolf's last WOF, Vanna advised Rolf to "wear your sunscreen" which roughly translated means "Have a nice life."

2007

 * Ian Wallis, 7/8/07: The very first time I watched the show - which was probably spring break in 1975 - players were forced to put any unused money On Account after every round. Some of the early winners had odd dollar totals. Shortly after that (can't remember exactly when) they offered the choice of the gift certificate. That rule seemed to come into effect pretty quickly. As we know, just about everyone took the certificate.
 * I remember one time in the '70s, a male player in the third position won something like $700 in the first round and elected to put it all On Account. Chuck was surprised and almost tried to talk him out of it in case he hit a bankrupt. He ended up winning the next round too, and was able to buy a much nicer prize.
 * Don Howard, 7/9/07: I personally will award a Todd Russell Jackpot of a two-dollar bill if one of you invokes Todd's name during a WOF appearance.

2008

 * Randy West, 2/26/08: I had the pleasure of sitting with Jack during one tape day. He was in a little utility room just off the studio floor with a 3x5 card for each of the prizes spread out in front of him. As the players bought prizes he grabbed the correct cards, and read the copy from that deck of cards. Nice, nice guy.
 * davemackey, 2/26/08: Jack was eventually moved to an area just in front of the audience seating area to get him out in the open. It was interesting to watch him work the cards the day I saw Wheel tape at NBC.

2010

 * Eric Paddon, 2/10/10: There are by my count, four Pat/Vanna episodes with "Big Wheels" accounted for. This one [the May '83 show completely in monochrome], Vanna's debut episode as permanent hostess from 82, the "Teen Week" finale from [April 1,] 1983 and another May 1983 episode ten days before this one where the second half is in B/W on the source recording due to reception trouble (the same person also taped a "Battlestars" in the trade circuit where the first half is B/W and the second half in color).
 * [The 12/29/82 show and another from that week also circulate; the airdate of the completely-monochrome episode depends on whether Paddon meant "business" or "calendar" days – if the former, it's May 20; if the latter, it's the 16th. I don't think the Wheel would be updated like that during a taping session, though, so I'd go with the latter...except I don't recall anybody promoting the Vacation Bonanza Contest on that episode; then again, 1) I probably saw that episode once before it got removed from YouTube, 2) that ad was blurry at the top, and 3) I'm pretty sure I didn't know about said contest when I saw said episode.]

2011

 * Ian Wallis, 5/27/11: In the earliest episodes, you had to put any remaining money on account. It wasn't until a few months into the run they gave the option of that or a gift certificate for the rest. After that option became available, it was rare to see anyone put anything on account.
 * bradhig, 7/12/11: Anyone remember the episode in which Pat Sajak says "Time to lock up my valuables[."] and locks Vanna White in a vault prop on the stage? I believe it was around 1987 or 1988 they still had the shopping spree on the night time versions. [Nighttime shopping was dropped on October 5, 1987.]
 * That Don Guy, 7/26/11: KGO in San Francisco had a local Wheel of Fortune with two-player teams from the Bay Area (the only celeb I remember from that episode was Warriors center Nate Thurmond), back when they did a week there (I'm pretty sure that was the " Vanna's Pregnant Round 2 Missing" week).
 * (At least I think it aired only in SF; the first puzzle was "Clara Barton" (founder of the American Red Cross), if anybody else remembers seeing it.)
 * trytobecharming, 7/29/11 (Golden-Road): A Goen episode had six maingame rounds and played a tiebreaker speed up to break a tie(on the Chuck/Pat/Rolf, or at least Pat/Rolf daytime show, if it was not a special week of shows, the three players would return on the next show to determine a champion)
 * gameshowlover87, 8/27/11: I also found out recently, that when WOF began taping at CBS Television City, they began by taping several weeks worth of Goen shows, then alternated between taping that version and the syndicated version with Sajak as early as the following month (August 1989).

Links

 * I'm on YouTube!
 * ...and Twitter!