Behind the Scenes of Wheel of Fortune (May 5, 1989)

Wheel of Fortune (often known simply as Wheel) is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 1975. It features a competition in which contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those 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 hosts, who have hosted the nighttime version since its inception. The original version of Wheel was a network daytime series that ran on NBC from January 6, 1975, to June 30, 1989, and subsequently aired on CBS from July 17, 1989, to January 11, 1991; it returned to NBC on January 14, 1991, and was cancelled that year, ending on September 20, 1991. (The network daytime and syndicated nighttime versions aired concurrently with each other from 1983 until the former's conclusion.)
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. The show has also had four announcers in its history: Charlie O'Donnell, Jack Clark, M. G. Kelly, and Jim Thornton.
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 version's 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, and features celebrities playing a modified version of the game with winnings donated to charity.
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.[1] TV Guide named it the "top-rated syndicated series" in a 2008 article,[3] and in 2013, the magazine ranked it at No. 2 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.[4] The program has also come to gain a worldwide following with 60 international adaptations. The syndicated series' 40th season premiered on September 12, 2022, and Sajak became the longest-running host of any game show, surpassing Bob Barker, who hosted The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007.[5]

[@chris.twentyeightt]

The wheel is moving by itself!!!!😂

[@gdi9320]

Wow thats raw footage of NBC era Wheel

[@danielanderson4726]

I remember on the daytime show sometimes where the speed up was played for a gift certificate, and someone won a ton of money and Pat or Rolf said that the contestant could put the money on a gift certificate or select one of the five grand prizes. I know it happened a few times.

[@user-need.advicee]

80s hair!! 😍😍😍

[@jimmyboyzable]

Pretty Cool Stuff !!! : )

[@byrd56]

3:40 - Another way you can tell it was a rehearsal is that I think it looks like supervising producer Nancy Jones standing in for Vanna next to the big board. 5:58 - Charlie O'Donnell, who was into his second stint as "Wheel" announcer, until his passing in 2010.

[@danielanderson4726]

Interesting that he sat near the audience. Rod Roddy usually was next to the Producers Table on Price, Bill Wolff, AW's announcer sat in the back of the production booth, Don Morrow on SOTC sat on a raised platform to the right of the stage and just sat in his chair and read some copy and slated promos. Don would do the contestant tease live. The introduction was pre-taped right up to the echo-chamber "SALE OF THE CENTURY!", then Don went live with his introduction of Jim Perry. I think Charlie Tuna would do this on Scrabble, doing the champion intro live then the intro was pre-taped up till he introduced Chuck Woolery. Gene Wood did his stuff live usually on CC and SP.

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

Right... when NBC threatened to cancel Wheel in June 1980, O'Donnell quit as though he believed it to be true, which it wasn't. The three game shows that were not to return on June 23, 1980 included Hollywood Squares (Peter Marshall original), The New High Rollers (Alex Trebek) and Chain Reaction (Bill Cullen). NBC sought to cancel Wheel again after August 1, 1980, but again backed down after looking at the ratings for the third and final half-hour of The David Letterman Show, and cut that series to one hour instead, again leaving Wheel intact. O'Donnell did fill in for Jack Clark on one nighttime episode of Wheel in 1985, when Clark had missed tapings. Clark then quit The $25,000 Pyramid to focus on Wheel full time after that. After Clark died in 1988, M. G. Kelly took over as the announcer and remained there until O'Donnell was available for Wheel full-time in January 1989.

[@bmhedgehog2]

@@danielanderson4726nope Rod’s podium was on the opposite side of the producer’s table. Table on stage left podium on stage right

[@marcomacias3960]

so at 5:34 the machine the guy is using is to put the points into scoreboards right?

[@LittleRockElevators]

Yes

[@samsticka]

So when did this air?

[@jeromebaxter2987]

3:33

[@Lupton2000]

Final days at NBC Studios.

[@millenniumman75]

11:13 - I am kind of surprised there are trilons with loaded letters of other puzzles on the board with all of the contestants standing on it. But then, you look at the letters behind Vanna it was the "MAJOR VICTORY" you already saw. Normally, that would not have happened - Standards and Practices would have been on them. Another thing I found interesting about that particular puzzleboard was that, for some reason, the leftmost two letters (row two and three) were turned slightly inward all the time.

[@onnapnewo]

Those were puzzles for the rehearsal games. At 5:20 you can see a piece of paper with a solution on it labeled “Rehearsal B”. It was probably easier with the old board to have several small puzzles loaded at once as they have to give every contestant a turn at rehearsing on stage.

[@Angie2343]

2:06 Let's give that sexy Wheel a spin. 5:58 Charlie! =D

[@gameshowguy2000]

2:05 Automation? Looks like it to me. 2:25 Audience chant. Turn up your phone or computer if need be. 2:40 Opening narration including possible prizes you can win on the audience monitor.

[@mixon270]

Actually this was May 1989

[@anthonyguarino4242]

You’re right! If this was May 1988, the $25,000 sign would’ve been original blue neon from season 5. It was changed into the white flashing hexagonal $25,000 sign from season 6 to season 13. Good catch!

[@mixon270]

@@anthonyguarino4242 yes indeed

[@anthonyguarino4242]

@@mixon270 you notice in rehearsals, they start the puzzle at the top row and the end of the rehearsal, they started the puzzle at the bottom row. Do they start the rehearsal rounds from top puzzles to bottom puzzles?

[@mixon270]

​@Anthony Guarino you know something along with that it was a good video to see from that week of rehearsal I think they taped this in March for it to air in May in syndication they taped two to three month in advance

[@anthonyguarino4242]

@@mixon270 indeed!

[@anthonyguarino4242]

So this is a rehearsal warm-up game! Never heard of AFRO HAIRDO.