John Oliver pays tribute to Pat Sajak's 'Wheel of Fortune' hosting legacy with supercut of worst guesses
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: This week marked Pat Sajak's final episode as host of 'Wheel of Fortune', and to bid him farewell, John Oliver of 'Last Week Tonight' compiled a humorous memory video highlighting some of the worst guesses the game show host encountered during his tenure.
The supercut, featured during the night's first "And Now…This" segment about seven minutes into the comedian's show, was aptly titled "Pat Sajak Endured Decades of Terrible Guesses."
(Getty Images)
John Oliver pays tribute to Pat Sajak's 'Wheel of Fortune' hosting legacy
To add drama, Oliver set the video to the tune of 'Ave Maria' by Franz Schubert, letting former contestants' blunders take center stage.
The first clip featured a puzzle with only three letters missing, where the obvious solution was "another feather in your cap." However, the contestant guessed "another feather in your lap," as per The Wrap.
In another unforgettable moment, under the category of 'Song/Artist', a player guessed 'I Have the Wine by Johnny Cash'. This blunder from 2013 stood out as the correct answer was 'I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash'.
Oliver also made sure to include a more recent incident where a contestant guessed a decidedly NSFW answer for his puzzle.
Pat Sajak admitted it was a privilege to host 'Wheel of Fortune' in his farewell message
Throughout the clips, Sajak, who was the host of the game show for over 40 years, mostly remained composed, gently informing players that their humorous guesses were incorrect.
In one instance, he lightly teased contestants who repeated the same wrong answer, joking that it wouldn’t become correct "no matter how many times you say it."
However, in the final clip of the montage, Sajak momentarily lost his cool when a contestant guessed "a group of pill-pushers" for the 'People' category.
"This is ‘Wheel of Fortune' Joe!" exclaimed Sajak as the audience burst into laughter.
With that, the montage concluded, and Oliver seamlessly transitioned to the next segment without directly addressing Sajak’s departure from the show.
The beloved TV host announced in June 2023 that he will retire from 'Wheel of Fortune' at the end of Season 41. Soon after, it was revealed that Ryan Seacrest would replace the legendary host, starting in September 2024.
In his farewell message, Sajak said, "It’s been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade."
He added, "And I’ve always felt that the privilege came with the responsibility to keep this daily half-hour a safe place for family fun. No social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing, I hope — just a game."
