1970s
1975
On January 6, the first episode of Wheel of Fortune premiered on NBC.
1976
Legendary announcer Charlie O'Donnell became part of the Wheel of Fortune team.
1980s
1980
Back when contestants would shop with their winnings, “I’ll take the ceramic Dalmatian for $154,” became somewhat of a catch phrase.
The Dalmatian (named Sheldon) has since become the official mascot of Wheel, and can still be found on set today.
1980
The tradition of having athletes and celebrity
contestants donate their winnings to a charity of their choice began. To date, Wheel has donated over $5,400,000.
1981
On December 28, Pat Sajak replaced Chuck Woolery on NBC’s daytime version of the show to begin his 43 legendary years as host.
1982
Vanna White joined Wheel as co-host, winning over producers and America with her grace
and charm. The first letter she turned on the
puzzleboard was “T.” To date, Vanna has worn over 8,000 different outfits at the puzzleboard. Many are donated to charity auctions once she’s worn them in the show.
1990s
1994
Pat Sajak was honored with a star on the world-famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1996
In honor of Wheel of Fortune's sponsorship of the 1996 Olympic Games, Pat and Vanna each had a hand in carrying the torch during the domestic relay.
1997
On February 24, the famous puzzleboard made the transition from analog to digital to help save time when taping.
1998
In celebration of the 3,000th episode, Wheel of Fortune aired a 30-minute special from Las Vegas.
2000s
2000
The Wheelmobile, a 39-foot Winnebago,
gave fans throughout America’s heartland the
opportunity to audition to be a contestant in person. Have you been to a Wheelmobile event?
2001
Changing Lives One Spin At a Time
Christopher Yanov took his winnings of $23,200 and started Reality Changers, a non-profit to that helps prepare low-income and inner-city students for college.
2002
20 years of Wheel!
2003
Wheel of Fortune took to Radio City Music Hall in
New York City to celebrate its 4,000th episode with a retrospective that covered the last 20 years on air.
2005
Changing Lives One Spin At a Time
Chaplain Christian Dashiell used his winnings of $42,140 to fund the costs of adopting a special-needs child from Vietnam.
2006
Vanna received a star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame.
2007
Changing Lives One Spin At a Time
Working with the childhood hunger non-profit Feed the Children, Michael Brown used part of his $13,650 winnings to bring a truckload of food to Long Beach, California.
2007
Clink, clink! Here’s to 25 years of Wheel!
2008
On October 14, Michelle Lowenstein became the first $1 Million Bonus Round winner!
2009
On February 27, Wheel filmed it’s 5,000th
episode.
2010s
2011
To "drive" even more excitement,
Wheel introduced the ½ Car Tag, which allowed contestants a chance to go home in
a brand-new car!
2011
At the start of the season, famous LA radio
personality Jim Thornton joined the Wheel of Fortune team as announcer.
2013
Wheel celeberated its 30th anniversary!
2013
On May 30, during “Celebrating 30 Week,” 30-year-old Autumn Erhard became the second $1 Million Bonus Round winner.
2013
Wheel kicked off a new season in Las Vegas
with the addition of the Ex-press Wedge. Like a roll of the dice, the new wedge gave contestants
a chance to win lots of cash fast or lose it all in
a matter of seconds.
2020s
2024
On May 24, the 8000th episode of Wheel aired across the nation.
2024
On June 7, over 11 million fans tuned in to see Pat Sajak host his last episode of the syndicated version of Wheel of Fortune.
2024
On September 9, a new era of Wheel began
with a new host for the first time in 41 years, Ryan Seacrest.
Present
The puzzleboard contains 52 touch-screen
monitors, 12 across in the top and bottom rows and 14 across in the two middle rows.
The Wheel isn't just made of cardboard,
glitter and some duct tape. It's equipped with over 200 computerized lighting instruments,
and is capable of displaying up to 2 million
different color choices.