He was eventually transferred to Saigon to be a radio DJ, serving as an early-morning host for the Armed Forces Vietnam Network from October 1968 through December 1969. He told the USO in a 2014 interview that he joined the Army and trained as a clerk typist, eventually going to Vietnam as a finance clerk. He always had a passion for broadcasting and made a number of stops before his career-defining role on Wheel. Patrick Leonard Sajdak-he unofficially dropped the “d” when he began working in television and eventually changed his name-was born in Chicago on October 26, 1946.

Before Wheel, Sajak Was a Radio DJ and Weatherman Here’s the scoop on how Sajak eventually became the chief of consonants and vowels.

But back in the early ’80s, his hiring wasn’t popular-and even sparked conflict between NBC and show creator Merv Griffin. There were 2 puzzles deleted because of Hurricane Katrina, one because a hostess miscarried, and one more because of 9-11.Sajak has helmed the popular hangman-style game show since 1981, forming one of the most recognizable duos in television with Wheel letter-turner Vanna White. These reasons range from personal troubles to national tragedies. There are also missing puzzles that were omitted for various reasons. A large, yet not comprehensive list of Daytime episodes that are known to still exist can be found online. Many of the episodes are still held by the production company and can be purchased for $75. Despite the huge amount of missing material, many of the episodes have surfaced via personal collections, episodes kept by the network for their 'importance', and other various means of preservation. Woolery's run, as well as early Sajak daytime episodes, was repeatedly taped over to create room for new episodes. Woolery's run went from the show's debut all the way until 1981 when he departed and passed the show off to Pat Sajak. The show was highly successful and remains popular even to this day. The show debuted in 1975 with the original host, Chuck Woolery doing the daytime run and Pat Sajak doing the night. Wheel Of Fortune is another massive, long-running gameshow.

Wheel of fortune logo 1980s