SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Pat Sajak, the long-time and legendary host of gameshow Wheel of Fortune, has officially retired.
Sajak's last episode aired on Friday, June 7, tear-filled goodbyes and all.
"It's been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade," Sajak said.
"Eight thousand episodes went by like that. When I first started, I was so green. You made me so comfortable and made me so confident, Pat," said Wheel of Fortune cohost Vanna White.
After more than 8,000 episodes, Sajak's spin as the host of Wheel has come to an end. The announcement first came in June 2023 that he would retire at the end of the 41st season.
Fans across the country have been reminiscing on Sajak's run as host, including some residing in the Natural State.
Now that the world has said goodbye to the TV legend and icon, two Arkansans fortunate enough to be on the show are remembering their brief time with Sajak.
Tori Lime of Cave Springs and Lynette McClelland of Rogers spoke to 5NEWS about what they thought about Sajak and his over four decades of hosting one of the most watched syndicated shows in television history.
"He was very funny. I mean, he, I think he really gets into meeting the people. He wants things done properly. And just a handsome man, very handsome. It was just an amazing thing to meet him, especially since this is his last year filming," McClelland said.
"My goodness, he is quick on his feet. So all of those little like zingers that he does and how he kind of riffs off of players, that is all Pat. None of that is someone's scripting," Lime added.
Lynette says she's still amazed she actually made it to the show.
"It was just one of those lifetime experiences that you just can't describe it and everything all the people I met, Pat and Vanna to have that opportunity, especially as last year and the day we were there, we filmed on October the 26th which was his birthday, so that was a little extra special thing," Lynette said.
Tori says that there is no more perfect person to have hosted the show for that long.
"He is built for that show. He is just, he plays off of people so well," Tori explained. "He's genuine and sincere. And you can tell him, everyone working on that production, they genuinely want all of the contestants to have a good time and to make memories."
Sajak is actually a world record holder for being the longest serving game show host ever.
"It's been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade, and I've always felt that the privilege came with a 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, but gradually, it became more than that, a place where kids learned their letters, where people from other countries honed their English skills, where families came together, along with friends and neighbors and entire generations. What an honor to have played even a small part in all that," Sajak said during his final episode.
By the way, Lynette went on to win a trip to the Grand Canyon, which she got back from just recently, and Tori ended up winning $2,000.
Summer re-runs will air until Ryan Seacrest takes over the hosting duties when the new season starts later this fall.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.