December 28, 1981: A couple of moments from Pat's first day.
After introducing himself for the first time and giving a heartwarming thanks to original host Chuck Woolery, he quipped "And now, I'd like to announce that I'm leaving the show..."
Round 2 had a contestant with $2,650 decide not to pick an expensive hot tub, instead purchasing the other 10 prizes in the showcase, which led to a two-minute marathon voiceover for announcer Jack Clark. Pat had fun ribbing the contestant for this decision.
Sometime during his first week, aired between December 29-31, 1981: A contestant missolves a puzzle as "ABRAHAM BINCOLN." Sajak later quips that the man in question would be the one who delivered the Bettysburg Address.
Several times during Sajak's original daytime run, the puzzles would either include mild profanity (e.g., "HELL BENT FOR ELECTION") or, because only part of the puzzle was revealed, the puzzle board showed a profanity (e.g., "DAVID HASSELHOFF" with the A's and S's uncovered but, among other letters, not the Hs or the E). Pat was sure to make a big deal out of things.
Nighttime (1983-)
On several occasions during the shopping era, Pat would play with various prizes on the turntable during the intro, which often sent then-announcer Jack Clark into fits of laughter.
An episode from late November or early December 1984:
In Round 1, the red contestant hits the Free Spin wedge three times in a row, and then a fourth time after calling two letters, after which she cheers the wheel to land away from the wedge. She uses "only" one Free Spin in this round.
In Round 3, Pat runs up to the board to reveal the apostrophe in the puzzle. After the blue contestant loses her turn, the red contestant eventually solves for $15,700 with a little help from her three remaining Free Spins.
December 5, 1985: After contestant Niki solves her bonus puzzle, her family races to her, prompting Pat to scream "Oh no!" and struggle free. He takes off his jacket, then runs back to Niki to open the door to the Mazda she just won. The look on Pat's face is priceless, and Jack Clark tries to hold in his laughter following promotional copy.
December 23, 1988: Pat's Christmas gift to the viewers: "singing" "White Christmas" in an intentionally off-key manner while Vanna accompanied him on the piano.
January or early February 1989:
Pat: What would you like to play for [in the bonus round]? Contestant: Vanna White!
The contestant then added that he actually wanted to play for $25,000 cash, prompting then-announcer M.G. Kelly to say "I was getting ready to tell him about Vanna!"
September 8, 1989: The yellow contestant has won Rounds 1-3, so Pat consoles the other contestants by saying, "Things can change around here in a hurry." One of them replies "We gotta get rid of him, though." while pointing to the yellow contestant.
October 17, 1989: The puzzle DESE DEM AND DOSE GUYS (supposed to be a thickly-accented "these, them, and those guys") is completely filled-in. The contestant reads the first word as "Desi", and Pat turns to then-producer Nancy Jones for a reading, adding "I know it's a crummy puzzle." She has the contestant say it again, which he does (with the same mistake), and Pat just says "Listen, he's got all the letters up, I'm taking it."
October 30, 1989: The puzzle reads _AR_EC_E S_IT. Contestant calls an "H". Pat's response? "Happily, no." (It was BARBECUE SPIT, which the next contestant filled in entirely before solving.)
In another episode, the bonus round puzzle was "CUSSWORDS." Pat suggested – jokingly, of course – that the contestant's mouth needed to be washed out with soap.
Just about any time Pat's First or Final Spin lands on Bankrupt is funny, if only to watch Pat mentally facepalm and give a little quip.
May 7, 1992: A Before & After puzzle of R__ T__ T__ ___ is shown during a Speed-Up. A contestant guesses RIP THE TIE OFF to which Pat remarks, "That's a lovely thought." The answer was RIN TIN TIN CAN.
December 28, 1992: The puzzle is BATHTUB GIN & FLAPPERS, in the category of The Twenties. As was sometimes done at the time, the contestant was given a bonus question asked by Charlie O'Donnell — specifically, what the most popular dance was in the 1920s. The contestant couldn't come up with the name Charleston, so he said "the one that goes like this" and started dancing the Charleston. They took it as a right answer.
January 1994: Raymond Taylor, an undefeated champion who on his first day acted like he was a stoner the show pulled in when a contestant didn't show up. He ended up being a lot better than he looked and acted, which he proved by winning all three of his appearances with a total of over $81,000; indeed, he was so popular that he came back for "Some of the Greats!" the following year.
Harsher in Hindsight: Raymond ended up getting obsessed with the show, to the point of trespassing on the set, and in 1997 was banned from even so much as being in the audience via court order.
May 3, 1994: "Weird Al" Yankovic plays during a celebrity week. He's clearly having a blast up there, and being the Weird Al we all know and love. Among his humorous moves are asking to buy an umlaut, trying to buy prizes after solving a puzzle, and saying the Bonus Round answer very slowly so it takes up the entire 10 seconds...then proceeding to run around a lot in victory.
March 1, 1995: A contestant solves the Megaword puzzle BOMBASTIC and uses it in a sentence — "Being on Wheel of Fortune is a bombastic experience."
Pat: Let's turn to that part of the Wheel of Fortune rulebook called "The Giant Gray Area", and see what our Producer says. Nancy: If she really feels that way. (Pat laughs for a few seconds) Our producer — Nancy Jones, by the way — has said "If she really feels that way", so we're accepting this? (applause; Pat picks up the contestant's prize wedge) ...Yeah.
March 24, 1995: In the Speed-Up round, SCR__ is showing on a Slang puzzle. An old lady calls W. (The answer was SCRAM.)
November 1995: Pat kills a fly on the Wheel during a Seattle episode by swatting it with the Surprise wedge.
December 1, 1995: Pat has been teasing Vanna about her decision to cut her hair. He pulls out a huge pair of scissors and turns Vanna around, much to her shock. She's obviously nervous, making comments like "He's really gonna do it, isn't he?" He does. During the credits, he passes out clippings to members of the audience.
September 12, 1996: Pat and Vanna are talking about the Jackpot wedge that will debut on the next Monday's show. He holds it upside-down and says "Beginning next week we have our Topkcaj..." before Vanna smirks, takes the wedge and turns it right-side up.
May 8, 1997: A special charity episode featuring celebrities and their moms playing together. Bonnie Hunt accidentally spins before her letter can be revealed, so she abruptly stops the wheel and proceeds to spend a great deal of time Chewing the Scenery before re-spinning. Pat could barely contain his demeanor, finally telling her to "spin the damn wheel!"
September 11, 1997: Sandy lands on $250, but she's looking at the wrong arrow, so she thinks she's landed on Bankrupt and says "Damn!" Pat then quips "A little editing and no one will know." After she calls a letter then asks to solve, he says, "We wish the hell you would!"
Season 15 (1997-98): "Put down that ____, Charlie, it's time for our Jackpot round!"
1998-99: After showing a clip of an excited female contestant who jumped on her husband after she won a car...
Pat: 16 years on the show and you've never jumped on me like that. Vanna: Well, you've never given me a car. Pat: Well, there you go.
November 11, 1999: The goofball who thought A GROUP OF PILL-PUSHERS was the answer to the puzzle even though he just said the letter P. A stunned Pat stayed silent for a few seconds, then screamed "This isWheel of Fortune, Joe!!!" Later, with only the vowels missing, another contestant mis-solved as A GROUP OF WILL-WISHES before the third contestant finally solved A GROUP OF WELL-WISHERS. Finally, after congratulating the winner, Pat walked over to Joe and pretended to punch him while remarking "Don't make me come over there!"
In a lesser example from earlier in the same round, Joe called a B and blurted out "Oh, Jesus!" when he realized it'd already been called. Pat then quipped that Joe was an "extremely religious man".
November 2, 2000: In honor of Halloween week, celebrities play the game in Halloween costumes. Alex Trebek, of all people, hilariously plays a temperamental gnome. Richard Simmons as William Shakespeare is quite funny as well.
Week of February 5, 2001: One contestant had a Bonus Round puzzle of ____ER. His letter choices yielded nothing, yet he somehow managed to solve it with a wild guess of GOPHER. Cue Pat staring at the solved puzzle, at the contestant now shrieking with joy, and then doing a pat-down search of the contestant's body.
He previously did the same thing on September 7, 1992 (when someone solved FROG with only the R showing), and did it on May 11, 2011 (when someone solved the obscure Phrase INGENIOUS DEVICE with very little help).
April 2, 2001: A Toss-Up puzzle is WHEEL OF FORTUNE, leading Pat to quip that the show has officially run out of puzzles.
May 2001: Pat realizes after Round 1 that his zipper is undone, so he slumps over the railing to obscure it. He asks Charlie to "kill some time" by reading the Jackpot copy and Charlie deadpans "You're on your own."
2001-02 (Season 19): One contestant thought a Toss-Up answer was AN UGLY CHILD, causing Pat to reply with "Now you do realize you are a school counselor." note (The answer was AN ONLY CHILD.)
2002: During a Hawaii episode with family teams playing, Pat asks one contestant "What was that noise you made?" The contestant looks behind himself and says "...Noise?", prompting Pat to say "Good night, everyone!" and start walking away.
April 25, 2002: Two funny moments:
A contestant fails to solve the bonus puzzle HOCKEY FANS with __C_E_ _ANS showing, making a bunch of humorous guesses beginning with "uncle". After time expires, he says "I wasn't even sniffing it!"...and then misreads the now-revealed answer as HOKEY FANS.
As this was NASCAR week, Vanna highlighted the Pit Stop crew and what it can do in about 10 seconds. Immediately after, Pat says that Wheel of Fortune also has its own Pit Stop crew ...which proceeds to alter the wheel for Round 2 at a similar pace.
Week of April 29, 2002: During a Teen Best Friends Week, one contestant solved a Toss-Up as CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE. Her partner then added an S to COOKIE to form the correct answer. They giggled like crazy, and the answer was accepted. Pat was quick to lampshade their Ass Pull:
Pat: That's a great display of teamwork. Chocolate Chip Cookie-zuh!
Week of November 18, 2002: Pat's response to a mother-daughter team who won: "The only reason I'm smiling is because your mother is patting my rear-end!"
May 1, 2003: A contestant accidentally breaks her Toss-Up buzzer by jumping up and down after solving the Toss-Up. Pat takes the broken buzzer and looks at it for several seconds, before pretending to be electrocuted.
Week of May 5, 2003 (Armed Forces Week): Pat and the red contestant have a bit too much fun butt-slapping, after which Pat says to move on as it could take an ugly turn. At the end of the show, Vanna slaps Pat's rear while saying it was a great show. Both moments would later be used as one opening clip for the 30th anniversary.
November 7, 2003: After a very enthusiastic contestant yells out the Speed-Up answer DOUBLE-DECKER BUS (with only the B's and S showing!), Pat placidly remarks "The answer was 'DOUBLE-DECKER BUS'." Said contestant later goes to the bonus round, solving the bonus puzzle in a similarly exuberant fashion...leading to Pat pretending to wrestle the contestant to the ground.
January 2, 2004: A contestant had a little trouble picking her letters in the Bonus Round.
Contestant: C, D, I...I'm sorry. Pat: That's okay. Is I the vowel you're going with? Contestant: Yeah. C...did I already say C? Pat: You did. Usually this is one of the easier parts of the show...
She went on to pick B as her final consonant, then solved the puzzle GOLDIE HAWN right away.
September 17, 2004: Part of the puzzle ASSEMBLY & THE DOTTED LINE is filled in, leaving ASS_____ on the top row. After the E is called, Pat remarks "Praise the Lord!"
November 5, 2004: Pat asks a contestant if they have any family members or friends in the audience. The contestant says that he doesn't, and Pat realizes that he already asked that same question right before they came back from commercial. He then decides to blame his gaffe on "that damn ventriloquist" who was one of the other contestants that day.
December 7, 2004: A contestant solves the puzzle TV HOST WHO GAVE BRAND-NEW CARS TO ENTIRE AUDIENCE. When asked to identify who it is, she guesses Pat Sajak (The answer was Oprah).
Season 25 (2007-08): "Hey, Charlie! I got a message for you..."
February 13, 2008: After the puzzle HISTORIC OPERA HOUSE, Pat accidentally tells a contestant that she's going to Australia instead of Austria. He acknowledges the error before the next round, but points out that the offscreen scoreboard is displaying it as Jamaica.
April 1, 2008: The second April Fool's Day episode, also mentioned on the main page.
November 5, 2008: When showing the contestant's relatives who are in the audience (as is often done before the bonus round), one of said relatives gives the contestant a thumbs-up. The bonus puzzle? THUMBS UP, which he solved.
December 15, 2008: A contestant mis-solved the Toss-Up WISH LIST as FISH LOVE, immediately causing everyone to think that he was playing What an Idiot straight. He proved them wrong by proceeding to the bonus round and winning it; after the victory celebration, Pat tells the contestant to look at the puzzle board, which reads FISH LOVE. Watch the incident here.
March 5, 2009: A Before & After puzzle reads _A___ ____ SHI_T. After an incorrect letter and a Bankrupt, a contestant finally calls the R, to which Pat says "Thank you!" (The answer was MARCO POLO SHIRT.)
March 25, 2009: Pat says that because two of the contestants' names (Tani and Connie) sound similar, having already led to confusion in the $2,000 Toss-Up, he will refer to Tani as "Ed". Pat later calls on "Ed" after Tani rings in for the $3,000 Toss-Up, and things don't go as planned.
Season 28 (2010-11): Many of the opening animations with the Pat and Vanna avatars. For instance, one shows Pat repeatedly touching a letter on the board and hearing only the buzzer, until Vanna leans in and touches it for him.
September 21, 2010: Following the solve of a Prize Puzzle of a vacation to Maui (in Hawaii), the prize was awarded to a Wheel Watchers Club winner. Nothing unusual there, but guess where that winner lives?
October 1, 2010: A contestant who had been getting Bankrupt every single time he spun finally lands on a money space...and it's $5,000. He asks for a T...and Pat just shakes his head as the buzzer sounds. At the end of the game, after that same contestant won (thanks to a $6,000 Final Spin) and the audience applauded him loudly, Pat told them they should be applauding him instead as he was the one who spun the Wheel!
October 4, 2010: A contestant accidentally removes the backing from a Gift Tag when trying to pick it up. After Pat puts it back together, he jokes "That'll be $87.50." to the contestant before allowing her to take her next turn.
November 9, 2010: A contestant rings in to solve a Toss-Up and says the right answer of MILLIONS & BILLIONS, but Pat rules it wrong. After a few seconds, they take the answer. Cue Pat looking at his cards and realizing that he was looking at the wrong puzzle (which is why he accidentally ruled her wrong), then promptly entering Self-Deprecation mode.
December 2, 2010: A contestant calls a 7 as his vowel in the Bonus Round.
January 7, 2011: The contestant fails to solve the Bonus Round puzzle and asks Pat, about to open the prize envelope, to "show me something small". Cue audience laughter and Pat dropping the prize envelope and walking offstage with a "Goodnight, everybody!"-type gesture. (Followed by Mood Whiplash when the contestant picks up the envelope, opens it himself, and sees that he lost out on $100,000.)
January 13, 2011: After a contestant solves a "What Are You Doing?" puzzle (TUNING IN TO MY FAVORITE SHOW), Pat asked the contestant what show that would be. She replies "I dunno, I like 'em all...American Idol." The crowd starts laughing, and it takes her a few seconds to realize that Wheel Of Fortune was the answer Pat was looking for. (He asked her again just before they went to the bonus round {which she didn't qualify for}, and she gave the "right" answer.)
April 19, 2011: A contestant spins the Wheel but lands on a Bankrupt. Not paying attention, she immediately calls out a letter, only to look down and exclaim "OH, I'M BANKRUPT!" Control did eventually go back to her, and she solved the puzzle.
November 17, 2011: Pat and director Mark Corwin have some fun with each other.
December 9, 2011: Tina solves a puzzle for $600 (bumped to $1,000), then during the break admits that she wanted to avoid getting the "pity thousand". No, seriously, a contestant referred to the $1,000 consolation prize as "pity money".
December 23, 2011: The Round 2 puzzle is PAT I'D LIKE TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE, which Pat lampshaded after it was solved.
December 30, 2011: During her interview, the middle contestant says "I'm married to a wonderful husband and I have two great chil—oh, no, that's somebody else's life. I'm single..." Even Pat was fooled.
January 25, 2012: A contestant named Precious makes it to the Bonus Round. Her bonus puzzle? PRECIOUS CARGO.
March 16, 2012: Contestant Taylor accidentally calls R even though it's already in the puzzle. He promptly grunts and slumps over the railing before patting one of his opponents on the back, saying "have fun, man." Pat then walks over and consoles Taylor, telling him to be an American and man up, to the applause of the audience.
October 1, 2012: A contestant hits Free Play on their first spin and calls E. Pat tells him that he has to call a consonant, but quickly corrects himself and calls himself an idiot. The contestant calls T on their next turn and Pat says "Yes, there are no T's."
Halloween Week 2012: Jim Thornton was obviously having fun during the taping. On the first episode of the week, Pat asked if Jim would keep cracking Halloween-related jokes, and Jim said "You can count on it." in a Dracula voice. Later in the week, Pat said that the studio was haunted. Cue Jim making ghost noises and Pat saying "That was Chuck Woolery."
January 22, 2013: After contestant Zee solves the Speed-Up puzzle FASHION STATEMENT, she jumps around in celebration, after which Pat jokes he could be hurt.
In the bonus round, she makes seven guesses on the puzzle ____ __ SOMET__N_, then Pat shouts "Can't we give her the money?!" before the answer WHIP UP SOMETHING is revealed. Zee then shouts the full answer after WHIP is revealed joking that she got it, and Pat tells her she needs a nice long rest.
February 18, 2013: During Pet Lovers Week, Pat calls Jim to come onstage, and jokingly berates him for daring to say that he bought a "ewe".
April 30, 2013: With the bonus puzzle showing only _A__N_ ______E, a contestant guesses MAKING WHOOPEE (the actual answer was WAVING GOODBYE).
May 13, 2013: On the first episode of Best Friends Week, one member of the red team tells her teammate not to spin again; he declines, and lands on… the Prize wedge, before solving the puzzle for $8,750 and an $11,000-plus trip.
Australian Version
On one episode, host John Burgess ran out excitedly at the open...and promptly fell on his rear end.
Burgo: Alright, who polished the floor?!
British Version
The British version used a quiz round to determine control of the Wheel. After the host ran through several questions that nobody could answer, he finally asked "What's the first letter of the alphabet?"
One contestant spun the Wheel the wrong way. While this doesn't seem like a big deal (after all, Sajak's done it several times), it actually ruined the mechanism and forced taping to be suspended for several hours while studio technicians tried to get it working again.
