“Tonight, we spin the wheel… with one empty space in our hearts.”
The host’s voice rang out, slower than usual. There was no familiar opening music, no thunderous applause. The Wheel of Fortune auditorium was plunged into a respectful silence. On the big screen behind the stage, an image of the recently deceased father of a crew member appeared – a man the entire show still affectionately calls “Mr. Sajak.”
From the very first seconds, the audience knew: this was no ordinary recording.
Vanna White stepped in front of the camera. No moment in her more than 40 years of accompanying the show had made her as emotional as this moment. Vanna, dressed in a sleek black dress, had a sadness in her eyes that she tried to suppress, but her trembling voice said it all:
“He wasn’t just Maggie’s dad. He was our family. He was here for every season, every spin. And tonight, we wanted to take a few minutes to say thank you.”
Maggie Sajak, her daughter and a key member of the show, stood by her side. It was the first time she had appeared since the tragic news. Maggie flipped through the notes, but then folded them. She couldn’t read from the prepared script. She just looked at the photo of her father on the screen and said with all her heart:
“My dad once told me, ‘Not everyone gets to hear you laugh every day at work.’
I never understood what he meant… until he was gone.”
The audience fell silent.
The crew behind the camera – people usually invisible to the audience – also stood solemnly. Many have been together for more than 20, 30 years, having gone through many filming seasons together like a family.
Vanna put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder. A simple moment but full of humanity.
The program’s producer then played a video clip that was more than a minute long: behind-the-scenes images, moments of laughter, times when he came to the studio to bring cakes for the whole crew. Accompanied by soft piano music. No voice, no commentary.
Just memories.
When the video ended, Maggie cried, but her smile was still there. She held the microphone and said:
“Dad used to say that his job was to make people laugh. I hope I can do that tonight, in his place.”
The audience stood up, giving the longest applause of the recording.
Vanna looked at Maggie with emotion, then turned back to the camera:
“We’re going to keep going, because that’s what he wanted. He loved the laughter. He loved the energy of this wheel. And tonight, every spin is a tribute.”
Then the familiar music played.
The colorful wheel began to spin. But unlike every episode before, in the left corner of the screen appeared a small line:
In Loving Memory
Forever part of our Wheel family.
No goodbyes were spoken.
No dramatic ending.
Just a clear feeling:
Family isn’t what you’re born with… it’s the people who are with you every day.
And that night, the Wheel of Fortune spun more than just letters—it spun memories and love for someone who had left a permanent mark on their hearts.
