The Pat Sajak Show

The Pat Sajak Showis an American late-night televisiontalk showthat aired onCBSfrom January 9, 1989, to April 13, 1990.

The Pat Sajak Show
Written by	Fred Wolf Andy Cowan David S. Williger Kevin Mulholland
Presented by	Pat Sajak
Starring	Tom Scott(Bandleader)
Narrated by	Dan Miller(Announcer)
Country of origin	United States
No.of seasons	1
No.of episodes	298
Production
Producer	Paul Gilbert
Production locations	CBS Television City Hollywood, California
Running time	60-90 minutes
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	January 9, 1989(1989-01-09)– April 13, 1990(1990-04-13)
Related
Pat Sajak Weekend

Cast

The show was hosted byPat Sajak,best known as host of the game showWheel of Fortune.To do the talk show, Sajak left theNBCdaytime version ofWheel,but remained the host of the syndicated nighttime version he hosted until 2024.

Sajak's announcer and sidekick on the show wasDan Miller,his friend and former colleague from their time working together in the mid-1970s atWSM-TV(now WSMV-TV) inNashville, Tennessee.The in-studio band was led by jazz musicianTom Scott,who subsequently served the same role on the short-livedChevy Chase Show.

The house band members were:Tom Scott(saxes), Jerry Peters (piano), Barnaby Finch (keyboards), Art Rodriguez (drums),Tim Landers(bass),Eric Gale,Carlos Rios, or Pat Kelley (guitar), andDave Koz(saxes, flute, and the EWI—electronic wind instrument).

History

Pre-production

Sajak was hired by Michael Brockman, the CBS vice-president for daytime, children's and late-night programming, who wanted to have a late-night talk show established whenJohnny Carsoneventually announced his retirement fromNBC'sThe Tonight Show.Brockman had known Sajak since the two worked for NBC in the late 1970s. At that time, Brockman had approached Sajak, then a weatherman atKNBC-TVinLos Angeles,about hosting a game show, but Sajak rejected the idea, saying what he really wanted to do was host a talk show. Brockman kept him in mind over the years, and at a lunch meeting in 1986 he reminded Sajak (who by then was hostingWheel) about the conversation. Sajak confirmed his interest in a talk show, and Brockman went to work getting approvals from his management for the plan and gettingnetwork affiliatesto commit to the show.

CBS spent more than $4 million for a new soundstage (Studio 42, later re-designated as Studio 56) for the show at itsTelevision Citystudioslocated above the four studios on the first floor. A staff of more than 30 was hired, and Sajak signed a guaranteed two-year contract for what was reportedly $60,000 a week.

In an interview held a month before the show premiered, Sajak said he was "not looking to raise the level of TV"; he summarized the elements planned for the show, a plan that "steal[s] liberally" from talk shows past and present.

Premiere

Chevy Chasewas the show's first guest; his interview was followed by one withJoan Van Ark,a performance by and brief interview withThe Judds,an interview with the outgoingcommissioner of baseball,Peter Ueberroth(interrupted briefly when Chase, who followed late-night talk show conventions of the time and remained seated on stage during the show's other guest appearances, raised his hand and asked if he could go to the bathroom).There was an interview withMichael Gross,and then the show ended with a performance by stand-up comicDennis Wolfberg.

Format

The show's set was similar to that ofThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.Its format emulated Carson's model, featuring a monologue, comedy bits, interviews with celebrities, and performances by musicians and comedians.The Pat Sajak Showbegan as a 90-minute talk show, but was reduced to 60 minutes in October 1989. CBS executives said the show was shortened because the late-night talk show format was better suited for a 60-minute time slot.

Rush Limbaugh

Two weeks beforeThe Pat Sajak Showwas canceled, on March 30, 1990, radio hostRush Limbaughmade headlines when he guest hosted the program, and, in a departure from its regular format, entered the audience to get a response about the veto of a bill inIdahothat would have restrictedabortion.Directly after announcing that the bill was vetoed, Limbaugh went to the first woman who stood up and was cheering the loudest. The woman denounced Limbaugh's anti-abortion statements earlier in the show, stating "women's lives are more important than any potato" and "You don't know what it's about. You'll never have a baby, you'll never be pregnant. You'll never have an abortion." After a verbal confrontation with the angry woman in the audience, followed by an angry man shouting, "We are gonna be wherever you are and we're gonna denounce and expose you," Limbaugh addressed the camera and stated that he went into the audience in an attempt to show the viewing public that there was an underlying prejudice against him. Due to heckling, Limbaugh decided to conduct his interview withSydney Biddle Barrowsin another studio.

After a commercial break, Limbaugh attempted to address the topic ofaffirmative action,but was heckled again by several male audience members wearingACT UPT-shirts, calling him a "murderer" before he could make a point. Limbaugh sat silently with the camera focused on him for nearly a minute while audience members continued shouting phrases such as "You want people to die!" Limbaugh responded with, "I am not responsible for your behavior."

After another break, Limbaugh returned and conducted the final segment after the audience had been cleared. He stated that the audience was not "evicted from the studio" or "forcibly restrained from doing anything they did" and gave CBS credit for handling the situation in the manner it did.

Limbaugh later claimed that the dissident audience members wereplantedby the show's producers as apublicity stunt.

Cancellation

During its final weeks, Sajak worked four days per week, with a guest host on Fridays. More than a decade later, Sajak (serving as guest host ofLarry King Live) interviewed Limbaugh and facetiously said the show "was going so well that they actually auditioned replacements for me on the air."Limbaugh all but confirmed the suspicion.

On April 9, 1990, CBS announced the cancellation due to low ratings, which were generally half the level of Carson's,and were further diminished byThe Arsenio Hall Show,which had been launched in syndication the same month as Sajak's show. Some affiliates delayed the show or never carried the program at all, choosing to air sitcom reruns or syndicated shows; there were even some that actually carriedArsenioinstead.

The final show aired on April 13, 1990. Because it was a Friday, Sajak did not appear, and comedianPaul Rodríguezhosted in his place.

CBS restored itsCBS Late Nightblock of movies and reruns, whichThe Pat Sajak Showreplaced earlier, and would not program another late-night talk show until theLate Show with David Lettermandebuted in August 1993. That show proved far more successful, with Letterman hosting until May 2015 andStephen Colberttaking over the show in September of the same year.

Legacy

Studio 42 (later known as Studio 56) at CBS Television City, whereThe Pat Sajak Showwas taped, would later host numerous other talk shows, includingThe Dennis Miller Show,Politically Incorrect,The Tyra Banks Show,The Wanda Sykes ShowandRove LA.In September 2012,The Late Late Show with Craig Fergusonmoved into Studio 56, returning a CBS late night talk show to that location over 22 years afterThe Pat Sajak Showwas cancelled.As a tribute, Ferguson installed an autographed publicity photo of Sajak fromThe Pat Sajak Showera on theLate Late Showset's faux-mantelpiece, alongside those of Letterman and previousLate Late ShowhostsTom SnyderandCraig Kilborn.Ferguson hosted the program until 2015, when the set was redesigned for new hostJames Corden.

Sajak's first guest Chevy Chase went on to hosthis own late night talk showonFoxin 1993, which proved even less successful than Sajak's own show.

See also

• List of late-night American network TV programs

External links

• The Pat Sajak ShowatIMDb