I Was a Wheel of Fortune Contestant!

Retirement of a Game Show Legend

Add this fun fact to your little-known Brenda trivia. While living in Los Angeles in March 1982, I was a contestant on Wheel of Fortune with Pat Sajack as host. Vanna was turning the letters back then too. This week after 41 years, and 8,000 episodes, Pat Sajack retired. He’s 77 years old and going out on top, saying in a Good Morning America interview, “I’d rather leave a couple of years too early than a couple of years too late.”

Photo by De'Andre Bush on Unsplash

What Happens Behind the Scenes at Wheel:

According to an acquaintance who went on Wheel more recently, the contestant experience has changed as you would expect. In the 1980s Wheel of Fortune was a popular daytime game show. The contestant who won the most could return up to three days. In the 1980s, they taped 5 shows a day several times a month. All contestants would bring 2 wardrobe changes.

The biggest difference is now you can win up to one million dollars in cash! When I was on, contestants chose prizes after solving a puzzle. Before the taping, a staff member would explain what each prize represented. When I chose the “stunning” porcelain cat after winning a round, my family in Illinois, Dayton, L.A., and Kalamazoo said they scratched their heads in disbelief. I knew it was a $2,200 gift certificate. I definitely did not choose the cat when I went shopping a few weeks later at Tiffany & Co.’s Rodeo Drive location.

When you’re on the show, you agree not to share the outcome before the show airs. My family waited in suspense as they tuned in across the country during the three days. Every night my mother, who worked at a Chicago hospital, told me the crowd grew larger. They moved the portable TV from the breakroom to the hospital cafeteria. At the moment when another contestant thought he was going to win Day 2---I made a comeback and returned for a third day! A less mature Brenda gave the guy a “take that” look the cameraman caught which lives in the “Wheel” archives.

On Day 3, my final day taping the show. I forgot the ‘air date’ was St. Patrick’s Day. I couldn’t solve the final puzzle—“Luck of the Irish” and missed winning the 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am complete with AM/FM cassette stereo. My fiancé was in the audience for the final taping and was heartbroken. I couldn’t be too disappointed. Over 3 days I won incredible luxury prizes and a first-class trip for two to St. Thomas’ Bluebeard’s Castle Resort complete with butler service. And, yes, all those prizes were taxable at Fair Market Value.

Why There’s No Recording:

The last VHS recording my family had of the three Wheel of Fortune shows was destroyed in 1993. I contacted Califon Productions (who produced the show before King World Productions) trying to obtain a VHS copy to save for my son without success.

Being on a game show is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you never forget. In the 1980s, the shows ran audition ads for contestants in the Los Angeles Times. I took a test that was similar to playing hangman, we played a mock game and waited for a callback. Now, you can apply to be a contestant online by visiting the Wheel of Fortune website. Go for it, maybe you’ll win a million dollars.

“Nothing Beats a Failure but a Try” R.J. Smith