Wheel of Fortune 1975

The daytime game show of consonants and vowels was first debuted on NBC on January 6th 1975. Lin Bolen, the head of NBC day time wanted to give the game show lineup more pizazz. She felt that NBC was becoming mind numbing. Merv Grifin pitched an idea to Lin Bolen of a game similar to hangman. Lin was interested in the idea but to make the show even more appealing especially to the woman’s eye she called the pilot of Wheel of Fortune Shopper’s Bazaar. The show over time evolved and became popular on NBC’s daytime lineup. Lin Bolen was praised for her ingeniousness. The year of the premier, 1975, an article was written on how Lin Bolen changed “the landscape of daytime TV with a combination of ingenuity, hustle, and unabashed chutzpah.” Wheel of Fortune was a hit. Although the game show was going strong NBC hit a rough spot where several TV shows were put in jeopardy. To spice things up NBC added the comedian David Letterman to try to bring the network back to life. Wheel of Fortune fortunately escaped the ax which other shows suffered from in 1980 such as Hollywood Squares, High Rollers, and Chain Reaction. Wheel of Fortune went on to be successful. The show continues to be a classic by remaining true to their ways. Slight changes such as host have changed as Pat Sajak took over for Chuck Wollery and Vanna White replaced Susan Stafford as the letter turner. All in all Wheel of Fortune is an ongoing show that has become a large part of America’s entertainment.

Wheel of Fortune Timeline - 1973-1974. 1 June 2009 http://gscentral.net/wof/1974.htm.
History of Wheel of Fortune. 1 June 2009 http://game-shows.chris-place.com/shows/%20.
The History of Wheel of Fortune's Early Years. 1 June 2009 http://www.gameshowmuseum.com/%20.