Pat Sajak Scores A New Gig After Retiring From ‘Wheel Of Fortune’

Pat Sajak’s Wheel of Fortune run has come to an end this June, ushering in a new phase for the longtime host of the famous game show. KHON-TV will announce Sajak’s next gig during his last episode airing, and fans are quite surprised by the details.

Sajak will be starring in an adaptation of Prescription: Murder with his broadcaster friend Joe Moore from Hawaii. The play will take place at downtown Honolulu’s Hawaii Theatre during next year’s summer, from July 31 to August 10. This will also mark Sajak’s reunion with his longtime buddy, Joe, whose son will also star on the show.

More details on Pat Sajak’s new gig

Prescription: Murder was written by William Link and Richard Levinson in 1962 and was later made into the pilot for the ‘70s TV series Columbo. For the theater adaptation of the mystery thriller, Sajak will play Gene Barry’s Ray Flemming, who is “a brilliant psychiatrist” with plans to kill his wealthy but “neurotic and possessive” wife.

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Joe will be playing Lieutenant Columbo, who was depicted by Peter Falk in the original. Columbo is the “bumbling detective” in Dr. Ray’s case, and they both battle it out in a game of wits in the upcoming Rob Duval-directed play. Joe’s son, Bryce, will also make an appearance alongside Therese Olival, Aiko Chinen, and Amy K. Sullivan.

Sajak and Joe’s longtime working relationship

Sajak’s next gig will be his ninth with Joe, who he met in the late ‘60s at the American Forces Vietnam Network in Saigon. They worked together for the first time in 1993 on Joe’s plays, Prophecy and Honor, after which they did more, including 2001’s The Odd Couple at the Connecticut Repertory Theatre in Storrs, Connecticut, Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, and The Sunshine Boys just last year.

The much-anticipated play doubles as a fundraiser for The non-profit Hawaii Theater, where Sajak and Joe have done most of their work together. While Sajak prepares for the fun ahead, Ryan Seacrest is getting ready to take over as co-host to Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune. Sajak’s daughter, Maggie Sajak, continues to work as the program’s social media correspondent, with fans hoping she will take over from Vanna someday.