Behind the Scenes at Wheel of Fortune!

well I'm really happy to be here he's the Creator and executive producer of the two most popular game shows in television history Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune and even after 30 years in Show Business MV Griffin is showing no signs of slowing down recently he paid a rare visit to the set of Wheel of Fortune while it was being taped in Dallas I tried to catch up with the media Mogul at a reception there but I wasn't the only one so I waited for him by the food anyone who stays that busy has to work up an appetite and just when I turned my back to grab a slice of pizza there he was besides a mine for money MV has a fodness for food you caught me California Pizza heard pretty we're in Texas corn dog country as soon as he was finished he was off to rehears it all puzzles must be approved by Merv and he even comes up with many of his own so while I waited for my word with MV I asked a couple of his well-known employees what they really think of their busy boss um here's a man who signs my check so what do you expect me to say I hate the guy once I remember he said I hated that blue dress you had on last night don't wear that again it's 6:30 and it's now been what 5 6 hours we've been waiting for murf Griffin and we're still waiting and he's right right beyond that door this is the uh the big trailer where they're watching the show and he's in there and we're still waiting but my patients finally paid off when MV emerged well your people of Oklahoma Welcome to the Real of Fortune truck after my long wait I immediately tried to get Griffin to tell me the secret behind the wheel I can't tell you that that's like give me a secret of a recipe if I give you the secret of the wheel there'll be little wheels all over Oklahoma you can't do that and it's it's a very plastic thing you can put things on the wheel and people can win them you can change the puzzle that's up on the board like this year we add added a mega word you can you can constantly change the show you can drop out shopping like we did and put in cash and they're yelling at me because I'm on the next segment right now are going put come on in Frank keep stalking me we I love it and just like that MV was off to make a special appearance on that night's show it was obvious that even though Pat and Vanna are the stars they aren't the only one see byee [Applause] goodbye yall doing all right what a power you have up here it's great P sjck has the enviable job of hosting the number one game show in America part of the show's success has been attributed to his appeal his partner in Puzzles is the beautiful Vanna White and his boss is the wealthy of Griffin but with all of his Fame and Fortune Pat says he can do without the fame you know just because I'm on television you know people treat you differently and I know that's part of the thing but I'm always a little uncomfortable with that just being famous is nothing there's nothing to it you just go on a show and you're famous before he was famous s Jack had a job that was made famous by another star yes just like the character played by Robin Williams say Jack was a morning disc jockey in the Vietnam War I had to do that every every morning it's a wonderful thing to have to do at 6:00 a.m. in in the middle of a war zone yeah here enemy here I am now when Pat stands up here in host Wheel of Fortune he makes it look so easy but you can almost say that all of his training came from when he was a weatherman I guess there is something about the the Adib nature of of weather that you know thinking on your feet and all that and and trying to have a little personality that probably does lend itself but I didn't intend to do either one I mean I didn't grow up wanting to be a weatherman nor did I grow up wanting to be a game show host but here we are gosh ain't it a funny business that's right just like yours truly s jack's first job in television was in weather so I took the opportunity to see if he still knows his stuff to this day I don't know what a a cluded front is it's raining today here in Dallas thank you good this your weatherman knows it's raining he put his head out the door and there's rain falling this is why he gets the big buck good job that's how I make my money is the window but there once in a while I grab a map like this and you notice the fine drawing the United States looks like Roseanne's sleen these days s Jack reads more puzzles than weather maps he's been doing so since 1981 when he was tapped to host the daytime version of will of Fortune but just for the record I know see this is a low this is a warm front that's a cold front that's a high there's another low he still knows how to do I know that stuff and I learned my geography I can name name a city you name a city I'll tell you the state really or vice versa no I don't know um glad you're here van would like to say hello but Van's weing a microphone I don't know where we put the DAR thing anyway but I am if you'd like to speak into my chest hi folks never wearing a microphone she's the silent star of Wheel of Fortune but with a worldwide following known as Vanna fans Vanna White has become a household name actually I'm a very shy person it's hard to believe with all the cameras around but and the cameras are always around even when she tries to spend time with her four-month-old son Nicholas I like keeping keeping him away from the cameras and the Limelight you know I want him to choose what he wants to be when he grows up he doesn't have to be in Show Business folks uh oh don't say don't say anything dirty okay never said anything dirty in my life I know someone else that's close to Vana is her partner in Show Business P say Jack he cracks me up 12 years have gone by and we uh have not had one argument now you may know Vanna mostly for when she turns the letters but she actually has the honor of holding the record for something else that she does with 5500 outfits in 12 years Vanna has worn more clothes than anyone else on television but what may be more impressive is that she's in the Guinness Book of World Records as TV's most frequent Clapper she averages 720 claps per show that's 28,000 claps per season I just want to know do you have like excessive arm muscles for the Clapping it's all in the hands it's all in the this but I actually don't have callus you don't you have very nice hands thank you very much so do you really make the noise when you clap or is it more of a simulated clap no how can you simulate clapping well I guess you could but I've never thought about that maybe I should try it I appar the light the letters and that legendary wheel when Wheel of Fortune spun into Dallas it took a Texas size crew the set was designed for the Lone Star State complete with a snorting Longhorn a few of the puzzles were geared to Texas and Vanna even found a Texas siiz bug there are lots of people that you never see like the cameraman the Q cards gy and the Applause Sign Man jeus diamond tennis bracelet 14 someone you hear is Charlie o the announcer not that much don't over it and calling all the shots is the show's director dick Carson younger brother of talk show legend Johnny Carson and its producer Nancy Jones who's been with the show for 20 years and is the first female game show producer in TV history and now that the show has been on so long we have parents that have been on and now their kids have been on so it's a it's kind of a fun thing here's something else that's never seen it's a black curtain that covers the puzzle board while the letters are being changed by the way those letters are made out of plastic now here's another part of the show that you never really see it's the used letter Board of course it's when a contestant uses a letter they just flip this up and that's how they know it's no longer available and this is also where they keep score contestants themselves can't see their own score from where they're standing so they look right here and if I was playing I'd have $50,000 then there's the all important wheel the way it causes people to win and lose money you could think it holds some kind of mystery there is no mystery it's uh has to be totally fair I would say the most difficult thing was to get this perfectly balanced because it is an 8ft radius wheel spinning and the tendency would be for it to wobble a little bit so we are able to uh by getting it very well balanced uh make it spin even now that's important since a good spin can mean the difference between big bucks and bankruptcies way you go sorry Robin Jacqueline your turn [Laughter] [Applause] Fortune it's hard it's really hard to get on Wheel of Fortune you know we have 22 million viewers a night and most of those people would like to be contestants we only need three contestants a night first you have to be a great game player that's the primary thing then you have to have a really nice pleasant outgoing personality and and have fun Tamara Ricky had what it took to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune and when the wheel spun into Dallas recently she didn't have to go far to try her luck that's because Tamara is from Oklahoma City I came down with the idea if I win any at all it'll be great fun and even if I don't I I'll have a ball after makeup Tamara had to practice spinning and practice talking and practice clapping then it was time to take a seat and wait now the security around the contestants is really tight they're kept together in a small group right here in the audience but they're not allowed to talk to anyone we're not even allowed to look at them behind the security tape the contestants are chosen by drawing pingpong balls out of a bucket a numbered ball means it's time to play a blank one means more waiting finally Tamara got her shot at the big wheel Tamara Ricky from Oklahoma City so what's it like to be on the biggest game show in TV Land it doesn't make you nervous but you just it's like you really want to do good and you're trying to concentrate and E either it comes right to you or it doesn't so how did our Oklahoma friend do well the wheel wasn't kind to her she landed on bankrupt twice she did however win $1,200 in a mega word round but lost the game because she didn't know that rock legend Jimmy Henrick spelled his first name with an i instead of a y I don't know I didn't know he he spelled his name like that and as soon as as soon as I picked the other letter and then she got ready to spin I recogniz I realized who it was but it was too late C congratulations $1,200 Mega you did it we'll take a break and we'll be back and play the B all right what is it about Wheel of Fortune that people can't resist is it the millionaire Creator and executive producer who puts his stamp of approval on every puzzle is it the friendly host who started his career as a television weatherman or is it the beautiful letter Turner who has become a household name without hardly saying a word but whatever it is it's working so I thought I'd ask the wheel's main players what makes the show so successful this is interactive if you at home can get the puzzle before the contestants do you can shout it out and become a home hero you know there are a lot of things that make it a good show I mean it's it's an easy game to play you if you watch it for 8 seconds you get the hang of it it's compelling you can't watch it without playing along with it but a lot of games have H that description over the year I have no idea why this show is so successful it's been on for the nighttime show has been on 12 years and it just doesn't seem to die which is fine with me Wheel of Fortune doesn't look to be dying anytime soon it's been extended to at least the year 2000 which could amount to a lot of cash and prizes for the winners and losers wheel is not a matter of life or death you can go on you can win $150,000 over a 3-day period or you can go on and you can walk home with the reron or the tidy bowl

Channel: Natural Vanguard

Views: 3,072

Keywords: wheel of fortune, pat sajak, vanna white, merv griffin, vintage, classic, retro, tv, television, news

Id: PMf8yR8O_hU

Length: 13min 10sec (790 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 05 2024