The Pat Sajak Show

The Pat Sajak Show was a CBS network late-night talk show hosted by Pat Sajak (who is well known as the host of "Wheel of Fortune").

Sajak left the NBC daytime version of "Wheel of Fortune" but remained the host of the show's syndicated nighttime version.

The show aired from January 9, 1989 to April 13, 1990, lasting for one season and 298 episodes.

Pre-Production
Pat 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 when Johnny Carson eventually announced his retirement from NBC's "The Tonight Show." Brockman had known Sajak since the two worked for NBC in the late 1970s.

At that time, Brockman had approached Sajak (who was a weatherman) about doing a game show, but he rejected the idea, saying that what he really wanted to do was get a talk show. Brockman kept him in mind over the years and during at a lunch in 1986, he reminded Sajak 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 getting network affiliates to commit to the show.

CBS spent more than $4 million for a new sound stage for the show at its Television City studios, located above the four studios on the first floor. A staff of more than 30 people were 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 that 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 Chase was the show's first guest; his interview was followed by one with Joan Van Ark, a performance by and brief interview with The Judds, an interview with the outgoing commissioner 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 with Michael Gross and then the show ended with a performance by stand-up comic Dennis Wolfberg.

Show Format

The show's set was similar to that of "The 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 Show" began as a 90-minute talk show, but it 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.

The Rush Limbaugh Incident
On March 30, 1990 (two weeks before "The Pat Sajak Show" was canceled), radio host Rush Limbaugh made 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 in Idaho which would have restricted abortion.

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 that "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 with Sydney Biddle Barrows in another studio.

After a commercial break, Limbaugh attempted to address the topic of affirmative action, but he was heckled again by several male audience members wearing ACT UP T-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 were planted by the show's producers as a publicity stunt.

Cancellation
During the show's final weeks, Pat Sajak worked four days per week while guest hosts took the reins on Fridays.

On April 9, 1990, CBS announced the cancellation of the show due to low ratings which were generally half the level of Johnny Carson's and were further diminished by "The 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 carried Arsenio instead.

The final show of "The Pat Sajak Show" aired on April 13, 1990; because it aired on a Friday, Sajak did not appear and comedian Paul Rodríguez presided over the episode as guest host.

CBS restored its "CBS Late Night" block of movies and reruns which "The Pat Sajak Show" replaced earlier and would not program another late-night talk show (and successfully) until the "Late Show with David Letterman" debuted in August 1993.