LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 The category? 鈥淧roper Name.鈥 The answer? Ryan Seacrest, who will become the new 鈥淲heel of Fortune鈥 host after Pat Sajak's retirement next year.
Seacrest and Sony Pictures Television announced Tuesday that Seacrest has signed a multiyear deal to host the long-running game show starting with Season 42. Sajak the upcoming 41st season would be his last on the show.
It's the latest hosting gig for Seacrest, the popular 鈥淎merican Idol鈥 host who also now rings in the new year for many on 鈥淒ick Clark鈥檚 New Year鈥檚 Rockin鈥 Eve.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak," Seacrest said in a statement. 鈥淚 can say, along with the rest of America, that it鈥檚 been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them.鈥
Seacrest in his statement also praised Vanna White, another mainstay of 鈥淲heel of Fortune,鈥 and signaled she would remain on the show after Sajak's retirement. Both White and Sajak have been on the show since the early 1980s.
"I can鈥檛 wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White,鈥 Seacrest's statement said. He also said he was looking to learn as much as possible from Sajak during the transition period.
The show tapes in Southern California, where Seacrest also hosts a popular nationally syndicated morning drivetime radio show. In February, Seacrest announced he would 鈥淟ive with Kelly and Ryan鈥 after six years. Kelly Ripa now hosts that show with her husband Mark Consuelos.
Sajak, 76, has presided over the game show, in which contestants guess letters to try to fill out words and phrases in pursuit of money and prizes, since 1981. He took over duties from Chuck Woolery, who was the show鈥檚 host when it debuted in 1975. The show started out as a daytime game show but became a syndicated nightly telecast in 1983, making Sajak and White the main faces of 鈥淲heel of Fortune鈥 for viewers for four decades.
