Pat Sajak won the award for outstanding game show host at the Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday.
It is the first time the 77-year-old Wheel of Fortune television personality has won the award in 26 years, last in 1998.
Sajak began hosting the beloved series in 1981 and officially retired in June 2024, with Ryan Seacrest taking over starting September 9.
He was not present to accept the award, which he won over Family Feud’s Steve Harvey, Jeopardy’s Ken Jennings, Password’s Keke Palmer and Weakest Link’s Jane Lynch.
Pat has been nominated 23 times and previously won Outstanding Game Show Host at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 1993, 1997 and 1998.
Pat Sajak won the award for best game show host at the Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday
This is the first time the 77-year-old Wheel of Fortune star has won the award in 26 years; he is pictured here with co-star Vanna White.
This comes after Sajak received a lifetime achievement award at the 2011 Daytime Emmy Awards.
The award category changed from the Daytime Emmys to the Primetime Emmys in 2023 and Palmer won the honor at that time.
On June 7, Pat went to X to acknowledge the end of her 40+ year run on the show.
He simply wrote: “Thank you all so much” to his nearly 370,000 followers.
Despite ending her time on Wheel of Fortune, the pop culture icon will host one final season of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune on ABC this fall.
In June 2023, Pat announced that she would be leaving following the conclusion of the show’s 41st season.
“The time has come. I have decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be our last,” he said at the time.
“It’s been a wonderful journey and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Thank you all very much,” he added.
Pat has been nominated 23 times and previously won Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host in 1993, 1997 and 1998.
Sajak received a lifetime achievement award at the 2011 Daytime Emmy Awards.
Sajak began hosting the beloved series in 1981 and officially retired in June 2024, with Ryan Seacrest taking over starting September 9.
Pat became the host of Wheel of Fortune on December 28, 1981.
It was after Chuck Woolery hosted the show from its premiere in 1975 until he left due to a pay dispute.
The famous figure’s long-standing work even extended to her daughter Maggie Sajak, who is the show’s social media correspondent.
Wheel of Fortune was created by Merv Griffin and is the longest-running syndicated game show in the United States.
