Wheel of Fortune
Series Premiere
TV-G
S1 • E1 Sep 18, 1983 25mMysteriously, Pat left on a Monday and was replaced the next day by the world-renowned Rolf Benirschke...well, world renowned if you were a San Diego Chargers fan. Merv Griffin discovered the former place-kicker in 1988 and decided he'd be the perfect fit for daytime Wheel. The problem: Rolf had zero previous TV experience. His first episode was a bizarre outing, with Vanna walking out during the show opening to introduce Rolf to the world. At both the beginning and end of the show, Rolf observed several times that "this is a lot different than football." Vanna practically had to carry the entire final segment of Rolf's first show.
