Legendary “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak is recovering from emergency surgery.
The game show announced on Twitter Friday afternoon that Sajak, 73, underwent a successful procedure to “correct a blocked intestine.”
“He is resting comfortably and looking forward to getting back to work,” the game show’s Twitter account added.
Sajak’s rep, Bob Burton, confirmed the news to USA TODAY.
“Wheel of Fortune” has been Sajak’s hosting home for the last 36 years, a Guinness World Record for the longest career as a game show host for the same show.
Although Sajak is on the mend, Thursday’s taping of “Wheel of Fortune” was canceled. Shooting for the 37th season resumed Friday with longtime co-host Vanna White at the helm for episodes that will air starting Dec. 9.
“Taping resumed today as scheduled and Vanna White has stepped in as host,” the show’s Twitter account added, along with a “Get Well Soon Pat!” message on the iconic puzzle board.
White filled in once before for one segment of the show, when Sajak had laryngitis in 1996.
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Sajak and White celebrated their 7,000th episode of “Wheel of Fortune” in May — a feat the dynamic duo told USA TODAY they could never have predicted.
Sajak told USA TODAY that he doesn’t have a retirement date in mind, but his departure will be “in the single digits” of years from now. “I’d like to leave while the show’s still popular, and I’d like to leave before people ask me to leave,” he said, “and I’d like to leave before people tune in and see me and go, ‘Ooh, what the hell happened to him?’ “
Saj said he’s “not quite there yet,” and added: “When I do leave, it won’t be because I’m sick of it or burned out by it; I’ll leave because it’s time to go.”
Sajak and White, 62, renewed their contracts through 2022.
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Last week, Sajak appeared to be in good spirits while attending executive producer Harry Friedman’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony with White and “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, who’s battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Contributing: Erin Jensen, Associated Press
