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‘Wheel of Fortune’: How Tall is Pat Sajak?

A bit of Hollywood magic has been known to make actors look taller than they are in reality. Is that also the case in the world of game shows? Plenty is known about longtime “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak. But how much do we really know about the guy?

It’s evident from watching “Wheel of Fortune” that Pat Sajak isn’t a towering presence. But neither is he dwarfed by co-host Vanna White or virtually any of the contestants. In fact… It’s almost uncanny how virtually everyone on the show appears to be the same height.

Specifically, everyone looks to be roughly 5 feet, 10 inches tall. There’s a good reason for that. It’s Pat Sajak’s true height. And the show puts everyone else featured on “Wheel of Fortune” on risers to maintain the balance. Vanna White is roughly 5′ 6″, but her heels make up the difference, putting her on par with Sajak.

In a 2015 interview with WLKY, Pat Sajak addressed the phenomenon that curious fans have observed over the years.

“When the show first started, we would put shorter players on boxes, but problem is I would walk next to a great-grandmother on the show and I would walk next to her and people thought I was a jockey so now we are on risers and when they go up, I go up and we stay about the same size,” Sajak said. “But it got ingrained in people that I was about 4 feet 3.”

So You Don’t Have to be the Same Height as Pat Sajak, But Becoming a Contestant on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is Extremely Difficult

We’re not calling Pat out here. 5′ 10″ isn’t all that short, compared to someone like Tom Cruise. And even if he were, there’d be nothing wrong with that whatsoever. It certainly hasn’t hurt the aforementioned movie star’s career any. After all, height’s not something we can control. Why hold it against someone?

All of that being said, you 6 foot and above folks out there can breathe a sigh of relief. Pat Sajak and “Wheel of Fortune” aren’t so worried about you towering over the hosts that it would prevent you from appearing as a contestant on the show.

But height aside, landing a spot on that stage is a much more challenging prospect than some may think. According to the “Wheel of Fortune” website, over a million people tried their hands at getting on the show in 2019. Of those, only 10,000 people landed auditions. And the number that actually appeared on the show? A measly 600 people.

Only .06% of people who wanted a shot at “Wheel of Fortune” made it to the iconic stage and found themselves face to face with Pat Sajak. So, if you were counting on a free trip to Europe this year, you may want to work out a contingency plan.