Wheel of Fortune is a staple for game show fans. In the game, contestants attempt to solve word puzzles to win cash prizes. They are presented with a word puzzle shown as blank spaces on a board with only a category as the other clue. Contestants spin a wheel featuring cash prizes, then win the amount they land on for each letter that they guess correctly. The popular game show was introduced 50 years ago in January 1975.
The game show was conceived by Merv Griffin, the media personality and TV bigwig who also created Jeopardy. His idea began with hangman, a game he played with his sister during road trips. He pitched the idea to Merv Griffin Enterprises, and they liked the idea, but pointed out that it needed another aspect to make it more interesting. That’s when Griffin added a roulette style wheel that would incentivize guessing the correct letters by giving them cash prizes – or bankrupt them. Merv Griffin Enterprises then contacted an executive at Caesars Palace casino to help with creating the wheel.
Griffin’s next move was to pitch the idea to Lin Bolen, the head of NBC daytime programming, who liked it, but thought the show could add something to hook female viewers. She suggested that they add a shopping element to prizes, so that players could win material gifts, rather than just cash.
In 1973, Griffin created a pilot, titled Shopper’s Bazaar, with Chuck Woolery as the host. The game included four rounds with the cash prize value going up after round two. At the conclusion of the main game, the contestant with the highest score played the “Shopper’s Special” bonus round where the vowels were already in the puzzle and the contestant had 30 seconds to pick out the consonants.
They used a vertically mounted wheel that spun automatically rather than the contestants spinning it. The wheel did not have a bankrupt wedge, it did have a wedge for a free vowel, and another that allowed contestants to get a private clue.
The show was retitled Wheel of Fortune for the second and third pilots, which were closer to what the show would become. Contestants spun the wheel themselves, and the letters appeared on a lighted mechanical puzzle board with letters that could be turned manually. During the shopping segments, the prizes and their prices appeared on the right side of the home-viewer’s screen. When the show was officially picked up, Woolery was named the host and Susan Stafford turned the letters.
