Pat Sajak knows he's one of the luckiest guys in the world. He makes a lot of money, works just four days a month, 10 months a year hosting the game show "Wheel of Fortune," commutes to Hollywood while living in rural Maryland with his wife and two children, ages 6 and 10, and gets to work with Vanna White. Beating the odds
By Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.com"It's been like a dream for 20 years," Sajak says in a telephone interview from Maryland. "'Wheel's' shooting schedule allows me to do other things I want to do without having to worry about paying the rent. That's a great luxury in life.
"I run upstairs between shows to change suits," Sajak says. "I throw the suit down and someone picks it up. It's like living with my mother again." "Wheel" typically shoots 10 shows over two days every two weeks.
One of the perks for Sajak, 54, is having enough time off to do some of the things he's "really, really" wanted to do, like act.
Sajak, with Vietnam Army buddy Joe Moore, will do just that when he and the KHON news anchor appear in Neil Simon's play "The Odd Couple," opening next Thursday at the Hawaii Theatre in a benefit run for Manoa Valley Theatre.
Sajak made the suggestion to Moore over dinner earlier this year when "Wheel of Fortune" was filming several shows at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, figuring it was time for Moore to do another play, and the game-show host wanted to appear in a meatier role than past performances with his buddy.
To save time and energy -- Moore also has a young son -- Sajak suggested an existing play in general and "The Odd Couple," specifically, because it highlights two main characters.
"I've wanted to work with Joe in an arena like this for a very long time," Sajak says. "And fortunately, I'm in a position where I have enough time off that this is possible."
Sajak says he loves being on "Wheel" and is "very happy with my life and career, but when I'm watching a theater performance, seeing that instant audience reaction and all the energy onstage, it's the only time in my professional life that I'm jealous.
"I sit there and think that this is the purest form of show business. It's an experience I want to have."
Sajak is as "aw shucks" easygoing and unpretentious in person as he is hosting "Wheel." Here's a guy who seems to have his feet placed firmly on the ground, still astounded after two decades to have "fans who seem to like me."
Starring Pat Sajak and Joe Moore; directed by Jim Hutchison "The Odd Couple"
Where: Hawaii Theatre, 1130 Bethel St.
When: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 to 29 and 4 p.m. Sept. 30
Tickets: $17.50 to $37; $35 for opening-night reception
Call: 528-0506
"It's very possible that my Uncle Morris could do the show and be very successful, but the nice thing is that ('Wheel' owners) Sony can't be sure of that," the self-effacing Sajak says. "So they're stuck with me."
Sajak and Moore agree that in real life they're both more like "The Odd Couple's" neat, tidy, annoying and compulsive Felix Unger character than the slovenly Oscar Madison. But because of Moore's larger stature, he agreed to be "the slob."
"I am most of the things Felix is," Sajak says, laughing. "I'm neater than I need to be, but I'm never annoying. Before I leave the room, I want to be sure that stack of papers is all perpendicular.
"Well, I do alphabetize my CDs, so, OK, I am compulsive."
The temptation is to play Felix like Jack Lemmon in the film version of Neil Simon's story, or Tony Randall on the television show, but Sajak says, "I'm neither of those guys." So he's approaching the role as it's written.
"Felix doesn't find himself amusing," Sajak says. "We all do things that annoy other people, but nature has provided us with a little shield that protects us from that knowledge.
"Nature goofed with Felix. He knows he's annoying but can't stop being who he is. The more anguished this guy is, the funnier it is."
Sajak said doing the play is no celebrity lark. "I could kind of walk through it, but I'm trying to approach it as an actor and do the best performance I can."
The Sajak family moved to Maryland about three years ago to be close to his wife's family. The couple have been married 12 years.
The children don't take Sajak's celebrity too seriously.
"They've been to the stage a few times, but they pretty much just see it as my job, their ticket to new bicycles," he says. "I'm really a full-time father. When I go to work, my kids look at me sorta funny and say, 'Where are you going?' anyway."
Sajak downplays his celebrity.
"A lot of people know me because I'm on the air a lot at dinner time, but if you put a monkey on the air long enough, people will recognize him, too," he says. "I'm like a comfortable Naugahyde couch, sort of second-tier celebrity."
He has no plans to leave "Wheel" anytime soon, saying, "I don't have any burning desire to do anything else."
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