Vanna White hosting Celebrity Wheel of Fortune in 2023.Photo:Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images
Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images
Vanna Whiteisn’tsupposedto crack up when aWheel of Fortunecontestant offers up a spectacularlywrong answer— but she told PEOPLE in a 2019 interview that some of them were just too funny not to crack a smile at.
“I feel for our contestants because they’re so nervous,” said White, who is celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary on Jan. 6.
“But I do chuckle on the inside at some of the wrong answers,” she added. “Half of the time I don’t think they even realize what they’re saying. Like the time the answer was ‘More Fun Than a Barrel of Monkeys,’ and the contestant guessed, ‘More Fun Than a Barrel of Vikings!”
On Dec. 30, a contestant certainly made viewers laugh when she guessed the wrong famous city food — instead of New York Cheesecake, she guessed “New York Cheesesteak.”
“She’ll never be able to show her face in New York or Philadelphia from now on,” a viewer posted on Reddit, of the funny flub.
But, White recalled funnier — and even more NSFW answers — throughout her 42 years on the show.
“There was the guy who thought it was a ‘Styrofoam Hat’ instead of ‘Styrofoam Cup,'” she said. “And then there was a famous one where the answer was ‘Gone With the Wind,’ and the answer the contestant gave was ‘Done With One Hand.'”
Just recently, on Dec. 17, contestant Phil McManus made plenty of viewers, including White, laugh out loud at his now-viral mistake. The clue was “same letter,” and because it was the show’s holiday-themed episode, the answer was “Chocolates, Chestnuts & Chimneys.”
McManus’s guess? “Chocolates, Chestnuts andChickens.”
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But that’s not even White’s favorite blooper of all time.
White may be celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary on Jan. 6, but last summer she marked another milestone when she bid farewell to her longtime co-hostPat Sajak, 78, whose last episode aired on June 7 after 41 years at the wheel.Ryan Seacresttook over hosting duties in September.
As for her own retirement? It’s not happeningyet. In Sept. 2024, it was reported that White hadinked a dealto stay on through the 2005-2026 season ofWheel of Fortune.
Prior to Sajak’s departure, she gave aheartfelt and emotional speechhonoring her longtime friend on the show.
“I can’t believe that tomorrow is our last show together,” White said the day before he signed off. “I don’t know how to put into words what these past 40 years have meant to me but I’m going to try.”
“We’ve watched our children grow up together, we’ve traveled all over the world, we’ve eaten hundreds of meals together, we’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve celebrated,” she said.
“What an incredible and unforgettable journey we’ve had,” she added.
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Wheel of Fortuneairs weekdays on ABC (check local listings).
source: people.com
