On Screen

January 2 - 8, 2021 —3 The Greeneville Sun, Greeneville, TN The Greeneville Sun, Greeneville, TN January 2 - 8, 2021 — 3 2 x 3.5" ad a) greene cnty farmers b) swango's 2 x 4" ad williams electric 2 x 1.5" ad ymca 2 x 1.5" ad doughty stevens 2 x 1.5" ad midway const. By Jay Bobbin If you're playing "Wheel of For- tune," you have to know which let- ters you want to choose. However, for a new celebrity ver- sion, three letters — namely, ABC — did the choosing. The network adds Pat Sajak and Vanna White to its roster of prime- time game-show personalities as "Ce- lebrity Wheel of Fortune" launches a new Thursday slate of contests starting Jan. 7. (In the others, "The View's" Sara Haines hosts "The Chase," and Craig Ferguson presides over "The Hustler.") Even with stars taking the spins, "Wheel of Fortune" remains the familiar game that's long been a syndication powerhouse, with the celebrity players donating their winnings to charities. The game itself always is the ulti- mate "star" of "Wheel of Fortune," though, and Sajak says, "That's been part of my success, recognizing that. It's not 'The Pat Sajak Show.' I may be the most charming and delightful host in the world — and I probably am! — but if there's no game, there's nothing there. You can't get in the way of it." Viewers "want to see the puzzle and solve it," reasons Sajak. "Unlike most shows like "Jeopardy!," the object is not to try to solve the puzzle first; it's to try to make some money (by picking as many individual letters as possible), so it's leisurely in that sense. The player's not trying to solve it instantly." That should remain the case as celebrities vie to win money for the organizations they designate. With the late Alex Trebek having hosted a playoff between "Jeopardy!" champi - ons in a special ABC series last win- ter, Sajak believes that "greased the wheel a little bit" for the "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" order. "It's a tricky business," Sajak notes. "The one thing you don't want to start doing is to overexpose the show. In some markets, you'll have a half-hour of (the syndicated) 'Wheel of Fortune' followed by an hour of (the ABC) 'Wheel of Fortune,' and I don't think you can do that too often without watering it down. But for a limited run like this, I think it's fine." Sajak appreciates the career longev - ity he's had thanks largely to "Wheel of Fortune," which he has hosted since 1981. His popularity was reaf - firmed by the fan outpouring during his absence after emergency intestinal surgery in late 2019. (White moved over and filled in as host, and Sajak's country-singer daughter Maggie was a guest letter-turner.) "What I take the greatest pride in personally," Sajak reflects, "is that it's very tough to be welcomed into a house for nearly 40 years. The fact that Vanna and I still are is the best thing I can say about it, from a talent or skill point of view." Celebrity Scoop Celebrity Scoop Pat Sajak and Vanna White spin ABC's 'Celebrity Wheel of Fortune' Cover Story Cover Story By Jay Bobbin Craig Ferguson had wanted to host another game show, and this time, he's very much in the game himself. After the actor-comedian and for- mer CBS late-night host's Daytime Emmy-honored run with "Celebrity Name Game," he both guides the competition and acts as a player as ABC debuts "The Hustler" Monday, Jan. 4. (It enters its usual Thursday slot several days later.) One of the contestants already has the answers to the trivia questions posed, but the person has to keep that secret from the others to claim the grand prize. "I'm kind of slow on the uptake with this kind of thing," the self- effacing, Scottish-born Ferguson muses, "so I was like, 'Wait! What happens?' My agent's office has a big conference room where they rule the world from, and we played the game a couple of times there, and I Ioved it. I don't just host this, I have to play ... and I don't know who the Hustler is. Checking in with Craig Ferguson "That's a good idea for two rea- sons," Ferguson notes. 'One, it keeps my attention, and I'm a little easily distracted. And two, it puts me in a completely neutral situation. You usually have to be careful not to give a clue (thus revealing the game's se- cret), but I can't, because I genuinely don't know. So for the legality of it, it's great." Seen recently with longtime friend Kathie Lee Gifford in the movie "Then Came You" (which she also wrote), Ferguson reports that "ABC had been looking for a game-show format for me for a while. I'd done a couple of pilots for them over the years that didn't go, and when we hit on this, we knew that this was the one." Birthdate: May 17, 1962 Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland Current residence: Scotland Marital status: Married to his third wife; he has two children Other television work includes: "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson," "Celebrity Name Game," "Craig Ferguson's Hobo Fabulous," "Join or Die With Craig Ferguson," "Hot in Cleve- land," "Web Therapy," "Craig Ferguson: Just Being Honest," "Craig Ferguson: I'm Here to Help," "Craig Ferguson: Does This Need to Be Said?," "Craig Fer- guson: A Wee Bit o' Revolution," "The Drew Carey Show," "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" (voice only), "Freakazoid!" (voice only), "Maybe This Time," "The Price Is Right," "Sesame Street," "Bygones," "The Ferguson Theory" Movie work includes: "Then Came You," "How to Train Your Dragon" (voice only), "How to Train Your Dragon 2" (voice only), "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" (voice only), "Brave" (voice only), "The Ugly Truth," "Trust Me," "Niagara Motel," "Lemony Snicket's A Se- ries of Unfortunate Events," "I'll Be There" (also its writer), "Born Romantic," "Saving Grace," "The Big Tease" (also its writer) Doughty-Stevens Funeral Home 423-638-4141 www.doughty-stevens.com 1125 Tusculum Blvd. Greeneville, Tennessee Established 1892 Serving the community for 127 years! One Y. One Community. Greene County YMCA 423-639-6107 www.greenecounty-ymca.org "Serving Your Complete Lighting Needs Since 1960" 3195 E. Andrew Johnson Hwy. • 638-2241 Mon.-Fri. 7:30-5:00; Sat. 8:30-12:00 W I L L I A M S E L E C T R I C S U P P L Y Business Clearance Inventory SELL OUT! 30-80 % OFF! Lighting Showroom 921 W. 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