THEN AND NOW: How your favorite game shows have changed since they first aired

"Jeopardy!" creator Merv Griffin first spotted Fleming in an airline commercial and thought he'd be perfect for the hosting gig, The New York Times reported.

Trebek won seven Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host.

Trebek died of pancreatic cancer in November 2020. While the show searched for a new permanent host, celebrities such as Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper, LeVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers took turns guest-hosting "Jeopardy!"

"Jeopardy!" executive producer Mike Richards was named the new host of "Jeopardy!" in August 2021 but resigned shortly afterward when a series of controversies surfaced about his past conduct.

The hosting gig was then shared by Ken Jennings, who holds the show's record for the most consecutive games won and highest winnings during regular-season play, and "Big Bang Theory" actress Mayim Bialik until May 2023, when Jennings became the sole permanent host.

"Let's be totally clear: no one will ever replace the great Alex Trebek. But we can honor him by playing the game he loved," Jennings said during his first episode as guest host.

The amounts were then raised to range from $25 to $125.

They were eventually raised to the current $200 to $1,000 range (and $400 to $2,000 in the Double Jeopardy round) in 2001.

"Wheel of Fortune" was also created by Griffin, who imagined it as a cross between hangman and roulette.

The show aired its 8,000th episode in May 2024. The cost to buy a vowel has remained $250 throughout the show with no adjustments for inflation, E! News reported.

As host of the show, Sajak interacts with contestants and shares whether they've guessed puzzles correctly, while White operates the board and reveals letters.

Ryan Seacrest will take over as the host of "Wheel of Fortune" in the fall.

Sajak shared an emotional goodbye message on his final episode as host in June, describing "Wheel of Fortune" as a place "where kids learned their letters, where people from other countries honed their English skills, where families came together along with friends and neighbors and entire generations."

"What an honor to have played even a small part in all that," he said. "Thank you for allowing me into your lives."

The show was created by producer Bob Stewart, who got the idea from watching people guess how much furniture in a display window cost, The Independent reported.

The format of the show changed from the previous iteration of the show — instead of contestants winning the items they correctly guessed the prices of, winners received the opportunity to play another pricing game.

The show's 9,000th episode aired in 2019, according to IMDB.

The American version of the show began as a two-week special on ABC, but it was such a hit that it began airing regularly in prime time, CNN reported. "Is that your final answer?" became part of the American lexicon.

During her tenure, the show's format underwent several changes, including imposing time limits on answering questions and mixing the questions' levels of difficulty out of a set order. Vieira and the contestants also began standing for the duration of the show and looking at a larger screen instead of sitting in front of individual computers.

The show was canceled in 2019, CNN reported, but it didn't stay canceled for long.

The new version of the show, which began airing in April 2020, had no studio audience due to the coronavirus pandemic. The studio audience returned in 2022.