THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504270546
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 141 lines
It is all here and finally all in place - including The Wheel. The famous Wheel.
The tons of stuff it takes to tape the most popular game show in television history have been trucked to Norfolk from Los Angeles, hoisted aboard the supercarrier Dwight D. Eisenhower ever so carefully, and set in place by riggers, electricians, carpenters and grips.
Somewhere in the seven 40-foot-long tractor-trailers which transported the ``Wheel of Fortune'' en masse to Norfolk was the crib for Vanna White's 10-month-old son. While White, the best darn clapper in television, the girl from N. Myrtle Beach, S.C., who became famous for being famous, is turning letters in 10 tapings here, a nanny will be looking after son Nicholas.
``The Wheel of Fortune'' tapes two shows Friday, three Saturday and five Monday in hangar bays 2 and 3 against the background of a Navy F-14 Tomcat. In Monday's tapings, the contestants will be strictly military for ``Wheel of Fortune's'' Armed Forces Week.
Friday's tapings begin at 5:45 p.m., Saturday's at 4:15 p.m. and Monday's show time is 2:30 p.m.
The shows taped here will be in syndication beginning May 15.
Today is a day for rehearsals.
The ``Wheel of Fortune'' staff from Los Angeles, led by production manager Steve Schwartz and art director Renee Hoss-Johnson, began almost a week ago to convert the cavern below the Eisenhower's flight deck into a floating studio for the show.
``We've been working 10-hour days,'' said Schwartz, while taking a break for a catered lunch of fried chicken on the carrier's mess deck. The ``Wheel of Fortune'' producers hired Sce-Con Scenic Services of Chesapeake, which in turn hired about 40 locals to help with the setting up.
Grunt labor, Larry Parker of Sce-Con calls it.
And what a mammoth job it has been, even for a cast and crew used to traveling. The Norfolk stop comes after Orlando, Fla., and before Seattle, Wash.
In most places, Schwartz and his crew set up in theaters, arenas and studios, where rigging and lighting is in place. To tape in Norfolk, Schwartz and his people had to lift every piece of equipment they need - cable by the mile - from Pier 10 to the carrier's hangar bays.
That includes White's extensive wardrobe and the prizes that will be awarded to contestants here. About a dozen contestants competing aboard the Eisenhower were selected in Norfolk auditions last April.
``We even brought bleachers,'' said Schwartz.
Trivia item: the wheel used on ``Wheel of Fortune'' is 7 feet, 8 inches in diameter and weighs a hefty 1,500 pounds. It is the one and only wheel on ``Wheel of Fortune.''
The letter board is another matter. The board that was assembled aboard the Eisenhower is a spare. It weighs 600 pounds and is illuminated with 1,200 lightbulbs.
Back in Los Angeles, at CBS Television City, is the No. 1 board. That's where White has paced off more than 221 miles turning letters.
White and co-host Pat Sajak will have mobile homes in which to lounge about when there is a break in taping. The Eisenhower is such an enormous ship that even with 280,000 pounds of set, scenery, electric and electronic gear aboard, there is room for much more.
On their off-duty hours, Petty Officer 3rd Class Carl Stephens of Dearborn, Mich., and airman Scott Bowman of Sayville, N.Y., climbed aboard fork-lifts to help move the ``Wheel of Fortune'' equipment.
``We're usually directing aircraft in this space,'' said Stephens.
The producers plan to take full advantage of the Navy setting. Hangar bay doors will be open during tapings so viewers will see the F-14 Tomcat parked on the ship's No. 2 elevator as well as the gray shapes of Navy warships tied up at Pier 11 and beyond at Norfolk Naval Base.
Schwartz refused to quote the costs of setting up ``Wheel of Fortune'' from scratch on an aircraft carrier. It is considerable, he said. ``Much higher than normal.''
If ever a show can bear the expense of a costly remote, it is this one. ``Wheel of Fortune,'' seen nightly at 7 on WVEC in Hampton Roads, is, by a wide margin, the most popular show in syndication. It is seen in 29 countries outside the U.S. ``Wheel of Fortune'' and ``Jeopardy!,'' both distributed by King World Productions, generate annual revenues of $200 million.
Why has ``Wheel of Fortune'' established and held its popularity for more than 2,000 shows? Pop psychologist Joyce Brothers thinks she has the answer. ``It's simple enough for a child to understand and complicated enough to keep adults interested.''
And this week, ``Wheel of Fortune'' evolves into a recruiting poster for the Navy and a tourism booster for the City of Norfolk. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Bill Monk, electronics technician for ``Wheel of Fortune,'' pulls
cable around the money wheel.
Electronics technician Bill Monk checks the letter board lights
aboard the Eisenhower.
Graphics
A WHIRL ON THE WHEEL
It's too late to obtain tickets for the 10 tapings of ``Wheel of
Fortune'' which begin in Norfolk aboard the supercarrier Dwight D.
Eisenhower at 5:45 p.m. Friday and continue 8 p.m. that night.
WVEC, the ABC affiliate here which runs ``Wheel of Fortune''
nightly at 7 p.m., distributed 1,800 tickets for the 10 tapings.
Ticket winners were chosen by random drawings. Saturday's taping
sessions are at 4:15 and 7 p.m. On Monday, when only contestants in
uniform will appear, tapings are at 2:30, 4:30 and 7:15 p.m.
Last spring, ``Wheel of Fortune'' producers staged auditions for
contestants at a downtown hotel n Norfolk. Of the 74 local
contestants chosen then, about a dozen will appear on the tapings
aboard the Eisenhower. Shows taped in Norfolk will be in
syndication starting May 15.
A SPIN THROUGH TRIVIA
Here is almost everything you always wanted to know about ``Wheel
of Fortune,'' the most watched TV game show in syndication, with 100
million viewers in 30 countries:
The fastest puzzle solution came in July 1990, when a contestant
solved ``Nick Nolte starring in Q&A'' in 40 seconds. In contrast, it
took a contestant 3 minutes and 38 seconds to break the word puzzle
``buttinsky'' in 1993.
The biggest winner so far has been Mindy Mitola of West Orange,
N.J., who took home $146,014 in cash and prizes.
Since ``Wheel of Fortune,'' the brainchild of former talk-show
host Merv Griffin, premiered in 1975 as a network daytime show, more
than 400,000 people have auditioned to be contestants. These
auditions, including one held in Norfolk last April, have produced
more than 16,000 contestants who have solved approximately 20,000
puzzles.
In a year's taping, co-host Vanna White wears about 500 different
outfits. Since she came aboard in 1982, White has shown off more
than 5,500 changes of clothing. Big wardrobe.
Speaking of White, the editors at the Guinness Book of World
Records estimate that White, always cheerleading for the
contestants, claps an average of 720 times a show.
Since the show went into syndication in 1983, ``Wheel of
Fortune'' has awarded more than $60-million in prizes, averaging
$40,000 per show.
by CNB