The Monday announcement that longtime Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak would be stepping aside opened the door for 95.5 WSB host Mark Arum to share he believes he’s shared a similar career path to the longtime game show host.
“I can relate to doing a job that you don’t get to showcase your talents, right? You’re pigeonholed. Like ‘Oh, Pat Sajak can only post Wheel of Fortune’, knowing that he had the capabilities to do bigger and better things that more fit his natural abilities. I can relate to that,” said Arum on his Atlanta radio show Tuesday.
“Being pigeonholed and just because I did a job well doesn’t mean I couldn’t do other jobs well. You get backed — not backed into a corner — but honestly, I can relate to that. I did a job that didn’t allow me to use the full arsenal I have in my tool belt. But they’re paying me a lot of money to do it. And I did it a long time. Not 41 years, but it’s sympathy that I feel toward Pat Sajak.”
Arum — who was quick to point out he wasn’t talking about his current role — recently completed a shift change as part of a completely revamped daily lineup at 95.5 WSB. The Mark Arum Show moved from the afternoon drive window to airing from 9:00 AM-Noon.
After a discussion with producers about whether or not they’d be able to do a job they felt limited them for exorbitant amounts of money, Arum said there’s more to life than money.
“Listen, if at the end of the day you are just basing your life on how much you have in the bank account, not many did it better than Pat Sajak. But I can look into his eyes and I can see just a beaten man. He wanted to do more. I’ve been there man. I’ve been there. There just comes a time where the money is too good, and you’re like, ‘Alright. I guess this is what I’m doing. For the rest of my life’.”
