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Pat Sajak's Final Spin on Wheel and Return of Jeopardy! Masters; Remembering George Foreman and Wings Hauser

Fan-favorite game shows return Wednesday, April 30, to ABC and next day on Hulu, kicking off with new episodes of Pat Sajak's "Final Spin" as host of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), followed by the 2025 Jeopardy! Masters tournament featuring an expanded lineup of contestants (9:00-10:01 p.m. EDT). Celebrity Jeopardy! will crown its new champion the week prior on April 23 at 9.

Hosted by pop-culture legends Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune welcomes celebrity contestants to spin the world's most famous Wheel and solve puzzles for a chance to win $1 million for the charity of their choice. The all-star lineup for Sajak's "Final Spin" as host includes Cameron Brink, Josh Gad, Tiffany Haddish, Regina Hall, Rachael Harris, Ellie Kemper, Justin Long, Joe Manganiello, Katharine McPhee, Oscar Nuñez, Randall Park, Andrew Rannells, Sam Richardson, Matt Walsh and Rainn Wilson.

Hosted by Jeopardy! G.O.A.T. Ken Jennings, the third annual Jeopardy! Masters 2025 tournament will feature an expanded lineup of the top-ranked current Jeopardy! contestants, each competing in two action-packed games per hourlong episode for the grand prize of $500,000. Contestants will include reigning champion Victoria Groce, returning finalist Yogesh Raut, 2025 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Neilesh Vinjamuri, TOC finalists Adriana Harmeyer and Isaac Hirsch, 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament champion Matt Amodio, and JIT finalists Roger Craig and Juveria Zaheer. Additionally, this tournament marks the return of Brad Rutter, one of the biggest winners in Jeopardy! history, who will step back onto the Alex Trebek Stage for the first time since 2020's Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time event.

Hall of Fame boxer, businessman, and actor George Foreman, who starred as George Foster in the short-lived ABC sitcom George, has died. He died at a hospital in Houston, Texas, on March 21. Mr. Foreman was 76.

Foreman starred as George Foster in the short-lived 1993-1994 ABC sitcom George. George Foster is a retired boxer who runs an after-school program for troubled kids. The show was co-produced by actor and former boxer Tony Danza. The cast included Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tony T. Johnson, Lauren Robinson, Anne Haney, Larry Gilliard Jr., Cleandre Norman, Pablo Irlando, Doniell Spencer, and LáCrystal Cooke.

He appeared as himself in episodes of Sanford and Son in 1976, Good Sports in 1991, Home Improvement in 1992, and The Larry Sanders in 1992. He voiced George Fisticuff in a 1994 episode of Garfield and Friends and himself in a 2003 episode of King of the Hill. He made his television acting debut as Marcus Grayson in a 1976 episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. In 2022, he competed in season eight of The Masked Singer as "Venus Fly Trap".

Foreman starred in the 2016-2018 NBC reality travel show Better Late Than Never. The series is an adaptation of the South Korean Grandpas Over Flowers series. The cast included four "seasoned" North American celebrities William Shatner, Henry Winkler, George Foreman, and Terry Bradshaw, accompanied by younger comedian Jeff Dye, as they travel overseas, experiencing new cultures and checking off their bucket lists.

He won a gold medal in the boxing heavyweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. He won the world heavyweight title with a stunning second-round knockout of the then-undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973. In 1994 at age 45, he won the unified WBA, IBF, and lineal heavyweight championship titles by knocking out 26-year-old Michael Moorer. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Outside boxing, he was a successful entrepreneur and known for his promotion of the George Foreman Grill, which has sold more than 100 million units worldwide by 2011. In 1999, he sold the commercial rights to the grill for $138 million. Previous to that he was being paid about 40 percent of the profits on each grill sold, earning him $4.5 million a month at its peak, so it is estimated he made a total of over $200 million from the endorsement, a sum that is substantially more than he earned as a boxer.

Mr. Foreman was a man of many talents as a boxer, businessman, minister, author, and actor. While he was one of boxing's most feared fighters, he was a funny and gentle giant outside the ring. He was always a great late night talk show guest. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment over the years. Big George will be greatly missed.

Character actor Wings Hauser, who starred as Lt. Ronald Hobbs in The Last Precinct and had a recurring role as Ty Tilden in Roseanne, has died. He died in Santa Monica, California, on March 15. Mr. Hauser was 77.

Hauser starred as Lt. Ronald Hobbs in the short-lived 1986 NBC police comedy-drama The Last Precinct. The series stars Adam West as Captain Rick Wright, leading a group of misfit police academy rejects. Lt. Ronald Hobbs runs the 56th Precinct, Los Angeles' seediest and most woebegone unit. The pilot for the Stephen J. Cannell series debuted after Super Bowl XX in 1986, but the show was canceled within two months of its April premiere. The cast included Jonathan Perpich, Rick Ducommun, Ernie Hudson, Randi Brooks, Vijay Amritraj, Pete Wilcox, Keenan Wynn, Hank Rolike, Lucy Lee Flippin, Yana Nirvana, Geoffrey Elliot, and James Cromwell.

He had a recurring role as Ty Tilden in five episodes of the fifth (1992-1993) season of the ABC sitcom Roseanne. Ty Tilden is a neighbor of Roseanne's, who moved into Kathy Bowman's (Meagen Fay) old house. He is a kind, laid-back, struggling single father of two daughters, Charlotte Tilden (Mara Hobel) and Molly Tilden (Danielle Harris). He owns a Winnebago.

Hauser guest starred as Garnite Giles in two episodes of Arli$$. He played Greg Foster in 15 episodes of The Young and the Restless from 1977 to 2010. He starred as Lt. Col Matthew "Trane" Coltrane in the 1991-1992 first-run syndicated action-adventure series Lightning Force.

Some of his other television guest appearances included Cannon, Movin' On, Baretta, Magnum, P.I. (1981), Jessie (1984), Hunter, Hardcastle and McCormick, MacGruder and Loud, Airwolf, The A-Team (2 episodes), Freddy's Nightmares, China Beach (4 episodes), The Young Riders, Walker, Texas Ranger (1994), JAG, Murder, She Wrote (4 episodes), Beverly Hills, 90210 (6 epiosdes as J. Jay Jones), Kingpin (4 episodes as Doug Duffy), CSI: Miami, Third Watch, House, Monk, Cold Case, Bones, and Castle.

He received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Male for his role in Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987). Some of his other film credits included Vice Squad (1982), Deadly Force (1983), and The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1989). In 1983, he wrote the story for the Paramount Pictures box-office hit Uncommon Valor, which starred Gene Hackman, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Robert Stack, Patrick Swayze, Harold Sylvester, and Tim Thomerson.

Mr. Hauser was a prolific character actor who appeared in over 100 television and film productions. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be sorely missed.

We also remember actor Craig Richard Nelson. He starred as Mason Woodruff in Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers and had a recurring role as Mr. Spacek in Square Pegs. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 3. Mr. Nelson was 77.

Nelson starred as Mason Woodruff in the short-lived 1974-1975 CBS sitcom Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers. The series, which starred Paul Sand, centers on a musician in Boston, Massachusetts, and his relationships. The cast included Michael Pataki, Penny Marshall, Dick Wesson, Steve Landesberg, and Jack Gilford.

He appeared as Dr. Osgood in five episodes of the 1976-1977 satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and four episodes of the 1977 satirical comedy talk show Fernwood Tonight. He was a regular on the 1979 ABC summer variety/sketch comedy series Carol Burnett & Company.

Nelson had a recurring role as drama teacher Mr. Spacek in three episodes of the 1982-1983 CBS sitcom Square Pegs. Some of his other sitcom guest apperances included What's Happening!!, Maude, Barney Miller, Hail to the Chief, What's Happening Now!!, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Doogie Howser, M.D. (1990), Dream On, Night Court (2 episodes in 1987 and 1990), Get a Life, Wings, Grace Under Fire, and Home Improvement.

Some of his other television guest appearances included The Rookies, Cagney & Lacey, Amazing Stories, Stingray, L.A. Law, Dallas (1989), Alien Nation, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Father Dowling Mysteries, Quantum Leap (1992), Diagnosis: Murder (1994), Murder, She Wrote (2 episodes), The Lazarus Man, Charlie Grace, and Star Trek: Voyager.

Nelson starred as Bell, a mean-spirited law student, in The Paper Chase (1973). Some of his other film credits included 3 Women (1977), A Wedding (1978), and My Bodyguard (1980).

Mr. Nelson was a talented and versatile actor. We thank for his work on television and in films. He will be greatly missed.

Posted by Todd -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:40 PM

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Labels: ABC, Jeopardy, Obits, Roseanne, Square Pegs, Wheel of Fortune