Chuck Woolery's Bitter Final Regret – How Original 'Wheel of Fortune' Host Died Raging He Made Just $65K a Year

Game show host Chuck Woolery left an enviable legacy when he passed away at age 83 on November 23, but one regret haunted him until his final days – the loss of his hosting gig on Wheel of Fortune in a contract dispute, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

According to an insider: "Everyone felt he deserved more credit for Wheel's popularity than he got."

The source said Woolery, who hosted the show from 1975 to 1981, was "resentful" of Pat Sajak's success and his enormous salary.

Woolery earned only $65,000 a year, a fraction of what other game show hosts were making, so he asked for a raise to $500,000 a year.

But game show honcho Merv Griffin grew angry during the contract negotiations in 1981, and when talks broke down, then-weatherman Sajak was hired in Woolery's place.

Sajak eventually earned $15 million a year before retiring earlier this year.

Meanwhile, when Woolery died, he was worth $10 million, "which isn't a very vast sum when you consider what he could have made on Wheel", according to the source.

The insider said: "Pat could retire with the knowledge that he's got $75 million in assets, but Woolery missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime when he walked away from the show, and that stung him till the day he died."

When Woolery learned that media mogul Ryan Seacrest, who replaced Sajak as the show's spinmaster, was reportedly making $28 million a year, he was "beside himself."

The insider added: "Chuck was a gentleman and tried to handle it with dignity, but there was always that nagging question of: "What if?"