June 14, 2011
After the passing of legendary announcer Charlie O'Donnell, Wheel of Fortune has selected KNW-AM Newsman Jim Thornton as its next announcer. Thornton's has been a fill-in for O'Donnell and will take over full-time when the show's 28th season begins on September 29th. Thornton said "This has been a lifelong dream, and to be able to follow in the footsteps of a legend like Charlie O'Donnell is truly humbling. Being selected as announcer for Wheel of Fortune is a huge honor. Now I just have to make sure I don't call out the answers to the puzzles when my mic is open!"
Thornton has been a part of KNX 1070 Newsradio in Los Angelas since 1985 when he provided traffic reports with the syndicated traffic service, "Metro Traffic." He then became a fulltime traffic reporter during morning drive for both KNX and CBS2 News, before taking on his current role as host of the afternoon drive newscast in January 2005."
