She also appears in locally-shot footage on road shows, most often at the start of the show, and sometimes in the plugs for the Jackpot and Mystery Rounds. Vanna's role was expanded greatly in September 1996, when she began doing the closed-captioning plugs. In a 1987 interview, Susan stated that she taught Vanna how to turn the letters and told her that 'she should be grateful for this opportunity'. According to White, she and Vicki McCarty did a week each, and Merv Griffin chose her due to her chemistry with Pat Sajak. White also appeared in the 1981 horror movie Graduation Day.įollowing Susan's departure, Vanna was selected among hundreds of hopefuls to do on-air auditions. In an amusing coincidence, her episode (#3575D) was scheduled for and aired on June 20, 1980, considered by some fans to have been a sad day on another network. On May 19, 1980, Vanna appeared as a contestant during a taping of The Price Is Right while she was the fourth player called down (and the first to bid that day), she never left Contestant's Row. During the closing chat on September 6, 2004, White wished a happy birthday to former South Carolina real estate agent Herbert White, whom she had treated as her father following Miguel's departure. When Vanna was a child, her biological father (Miguel Angel Rosich) left the family.
