‘Wheel of Fortune’ Promotes Robert Ennis to Director (Exclusive)
Bob Ennis – S 2015
Courtesy of Sony Pictures TelevisionRobert Ennis has been promoted to director of Wheel of Fortune, the top-rated syndicated game show that kicks off its 33rd season on Monday, Sony Pictures Television announced.
The Emmy Award-winning Ennis has served as Wheel of Fortune’s technical director since 1992 and has directed 22 times between 2012-14. He replaces Bob Cisneros, who in turn stepped in for the late Mark Corwin in 2013. Ennis is just the fifth regular director the show has ever had (Johnny Carson’s brother Dick was one of them).
Ennis also has helmed installments of such game shows as Family Feud and Supermarket Sweep and been a technical director on The Bold & The Beautiful, Hollywood Squares, The Price Is Right and The Young & the Restless.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ennis studied TV production at Loyola Marymount University, then joined ABC to work on Good Morning America, Monday Night Baseball and The Academy Awards.
Ennis won his Emmys for Hollywood Squares and the 1984 Summer Olympics. He also has worked for the Grass Valley Group and Sony, doing switcher demonstrations, instruction and assisting in switcher design.
“Bob has been an extremely valuable member of the Wheel of Fortune family for many years,” executive producer Harry Friedman said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing how his extensive production experience will add new dimensions to the show.”
“I am so proud to be named the director of Wheel of Fortune, and I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to be working with,” said Ennis. “I look forward to building on the traditions of my predecessors and taking the show to the next level.”
Wheel of Fortune, starring Pat Sajak and Vanna White, returns for its 33rd season tonight. Both are signed through the 2017-18 season. Distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution, the game show attracts more than 26 million viewers a week.
Twitter: @mikebarnes4