“Wheel of Fortune” announcer Jim Thornton has been fired from the game show, producer Sony Pictures TV confirmed. “Following a thorough investigation, Jim Thornton’s employment with ‘Wheel of Fortune’ has been terminated, effective immediately,” the studio said in a statement.
According to insiders, Thornton won’t be heard on the show when it returns for a new season on September 14, as an interim announcer has revoiced all of Thornton’s parts on the shows. No permanent replacement has been announced.
Thornton’s firing came just hours after TMZ posted photos of what were allegedly him on an American Airlines plane with his laptop opened on “disturbing chat room” that appeared to be “images and texts that made it appear it was a chat room for pedophiles.” The up-close photos of the laptop’s screen showed lewd conversations about minors.
The alleged incident took place in May, when according to TMZ, a passenger informed a flight attendant about the chat screen on Thornton’s laptop. Authorities were waiting to question Thornton when his flight landed at LAX, and after they spoke to the Thornton he was given permission to leave.
Neither Thornton nor his lawyer have publicly addressed the allegations; an attorney who said they represented the announcer, Allison Hart, told TMZ that Thornton had “become active in suicide-prevention advocacy since losing a close family member to suicide two years ago and he has spent time visiting chat rooms offering support to individuals suffering from suicidal ideation.”
On Tuesday, Sony Pictures TV said that “we have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton. He has been suspended from ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation.”
The announcer joined “Wheel” in 2010 after the death of the show’s previous announcer, Charlie O’Donnell, and has also worked as a substitute announcer on “The Price Is Right.” He’s also been the voice of “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” on ABC.
Thornton’s other credits include “Celebrity Deathmatch,” where he voiced Johnny Gomez, and as an announcer on “The Cleveland Show” and “Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” He’s also been heard on several video games and appeared as a commercial narrator in the 2001 animated film “Monsters, Inc.” He also voiced the 2011 Oscar-nominated short animated film “Let’s Pollute.”
Thornton has been a local media presence in Los Angeles for decades, having previously worked as an afternoon anchor on KNX 1070 Newsradio, which he first joined in 1985 as a traffic reporter with Metro Traffic. He also provided traffic reports on KCBS-TV.
His other broadcast credits include Westwood One Radio Networks, and he was the voice of L.A.’s KCOP-TV for four years. He has received an Edward R. Murrow award, Golden Mike awards and an Emmy.