Jim Thornton

Being the voice of "Wheel of Fortune" brings Jim Thornton's resonant, baritone voice into millions of living rooms across the country every day.

Since 2011, he's served as the announcer for the gameshow, not only introducing the stars of the show — formerly Pat Sajak and Vanna White and now, since Sajak's retirement last year, Ryan Seacrest and White. He also makes announcements throughout show and warms up the audiences before the video production starts, which occurs off camera.

Contributing to one of the nation's leading game shows requires not only that booming, stand-out voice, but levels of energy, vibrancy, humor, adaptability and professionalism that can only come from one place — the heart. And Thornton's heart bleeds green, as much today as it did in the 1980s when he was a student at Marshall University.

Though he never graduated from Marshall — because his big dreams could not wait and he took off for Los Angeles without a degree — Thornton is a proud alum and vocal supporter of the Thundering Herd and is honored this week to serve as Marshall's grand marshal in the 2025 Homecoming Parade.

"Marshall is part of the fabric of who I am. It really is," he said. "My granddad went there, my dad, you know, all my family went to Marshall.

"When the Marshall plane crash happened, I grew up with people who lost parents in that. One of my closest friends had lost both his parents in that. I think that kind of thing makes you feel so protective of Marshall. You just have this deep love for it. I think that's just always going to be there."

His first gig was at WMUL-FM.

"I'd flip on the transmitter, Saturday mornings from 9 until noon," he said.

Other memories of his days at Marshall include getting involved in music productions, taking languages like German and Spanish and having professors who genuinely cared about his success.

"I remember the teachers — they seemed to really be deeply involved and invested in the students. I don't know that it's that way at every university," he said.

"There were so many talented people at Smith Music Hall. I was there a lot, doing different things," he added. "One of my professors and his wife taught a jazz class that I was in, and I would go out and watch them perform. He played the guitar beautifully, and they would perform and sing. That's the kind of thing that, in Huntington, you just got this unique experience where you couldn't get that necessarily in the big city."

Thornton's personable approach to audiences and his work ethic all can be traced back to his roots in Huntington.

He learned about hard work watching his dad, who ran a recycling business. And he loved being creative and making something out of nothing, like his aunt, an artist who created a picture of Huntington that was hung in Jim's Steak and Spaghetti House.

Thornton also remembers participating in a community theatre performance of "Oklahoma," being involved in productions at Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church, and attending Huntington High, where students were encouraged to find a job in their field of interest. For him, it had always been broadcasting, so he worked under Bob Smith, then with WOWK-TV.

"This is what I've always wanted to do — from when I was a little boy, about 9 years old, in the basement with a microphone from the earliest days that I can remember, I wanted to be on TV," Thornton said. "I wanted to be that announcer guy."

It's been a long road. His first radio job in California was traffic reporting, followed by several radio jobs in the 1990s and early 2000s. By 2005, he was working at KNX 1070, a big radio station the LA market, eventually becoming an anchor.

Highlights along the way included fun side jobs, like some voice work for Disney in the movie "Monster's Inc.," in which his voice is heard in the TV ad that leads off with, "The future is bright at Monsters Inc." His voice is also heard at Monster's Inc. attractions in the Disney parks.

He also did a couple weeks of announcing on the Price is Right and some voice work for "Celebrity Death Match," a pop culture phenomenon in the early 2000s.

"Work has led from one thing to another for me," he said.

Thornton auditioned for "Wheel of Fortune" some 15 years ago and was hired, replacing predecessor Charlie O'Donnell.

He's now living his dream.

"I come in early in the morning, and I read through the scripts. We rehearse a little bit," he said. "My basic job is warming up the audiences. I make them laugh, hopefully, and have a lot of fun. It's like a big birthday party, and then I go into my little room and start the show.

"It's a long day, but I love making people smile and laugh and just having fun," he said. "It's a combination of entertaining people and interacting with Vanna and Ryan on camera or on microphone."

They typically film about five or six episodes in one day. They're filmed at Sony Pictures Studio, in a historic space where the tornado scene from "Wizard of Oz" was filmed. Another great aspect of the experience is seeing the work of world-class designers who bring the set to life, he said.

"Contestants come in to rehearse. They're pinching themselves because they can't believe how cool it is to be inside of the TV," Thornton said. "Then Vanna will come out and say hi, and they get so excited. Then I come out, and they say, 'Who is this guy?'"

Then he starts talking, and it comes together for everyone.

"We realize how lucky we are to do what we do," Thornton said. "This is a wonderful experience that we have together. … It's just such a great group of people. I'm so grateful."

His best advice for young people is to find "that thing."

"Find that thing that you love to do," he said. "It might morph a bit, but that thing will get you out of bed in the morning and will drive you to excel and to reach new heights, and always keep at it. Don't go easy on yourself.

"Just keep on moving. You'll find your way through, if you just keep digging at it and you keep working at it. Just make sure that, before you invest your time, which is the most precious commodity we have, that you know that's what you want."