'Jeopardy!' host Ken Jennings was once featured on 'The Simpsons' — and still gets paid for it
Turns out that even after all these years, the 51-year-old is being paid by Fox.
Nov. 19 2025, Published 2:21 a.m. ET
Ken Jennings is primarily known for his journey from being a star player to a host on "Jeopardy!" But he has done a lot more than that, and that includes his stint as a voice actor. Jennings even briefly voiced a character on the popular animated TV show, "The Simpsons." Turns out that the 51-year-old still gets paid for that, and he recently shared a picture of a paycheck that he received.
Jennings played himself in a 2017 episode of the show, which also featured celebrity astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson. In the episode, the 51-year-old was referred to as a teacher, and he had to teach a classroom full of robots that looked the same and had artificial intelligence. While speaking to the lead character Homer Simpson, he said, “Who is…glad to meet you.” He was also seen using the “Jeopardy!” board of clues to teach his class.
In a recent post on Instagram, Jennings shared a picture of the most recent paycheck, in which he was paid $0.01 by Fox Corporation, signed by a man named Gary L. Hauser, as per a report in TV Insider. Such checks are known as residual checks, and the host mentioned in the caption said that he always found such items funny. However, this was the first time that he had mustered up the courage to post a picture of one on social media.
“Small residual checks are always funny, but I’m finally posting one because it’s $0.01! I did it! Really clinging to my current job with both hands now, because apparently my foreign residuals for a 2017 Simpsons episode are not paying the bills. Spy magazine used to send $0.13 checks to rich people to see who would actually deposit them. Answer: only two people did, a Saudi arms dealer and… Donald Trump,” the caption read.
Fans of Jennings and “Jeopardy!” loved what they saw and made their thoughts clear in the comments. “On the day the last penny got manufactured as well! Good timing!” one user wrote. “One time I got a check for $0.02 from one of my father's retirement accounts a year or 2 after he had passed away in 2011. I joked he was still giving me his two cents from beyond the grave!” added another. “You should have your 2 cents worth at the very least!!!” a viewer exclaimed.
Apart from The Simpsons, Jennings has made guest appearances in a lot of other shows. As per Rotten Tomatoes, he has appeared on Sesame Street, The View, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, Call Me Kat, and many more.
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