'Jeopardy!' host Ken Jennings has a major fan moment after finding a special '90s item
It is not a secret that "Jeopardy!" host Ken Jennings has a ton of respect for former host Alex Trebek. Jennings took over Trebek's role after the latter passed away in 2020, leaving fans shocked. In his time as host, the greatest ever champion of the game has received the love and adoration of thousands. However, he still has a lot of love for Trebek, as was made evident by a recent social media post.
Jennings recently shared a selfie on his Instagram handle in which he could be seen backstage at a taping. He was in the dressing room holding an item that looked like a pink comb. It turns out that it belonged to Trebek. “We don’t offer a Backstage Jeopardy! Tour, but if we did, this would be one of the highlights. This is, and I’m completely serious here, Alex Trebek’s own ‘90s-era afro pick. Long live the CanFro (Canadian afro),” he wrote as the caption.
A lot of people know Trebek as having grey hair, but during the 1980-90s, he sported an afro and even had a black moustache, as per a TV Insider report. He made his debut as the host of the show in 1984. The report also states that Jennings sometimes wore the ties that his predecessor used to wear during taping. These ties were marked with “AT” and the show number that he wore them on.
Fans of the show loved Jennings’s post and made their thoughts clear in the comments section. “Awwwww, I love that. Nostalgia pulls at the heartstrings,” one user commented. “This belongs in the Smithsonian. Right next to Fonzie’s jacket,” quipped another. “The cloning potential is mind-boggling,” a third user wrote, to which the host responded, “‘Your scientists were so preoccupied with asking in the form of a question…'”
Trebek met an untimely death in 2020 due to prostate cancer, and that truly shook 'Jeopardy!' to its core. Jennings was one of the people deeply affected, as he considered Trebek to be a great friend. Last year, he paid a heartfelt tribute to the former host in another Instagram post. It was a picture of him wearing a purple ribbon on his suit, which signified pancreatic cancer awareness.
“Where better than the Alex Trebek Stage to mark the beginning of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month? Thanks to my friends at PanCAN for supplying the purple ribbon—check out their website for ideas on how to raise awareness and drive progress all November long! Miss you, Alex. 💜,” he had written as the caption back then.
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