'Jeopardy' host Ken Jennings opens up about his final meeting with Alex Trebek on the show
Ken Jennings had big shoes to fill when he took over as "Jeopardy!" host following the departure of the legendary Alex Trebek. While Jennings has done a great job so far, the show and the fans still miss Trebek. Recently, Jennings opened up about his last meeting with his predecessor on the set, during a Q&A session for his book, "The Complete Kennections." The new host got candid answering the questions and shared how great a showman Trebek was.
During the session, Jennings was answering a fan's question who asked about his and Trebek's last meeting on "Jeopardy!" as per MLT News. Jennings shared that he met Trebek backstage shortly before he passed away from pancreatic cancer. “He was, you know, sometimes in a lot of pain,” Jennings shared. “Then [when] Johnny [the show's announcer] would say his name, and like magic, he would just walk out there and be Alex Trebek, you know, 37 years of sense memory and experience, and he could just turn it on," Jennings added, complimenting the legend's resilience.
Jennings further shared that he personally asked Trebek about his health as well. “And I asked him how he was doing, and he said, 'A lot of people don’t get to hear the nice things said about them after they’re gone. I’m still here,'" Jennings recalled. The host further shared that after the announcement of Trebek's illness, people started sending items to pay their respects.
"You would not believe the mail, tens of thousands of pieces of mail. People sent quilts. People sent remedies, like, people sent everything. And I think he had hosted that show for decades without really realizing what he meant to us, and it was only in the final months that he saw how important he was to a massive viewing audience. And I was touched by that," Jennings said. The record-holding champion, who was once crowned "Greatest of All Time" by Trebek, shared that he hugged Trebek after the exchange, even though he was not into hugging.
Trebek, who began hosting "Jeopardy!" in 1984, last appeared as a host in October 2020, after his diagnosis. The legendary host later died on November 8, 2020, with his last episode airing in January 2021. It was then that Jennings took over as the host, with Mayim Bialik as his cohost initially.
Jennings then talked about another legend of the show, Johny Gilbert, who has served as the announcer for over 42 years. Jennings shared that he is in his 90s and is in “phenomenal shape.”
Pointing to a picture of Gilbert, Jennings said, “That is his hair, believe it or not." However, Jennings added that Gilber doesn’t come into the studio anymore and all his intros are recorded from his home.
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