“Ken Jennings Reveals Heartbreaking Final Encounter with Alex Trebek: The Emotional Goodbye No One Expected”
Ken Jennings Details the Last Time He Saw Alex Trebek
ABC; Jeopardy!, Inc.
Ken Jennings got candid about the last time he saw former Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek before his death. The current host opened up during a Q&A for his book, The Complete Kennections, on August 12, in front of fans at Lake Forest Park, Washington.
Jennings told the audience that he and Trebek were backstage at Jeopardy! shortly before Alex’s death, according to MLT News. “He was, you know, sometimes in a lot of pain,” Ken Jennings shared. “Then Johnny [Gilbert] 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 recalls asking Trebek how he was doing, to which he replied, “A lot of people don’t get to hear the nice things said about them after they’re gone. I’m still here.’” Jennings went on to say that Trebek used to get “tens of thousands of pieces of mail,” including quilts, letters, and remedies.
“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 really touched by that.”
Jennings said that despite Trebek not being a hugger, they hugged at the end of the interaction.
“If there is a difference between my hosting and Alex, I’m, like, just not as good,” Jennings told the crowd. “It’s that I have been a contestant before. So when I see the players, I know the emotional state they’re in. It’s very intense to play Jeopardy!.”
Alex Trebek died on November 8, 2020, at the age of 80, from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Trebek began hosting Jeopardy! in 1984 and stopped in October 2020. His last episode aired in January 2021. Ken Jennings then took over with Mayim Bialik as cohost. In December 2023, he became the sole host of the game show.
The host also gave an update on the beloved announcer, Johnny Gilbert. “Gilbert has never missed a show in 42 years,” he said. Jennings added that he is in his 90s and is in “phenomenal shape.” “That is his hair, believe it or not,” he added. However, Gilbert doesn’t come in to the studio anymore and records all of the intros from his home.
Jeopardy!, Season 42, September 8, check local listings
News
“My Mom Is Not Guilty,” Said the Small Boy — What the Judge Found Out Left Him Speechless
The courtroom was silent until a trembling voice cut through the tension. Your honor, my mom didn’t steal anything. Gasps rippled across the room. A 9-year-old black boy stood alone before the judge, clutching a folder bigger than his chest. Behind him, his pale, tearful mother watched, handcuffed and accused of a crime she didn’t […]
Poor Black Girl Helped an Old Man Cross the Street — Unaware He Was the Town’s Richest Farmer…
At the busiest corner of town, traffic thundered and no one cared except Amir with patched shoes and a bag stitched together. She noticed an old man frozen at the curb, his cane trembling as cars sped past. Everyone else ignored him. Some even laughed at her for stepping forward. But Meera didn’t flinch. She […]
Boy Kicked Out by His Parents Returns 12 Years Later with his Nanny and Does Something Shocking.”
Thrown out for being dumb, young Daniel was left kneeling on the cold pavement while his wealthy parents shut the gates behind him. The only one who refused to walk away was Miss Ruth, the family’s old nanny, who quit her job and took him in with nothing but faith and sacrifice. Years later, Daniel […]
Black maid Stole the Billionaire’s Money to save his dying daughter, —what he did shocked everyone
Tasha was just a new maid, barely noticed, barely trusted. But when she found the billionaire’s daughter barely breathing, with no staff around and the mansion silent, she panicked. No calls were going through. No help was coming. So she did the unthinkable, broke into his locked office, grabbed the car keys and a bundle […]
Millionaire Comes Home and Finds His Pregnant Wife Crying—What He Discovered Shocked Him.
Millionaire comes home and finds his pregnant wife crying. David Whitman thought he had built the perfect life, but nothing prepared him for the day. He walked in early and found his young wife, Aisha, sobbing, her body covered in fresh bruises. Through her tears, she asked, “Am I ugly? Am I a monkey? Don’t […]
InLaws laugh as they gave her the Rusted van as her inheritance, — Unware the van was made of gold
At her husband’s funeral, Naomi’s in-laws handed her a rusted broken down van as her inheritance, laughing as they threw her out of the house and stole the businesses she’d built with him. 7 months pregnant, with her 10-year-old son beside her, she had no choice but to live in the van they claimed was […]
End of content
No more pages to load
