SALT LAKE CITY – Who is Ken Jennings?
It is the beginning of a new era for one of the oldest television game shows in the country.
Jennings, a BYU alumnus who achieved fame in “Jeopardy!” during a period of 74 consecutive victories from 2004 to 2005, he will be the guest host who starts on Monday, as the popular game show continues to look for a permanent host after the death of dear host Alex Trebek in November 2020.
“Danger!” first aired in 1964, but the version most viewers are most familiar with started in 1984, with Trebek as the presenter. It was in the middle of his 37th season when Trebek died of cancer at the age of 80. His last show was recorded shortly before his death and aired on Friday.
It was announced shortly after Trebek’s death that Jennings would serve as a temporary host until a permanent replacement was found. On Monday, the TV show posted a short video with Jennings presenting her ideas about hosting the show. In it, he called the show’s presentation “unimaginable” and added that “he still can’t believe it”.
That said, Jennings understands that it will be a difficult transition from what fans of the show are used to.
“Honestly? I’m with the audience. I don’t want me here. I want to see Alex here. I know exactly how they feel when they see someone behind this pulpit,” he said. “But there are tens of millions of people who love this show. We love this show. Alex loved the show. I am very happy to fill in and help.”
Ken has come a long way since his competitive days. Here are Ken’s thoughts behind the pulpit, as the first in a series of guest presenters. pic.twitter.com/0HaxSv8mmW
– Jeopardy! (@Danger) January 11, 2021
Jennings added that moving from competitor to presenter offered a different perspective on the work Trebek did at the helm of the program for nearly four decades. He said he quickly learned that his predecessor did more than just keep the game running and master all of the show’s tracks.
“I thought I understood everything and then when I had to do that, I realized that he was doing 10 things I didn’t know for every one I saw,” he said. “It is a very demanding job and he was the best.”
Jennings still holds two of the show’s records: more consecutive wins (42 out of any competitor in history) and more money earned from regular show appearances ($ 2.52 million). Jennings has won over $ 4.3 million in all of her appearances on the show, including after the end of her 74-game winning streak. This is the second biggest ever in the history of the show.
He paired up with another “Jeopardy!” star James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter to co-host a new show called “The Chase”, which debuted on ABC last week.
Still, your choice to host the “Jeopardy!” was met with controversy. Late last month, Jennings apologized for the insensitive tweets she sent on Twitter over the years.
“I definitely tweeted some uninspiring and insensitive things,” he tweeted. “Sometimes they acted like jokes in my head and I was dismayed to see how they read on the screen.”
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Carter Williams