Ken Jennings stepped in as the first guest host of Jeopardy! since the death of the legendary Alex Trebek, and by many accounts, the GOAT champion did a solid job.
The guest host also came out and started the show with a heartfelt tribute to Trebek in which Jennings got choked up: “Not many things in life are perfet, but Alex did this job pretty much perfectly for more than 36 years, and it was even better up close,” he said, going on to say no one can replace Trebek, “but we can honor him by playing the game he loved.”
Ken Jennings steps up to the lectern today as our first guest host – but not before honoring Alex. pic.twitter.com/uOzQ3UfqmN
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) January 12, 2021
Jennings also revealed he carried a good-luck charm in his pocket while taping his guest-host stint that had a connection to Trebek: an audience ticket from Trebek’s first time hosting the show in 1983:
A friend gave me this piece of quiz show history: an audience ticket to Alex's very first Jeopardy! pilot from 1983. ("ALEX TREBEK! DOOR PRIZES!") I kept it in my pocket while guest-hosting Jeopardy! this week, as a good luck charm. pic.twitter.com/dpDn67lWPp
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) January 12, 2021
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