When Ken Jennings began his 74-winning streak on Jeopardy! back in 2004, he had no idea how much the quiz show would change his life. One such way he was forever altered was the close relationship he built with host Alex Trebek. Although Ken has previously mentioned how strong their bond was, the TV personality is now detailing his final moments with his mentor.
In an October interview with Vulture, the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time winner opened up about the last conversation he ever had with Alex. According to Ken, the two had discussed him stepping in as temporary host the weekend before Alex’s November 2020 death from pancreatic cancer. And the former Chase star noted that it wasn’t like past interactions.
“I was scheduled to come into the studio to rehearse for some games,” he told the outlet. “Even if Alex bounced back as he had before, he wanted somebody to fill in for him for a little while. A producer set up a call, and his voice was notably weaker than we’d ever heard it on the air, which really struck me at first. It was a tough moment. But once you got over the timbre of the voice, he was still very much Alex.”
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Ken and Alex’s last conversation became even more emotional in a most unexpected way.
“The thing that stuck with me is he thanked me for coming in to fill in for him. That just broke me,” he continued telling the magazine. “I said, ‘Alex, are you kidding? We should be thanking you. I’d take a bullet for you, Alex. I’m happy to help.’ Of course, I didn’t know that he would be gone within 36 hours.”
As longtime viewers know, Alex and the former software engineer’s friendship exceeded beyond the soundstage of Ken’s initial winning streak on Jeopardy!. He would later appear in a number of specials, including the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, IBM Challenge, Battle of the Decades Tournament and All-Star Games.
What’s more, Ken’s career on Jeopardy! outside of competing was instrumented by the late host himself. Before he became one of the permanent hosts (he shares the role with The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik), he was approached by Alex to be a consulting producer and appear in video clues, amongst other details.
“He said, ‘Hey, we’ve been talking, and if you’re serious about being retired from Jeopardy!, would you want to come aboard? Like, move to the front office?'” Ken told The Washington Post in September 2020.”That was nice, because I was kind of already missing the show.”
Though he’s back in front of the camera regularly again, Ken doesn’t forget who helped him get to where he is today. In fact, when he first stepped in as a guest host in January 2021, he made sure to honor Alex.
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“Thank you everyone — welcome to Jeopardy!,” he said on the quiz show. “You know, sharing the stage with Alex Trebek was one of the greatest honors of my life. Not many things in life are perfect. But Alex did this job pretty much perfectly for more than 36 years, and it was even better up close.”
He continued: “We were dazzled by his intelligence, his charm, his grace. Really, there’s no other word for it. Like all Jeopardy! fans, I miss Alex very much. I thank him for everything he did for all of us … No one will ever replace the great Alex Trebek.”
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As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.
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