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Ken Jennings is one of the most famous Jeopardy! winners of all time — and when news of Alex Trebek’s death was announced, Jennings was quick to acknowledge the tragic loss.
Trebek was host of the game show for 36 years. He had been battling pancreatic cancer for two years at the time of his death. Jennings, 46, is the most successful Jeopardy! contestant in the history of the show. In 2004, he won 74 consecutive Jeopardy! games before being defeated. In that period, he earned over $2.5 million from the show.
Following the news of Trebek’s death, Jennings retweeted the official announcement from the Jeopardy Twitter account: “Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends. Thank you, Alex.”
Then, Jennings wrote his own tribute to Trebek.
“Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did,” Jennings tweeted. “He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend with him. Thinking today about his family and his Jeopardy! family—which, in a way, included millions of us.“
Here’s what you need to know:
Jennings, on His Relationship With Trebek: ‘He’s Exactly the Guy All Want Him to Be’
Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did. He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend with him.
Over the years, Jennings and Trebek formed a close relationship, as Jennings went from being a contestant on the show to working as an ambassador and consulting producer for the game show.
In an interview with TV Insider in November 2020, Jennings said, “It’s a very odd relationship because none of the contestants, whether they’re on once or 75 times, nobody gets to hang out with Alex. That’s a violation of FCC regulations for the contestants to hang out with anybody who knows the answers. And as we all know, Alex knows all the answers or the questions.”
He continued,
So, you get to see him in little snatches over your time on the show. And over the years, I’ve kind of gotten a sense of who he is. He’s exactly the guy we all want him to be from TV, not just the cool old-school broadcaster, but the reliably good authoritative person. He’s also a little bit goofier than you’d think. Between rounds, he’ll take audience questions and he’s cracking jokes that are self-deprecating. He swears. He does accents. I’ve seen him do little bits of song and dance. He’s really much more the goofy uncle than the stern dad, and I think America doesn’t always see that because there’s not a lot of time for him to make wisecracks.
Jennings was then asked if he ever saw a future hosting the show. He replied, “It’s really hard for me to answer that question because it requires envisioning a version of Jeopardy! without Alex Trebek. As great as that job would be, I am not emotionally prepared to do that right now. I have one host of Jeopardy! in my heart. So, I hope Alex is doing well.”
Trebek Became Emotional When Jennings Lost His Winning Streak in 2004: ‘I Had Tears in My Eyes’
The special connection between Trebek and Jennings included a healthy amount of respect and admiration in both directions. Trebek admitted that he became emotional in 2004 after Jennings’ winning streak came to an end.
Per Deseret News, Trebek wrote in his memoir about Jennings’ defeat, “I had tears in my eyes. It just all happened so quickly. Ken lost. … The show ended. I remember thinking, ‘Ken’s gone. My buddy. My pal. This was getting to be ‘The Ken and Alex Show.’”
Like Jennings, Trebek acknowledged the limitations of their friendship due to the rules of the show, but echoed what Jennings did: that all of those hours Jennings spent competing on the show allowed them to get to know one another much better than Trebek usually did with contestants.
Trebek wrote, “We got to know each other and feel comfortable with each other. He’s somebody I genuinely liked as a contestant on the program.”
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