The world might have changed a lot, but the love for ‘jeopardy’ persist.
The ever-entertaining game show and its longtime host, Alex Trebek, have given us some most memorable and amazing moments amid much precariousness this past year.
On Sunday, Trebek died after battling with pancreatic cancer at the age of 80.
Even though he was sick, the forever-admired host continued to perform his duties on the famous quiz show. Recently, he enjoyed the rare night where returning champion Kevin Walsh was answering his final question solo after the other two contestants finished with either minus point or zero.
The game show confirmed the news of Alex’s sad demise on Twitter, reading, “passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends.”
Here are some memorable moments from the show that will definitely leave you with teary eyes!
Clean-shaven Trebek
Trebek has a healthy moustache back when he first debuted as host of “Jeopardy!” in 1984.
It became his signature look. He took us all by surprise when he shaved his iconic moustache in 2001.
Though, he tried to grow it back and shaved it off several times before he finally settled on a clean-shaven look the past few years.
In 2018, Trebek revealed that it was his wife actually who preferred him in a clean-shaven look, so that’s justified…
Confusing it up with a sister show
To pull off an April fool prank in 1997, Trebek switched places with “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak.
What happened later was completely unexpected…
Both game shows and their respective hosts have been admired for years, so viewers couldn’t find any difference between the two and rolled with it.
The iconic Ken Jennings Streak
The game show has never been more thrilling and exciting than in 2014 when contestant Ken Jennings managed to maintain his winning streak for 74 games consecutively, the longest ever in “Jeopardy!” history.
A software engineer by profession, Jennings won around $3,370,700.
Jennings has also earned a title of “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time,” special tournament.
He also bagged the grand prize of $1 million as champion.
Showed him the money
James Holzhauer surprised everyone in 2019 when he made history setting the record for the biggest-game winnings at $131, 127.
He also maintained a 32 back-to-back winning streak and also won the title of the “Tournament of Champions” specials.
Brad Rutter; another contestant who is celebrated as one of the biggest money winners ever on the game show.
He earned over $5 million from the show with his various appearances on the franchise, including a $2.1 million win during one of the “tournament of champions.”
Three-way tie
Professor Scott Weiss displayed a true moment of sportsmanship in 2007. He organized his final wager so that he and his two fellow contestants would have $16,000 if they answer the final question correctly.
And they answered all correctly, resulting in the show’s first-ever three-way tie not including zero dollars.
All three contestants later appeared in the next episode.
Pantless Trebek
Trebek was caught off guard without pants in 2007; he walked out without wearing pants on to start the episode.
“I was informed backstage a few minutes ago that our three contestants, Ken, Brad, and Jerome, wanted to relieve some of the tension and they said, ‘we must do the program without trousers,” he explained.
“Can we get a camera behind to make sure that they have done the same as I?”
Well, they didn’t, and Alex got his pants backstage.
The ‘What’s a hoe’ moment!
The clue sounded bizarre yet innocent enough!
“This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker,” reads Trebek.
“What’s a hoe,” contestants Ken Jennings answered.
“No. Whoa,” Alex said. “They teach you that in school in Utah, huh?”
And the answer was actually a rake.
Alex autotunes himself!
So, one category on the show was named “Alex Autotunes Himself,” and he actually did exactly that!
In 2010, contestants were asked to guess the song Alex sang with a voice, digitally altered, belting out “Farmer in the Dell,” “Oh, Susannah,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Go Down Moses,” and “Oh, Danny Boy” using the gizmo.
“You know, I sound that way every day when I’m not at Jeopardy!” he joked.
“We love you, Alex” moment
In an unexpected on-camera display of emotion, one of the contestants’ answer choked Alex on emotion during the show’s “Final Jeopardy” round of the “Tournament of Champions” aired on November 11, 2019.
Trebek asked, “In the little of a groundbreaking 1890 expose of poverty in New York City slums; these three words follow ‘how the.”
A brown university student, Dhruv Gaur, was first to show his card, which he wrote “What is, We love you Alex!” instead of the answer “what is, “other half lives?”
“That’s very kind of you,” answered Trebek while getting a bit emotional. “Thank You.”
It was indeed an emotional clip.
The dramatic Alex!
In one of the episodes, Trebek went a bit more dramatic while reading Shakespeare for guests to guess the characters he was pretending to be.
“No, no, the drink, the drink,” he reads, going a bit overloaded with his voice. “O my dear Hamlet, the drink, the drink. I am poisoned.”
Alex has left this world, but his moments and memories will forever remain in the hearts of fans.
Rest in peace, Alex; you’ll be missed!