With Ken Jennings as the current host of Jeopardy!, he knew he'd have big shoes to fill after Alex Trebek's death from stage 4 pancreatic cancer at age 80 back in 2020. Even though Alex is gone, Ken keeps up a special traditions started by the late TV personality during his time on the show.
When speaking to People at the TCM Classic Film Festival on April 24, the former Jeopardy! champion spoke out on continuing the legacy that Alex started back in 1984. While Ken has had to keep up with the times of new tournaments and being the face of the hit quiz show franchise, he did share a surprising behind-the-scenes habit he took on from Alex when stepping into the role. As Ken shared with the outlet, Alex loved to watch old movies in his dressing room — and it's something Ken has adopted, too.
"It's part of our Jeopardy! tradition because Alex always had TCM [Turner Classic Movies] on in the dressing room," he told the outlet in an article published on April 29. "That's something I'm gladly keeping going."
But that's not all Ken said about keeping Alex's legacy alive.
While Ken acknowledged he learned a lot about hosting from watching his predecessor do it for so many decades, he's also gotten used to the idea of being allowed to make the role his own as he tapes every episode.
"It was very tricky after Alex passed because, of course, we all missed him," he added. "No one had seen anybody else host Jeopardy for nearly 40 years. It was a tricky adjustment ... luckily I had seen him host enough that I kind of had this internal sense of what would he do here, and that's really the only thing that got me through. And a few years on, I've gotten enough reps that I feel a little more comfortable out there."
Fans can see Ken do his thing as Jeopardy! Masters season 3 airs on ABC beginning April 30, 2025. And who knows? Maybe someday he'll let us in on the old-school movie he has playing in his dressing room ahead of the episode.
As the entertainment and news associate editor 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.
