Ken Jennings, 49, has revealed his final conversation with legendary “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek — just hours before he died.
The beloved host died in November 2020 at age 80 after a battle with stage four pancreatic cancer.
“I actually ended up talking to him what turned out to be the night before the day he passed away, about guest hosting for him,” Jennings recalled about Trebek during an appearance on the “Last Podcast on the Left” on Wednesday.
The topic came up when Jennings was asked whether Trebek had ever given him any advice about the job.
“We actually didn’t know. We thought, ‘Oh, he’s going to get better, he’s gonna bounce back, he’ll be hosting again.’ I was just going to fill in,” Jennings continued.
During what would end up being their last conversation, Jennings revealed that the two of them spoke about the game of “Jeopardy!”
“You know, he gave me the impression he always did over the years, which was that he did not want to be the center of attention on ‘Jeopardy!'” the host said.
“He was never announced as the star of ‘Jeopardy!’ — he was always the host of ‘Jeopardy!’ because he thought the game itself and the contestants should be the star.”
Jennings, who is a previous “Jeopardy!” champion, began to permanently host the show alongside Mayim Bialik in September 2022 but appeared as a guest host many times before Trebek passed away.
During the podcast appearance, Jennings also shared some memories of Trebek and explained what the longtime TV fixture was like behind the scenes.
“During commercials, he would tell jokes, go into the crowd. He loved to warm up the crowd himself and do little impressions. He was a very light, funny guy,” said the 49-year-old, who first appeared on stage alongside Trebek in 2004 during the show’s 20th season. “But he had to keep the show moving because that’s the job description.
“But things you think you know about him — that’s he’s smart, that he actually knew all those answers and wanted you to know that he knew them, was a very well-read and kind of a gentleman of the old school — all 100% true,” he continued.
Jennings added that although Trebek made hosting “look so easy” for 37 seasons, it’s actually quite difficult, as the game moves extremely quickly.
After the late host’s passing, “Jeopardy!” honored his legacy.
Last November, an episode of the show’s “Tournament of Champions” paid tribute to him with a category called “Remembering Alex Trebek.”
Season 40 of “Jeopardy!” is expected to kick off in September but with some tweaks amid the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike.
Jennings will be taking over hosting for Bialik on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” this season as she takes a step back to avoid crossing the picket line in support of the strike.
The A-list version of the game show will air on Sept. 27 on ABC.
