Like most fans of “Jeopardy!” Bill Whitaker and his wife, Terry, try their best to come up with the correct responses.
The game is so fast-paced that it doesn’t leave much room for discussion. So sometimes, the couple will pause the show after a question is read, talk it over, come up with an answer together and then hit play to see if they got it right.
“Often we don’t,” Bill Whitaker told “Jeopardy!” producers with a laugh. “But we love it.”
Now, for the next two weeks, Whitaker has all of the answers at his fingertips.
The “60 Minutes” correspondent serves as the next guest host of “Jeopardy!” from May 3 to May 14, helping the show ride out its 37th season without late host Alex Trebek. Whitaker is the seventh guest host to fill in, following Ken Jennings, Mike Richards, Katie Couric, Dr. Oz, Aaron Rodgers and Anderson Cooper.
“I have been really blown away by the coverage this all gets,” he recently told The Washington Post. “I truly did think, silly me, that I was going to be a ‘Jeopardy!’ guest host and carry on with my life as usual. But these hosts: They’re gossiped about, they’re tweeted about, they’re in People magazine, the Hollywood Reporter. ... I had no idea that this was going to be this wild and crazy.’”
The broadcast journalist, who taped his 10 episodes over two days, said he was initially nervous to step into the role and stand in the place of someone as legendary as Trebek. Although he had the support of his wife — who he called his “biggest booster” — Whitaker said it was hard to put the nerves aside and enjoy the moment.
“I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t walk away from here looking like an idiot,” he told “Jeopardy!” producers. “But I finally did get to the point where I was having fun. There’s no show I’d rather do.”
During Whitaker’s two-week stint as host, “Jeopardy!” is matching the winnings of the contestants and donating to Whitaker’s charity of choice: Media Fellowship House (named for Whitaker’s hometown in Media, Pennsylvania).
“It was started to get a dialogue going between people of different races and religions and ethnicities, and it has grown over the years to be a place that helps students get into college, and helps them with scholarships,” Whitaker told “Jeopardy!” producers. “And also one of the biggest things is to help first time homebuyers. ... So they are a very small organization that has a big impact on the community.”
Who else is hosting ‘Jeopardy!’?
According to the “Jeopardy!” website, this is the upcoming hosting schedule:
- May 17-28 — the “Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions,” hosted by former “Jeopardy!” star Buzzy Cohen.
- May 31-June 11 — “Big Bang Theory” actress Mayim Bialik.
- June 14-25 — “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie.
- June 28-July 9 — Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN.
Last month, “Jeopardy!” also announced additional guests hosts, including “Reading Rainbow” star LeVar Burton, “Good Morning America” anchors George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts, journalist David Faber and sportscaster Joe Buck, the Deseret News reported.
When will ‘Jeopardy!’ replace Alex Trebek?
Jean Trebek, Alex Trebek’s wife of 30 years, has said her husband was dedicated to hosting “Jeopardy!” — even as he underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer and was in a great deal of pain.
- “Doing ‘Jeopardy!’ really gave him a sense of purpose, a reason to wake up in the morning,” Jean Trebek told Guthrie in a recent interview that aired on NBC. “And I would say we all need that. We all need a purpose.
- “I knew his life was going to, on earth here, would wrap up quickly when he could no longer do the show,” she continued. “But he wanted to finish strong. And he did.”
Alex Trebek hosted “Jeopardy!” for 36 years. The show has not rushed to name a replacement, although Ken Jennings — who was the first guest host following Trebek’s death and is currently a consulting producer for “Jeopardy!” — has said there will be a permanent host by the show’s next season, which will likely begin in September.
- “Let’s make sure we get someone we are going to feel even better about in a decade than we do this year,” Richards, the executive producer of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” told USA Today earlier this year.