Alex Trebek’s final Jeopardy! episodes aired nearly two weeks ago, but the late host’s passing is still being felt. One person who’s felt it personally was Jeopardy champion Brad Rutter. Rutter spent years off-and-on competing on the iconic game show. He recently shared hilarious memories from his time with Trebek on the Jeopardy set.
Brad Rutter spent years on-and-off getting to know late Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, so he has plenty of stories to share. He recently did a radio interview with WOGL (via Prevention) sharing memories about his time on the set of the iconic game show. Rutter recalled a time where he and fellow competitors Jerome Vered and guest host Ken Jennings during a Jeopardy tournament. He spoke on how Trebek was able to break the tension through an unexpected moment.
We were so nervous, we were just all pale as a ghost. Then, one of them ['I don’t remember who,' Rutter said, joked that to ‘cut the tension’ they should play without wearing pants.] What we didn’t realize was that our mics were live, and Alex heard us.
After overhearing the contestants, Alex Trebek decided to break the tension with his trademark dry humor. When Trebek was called to the Jeopardy stage, he came out pantless before the show started. This isn't the first time the story of the pantsless moment has come up, but this time Brad Rutter went on to speak about getting to know the late host personally over the years, as well.
You’re really just not allowed to talk about much. I was lucky enough to be on the show so often that I got to know Alex a little. He added that the host’s dry sense of humor came out ‘even more so in person than you would see on the show.’
Hearing Rutter speaking on Alex Trebek was just a reminder of how disarming and funny the late host was on and off the set. Brad Rutter’s time on Jeopardy has been fruitful as he became the highest-earning Jeopardy contest. But Rutter wasn’t the only one who has missed Trebek’s presence as Ken Jennings talked about losing the host too soon.
Even though Alex Trebek has been deceased for months, Jeopardy! fans did get a final message from the late host as the show wrapped its final Trebek run and prepped for a slew of guest hosts. Trebek's final episode featured a moving tribute to the host with a nice connection to the show’s Clue Crew.
Following Alex Trebek’s passing, Ken Jennings has been serving as a guest Jeopardy host. After Jennings’ stint ends, there are several guest hosts lined up, including Katie Couric, The Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik and a few others. But the game show’s fans haven’t forgotten about Trebek’s legacy as they petitioned to have Stage 10 (where Jeopardy is filmed) renamed after the late host.
Brad Rutter’s personal story about his time with Alex Trebek gave Jeopardy fans a small peek of what the late host was like behind-the-scenes. It was nice to hear that Trebek’s signature humor was the same off-screen as on-screen. If you want to check out any post-Alex Trebek episodes, you can catch out current guest host Ken Jennings hosting Jeopardy in syndication.
