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The year is 1963. John Fitzgerald Kennedy has just been Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald; a Nation is Mourning Kennedy's loss; and TV talk show host Merv Griffin (born on July 6, 1925 in San Mateo, California, USA) conceives a unique kind of Game Show originally titled "What's the Question?," with a Pilot filmed under that title later in 1963.
Soon afterwards, with the Game Show Scandals of the mid-'50s fresh in America's minds, Merv re-christens the game into "Jeopardy!" in early 1964, with a revised Pilot Videotaped at NBC Studios in New York City, New York.
Veteran Announcer Don Pardo left his position as original "Price is Right" announcer to become "Jeopardy!" announcer after "Price" was cancelled by NBC and moved to ABC, with Johnny Gilbert becoming permanent "Price" announcer for original host Bill Cullen (after ABC cancelled "Price" in 1965, the show came back 7 years later with Bob Barker as host, a role he'd assume until his 2007 Retirement from Broadcasting, with Drew Carey taking over for Bob Barker).
An aspiring actor named Art Fleming was hired by Merv Griffin to host the revised "Jeopardy!" pilot, with the series immediately picked up by the NBC Television Network, where "Jeopardy!" debuted on March 30, 1964 as part of NBC's Daytime Network Game Show schedule, along with other Game Shows.
The son of Austrian Jewish immigrants Bill and Mary Fazzin, Arthur Fleming Fazzin was born on May 1, 1924 in New York City, New York, the elder of Bill and Mary's 2 children (including a younger sister). Before being picked by Merv Griffin to host "Jeopardy!" (a role he'd assume for 11 years on NBC as well as a short weekly 52-week run in once-a-week Syndication from September 9, 1974 - September 7, 1975 AND a short-lived 1978 revival airing on NBC from October 2, 1978 - March 2, 1979), Art was an aspiring actor with quite an Acting Resume under his belt--including the short-lived '50s Western "The Californians" (where he portrayed a character named Jeremy Pitt) and the early '60s British-made show "International Detective," where he portrayed Detective Ken Franklin.
In common practice of the time, all but 20 episodes of Art Fleming's "Jeopardy!" were, sadly, Erased from Existence (or "Wiped" as the Network Executives described it) by NBC from the Studio Master tapes (not counting the 52-week once-a-week Syndicated episodes). In late 1974, NBC cancelled "Jeopardy!" after 11 years, with its final episode airing on January 3, 1975.
Because he was still under contract at NBC, Merv Griffin signed, as part of his NBC contract, a Replacement show in the event "Jeopardy!" was cancelled; that Replacement show was "Wheel of Fortune," with 33-year-old Chuck Woolery (born on March 16, 1941 in Ashland, Kentucky) serving as original Host.
The original "Wheel" Pilot had been taped 2 years earlier in 1973 under its original title of "Shopper's Bazaar," with Chuck Woolery as host; a year later, in 1974, a revised Pilot with the new title "Wheel of Fortune" (in a format we all know and love) was taped and picked up by NBC, with Edd Byrnes (real name: Edward Byrne Breitenberger) serving as Host along with Susan Stafford, who was, unlike Byrnes, retained for Series, with Merv hiring Chuck back to host.
As noted earlier, 3 years after its cancellation, NBC revived "Jeopardy!" in 1978, with Art Fleming once again serving as host, with Don Pardo succeeded as announcer by John Harlan.
In 1984, after "Wheel of Fortune" became a juggernaut in Syndication the previous year, Merv Griffin decided to bring "Jeopardy!" back to the airwaves as a nighttime Syndicated series, this time choosing Alex Trebek to serve as Host.
George Alexander Trebek was born on July 22, 1940 in Sudbury, Canada; his presumably late father, George (ne George Edward Trebek), was an Alcoholic; Alex's parents, George Trebek and Lucille Lagasse (Lucille still very much alive as of 2019 at age 98), were, respectively, Russian and French Immigrants who settled in Canada just prior to Alex's birth and divorced when Alex was a young teenager; after graduating from the University of Ottawa, Alex (then an aspiring actor and newsman) arrived in America from Canada and at age 58, in 1998, eventually became a Naturalized U.S. Citizen, arriving in America in 1973.
After a series of short-lived Game Shows (including 1976's "Double Dare" on CBS), Alex got his big break as "Jeopardy!" host in 1984, with Johnny Gilbert serving as Announcer--a role both still maintain 35 years later as of 2019.
On March 6, 2019, Alex Trebek announced in a YouTube video his Confirmed diagnosis of Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer; after a round of Chemotherapy, Alex initially found that his Tumors were Shrunk by almost Half, but however, in September 2019, months after his 79th Birthday, Alex went back to Chemo.
As of this writing, Alex Trebek is continuing his mission both as "Jeopardy!" host and battling his own personal fight against Pancreatic Cancer--which ironically his predecessor, Art Fleming, had been diagnosed with on April 11, 1995, passing away 2 weeks after the diagnosis on April 25, 1995, at age 70.
Also passing away in 2007 was "Jeopardy!" creator Merv Griffin, who after a long remission from Prostate Cancer, became Gravely Ill with the disease, and died on August 12, 2007 at age 82; Merv's successor on "Wheel of Jeopardy!" (my joke name for both "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" combined), Harry Friedman, is set to retire as Showrunner in April 2020 from both Programs, to be succeeded as Showrunner in Fall 2020 by veteran TV producer Mike Richards.
During the peak of "Wheel of Jeopardy!" in the mid-'80s and early-'90s, the late, great Video Game company Gametek released several different "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" games on various platforms, including 4 different Nintendo NES Games, 2 Sega Genesis games, and a series of PC Games alone.
Of the FEW original '60s "Jeopardy!" episodes that exist, I remember watching online via YouTube this one episode telecast on NBC on February 21, 1972; the episode, the show's 2000th episode, featured a cameo by Mel Brooks as himself, albeit in the guise of his alter ego The 2,000 Year-Old Man. The episode is available via YouTube at
Including the short-lived NBC 1978 revival, Art Fleming hosted "Jeopardy!" for 12 years and approximately 2895 times; by comparison, since 1984 Alex Trebek has hosted over 8000 "Jeopardy!" episodes in 35 1/2 Television Seasons.
Soon afterwards, with the Game Show Scandals of the mid-'50s fresh in America's minds, Merv re-christens the game into "Jeopardy!" in early 1964, with a revised Pilot Videotaped at NBC Studios in New York City, New York.
Veteran Announcer Don Pardo left his position as original "Price is Right" announcer to become "Jeopardy!" announcer after "Price" was cancelled by NBC and moved to ABC, with Johnny Gilbert becoming permanent "Price" announcer for original host Bill Cullen (after ABC cancelled "Price" in 1965, the show came back 7 years later with Bob Barker as host, a role he'd assume until his 2007 Retirement from Broadcasting, with Drew Carey taking over for Bob Barker).
An aspiring actor named Art Fleming was hired by Merv Griffin to host the revised "Jeopardy!" pilot, with the series immediately picked up by the NBC Television Network, where "Jeopardy!" debuted on March 30, 1964 as part of NBC's Daytime Network Game Show schedule, along with other Game Shows.
The son of Austrian Jewish immigrants Bill and Mary Fazzin, Arthur Fleming Fazzin was born on May 1, 1924 in New York City, New York, the elder of Bill and Mary's 2 children (including a younger sister). Before being picked by Merv Griffin to host "Jeopardy!" (a role he'd assume for 11 years on NBC as well as a short weekly 52-week run in once-a-week Syndication from September 9, 1974 - September 7, 1975 AND a short-lived 1978 revival airing on NBC from October 2, 1978 - March 2, 1979), Art was an aspiring actor with quite an Acting Resume under his belt--including the short-lived '50s Western "The Californians" (where he portrayed a character named Jeremy Pitt) and the early '60s British-made show "International Detective," where he portrayed Detective Ken Franklin.
In common practice of the time, all but 20 episodes of Art Fleming's "Jeopardy!" were, sadly, Erased from Existence (or "Wiped" as the Network Executives described it) by NBC from the Studio Master tapes (not counting the 52-week once-a-week Syndicated episodes). In late 1974, NBC cancelled "Jeopardy!" after 11 years, with its final episode airing on January 3, 1975.
Because he was still under contract at NBC, Merv Griffin signed, as part of his NBC contract, a Replacement show in the event "Jeopardy!" was cancelled; that Replacement show was "Wheel of Fortune," with 33-year-old Chuck Woolery (born on March 16, 1941 in Ashland, Kentucky) serving as original Host.
The original "Wheel" Pilot had been taped 2 years earlier in 1973 under its original title of "Shopper's Bazaar," with Chuck Woolery as host; a year later, in 1974, a revised Pilot with the new title "Wheel of Fortune" (in a format we all know and love) was taped and picked up by NBC, with Edd Byrnes (real name: Edward Byrne Breitenberger) serving as Host along with Susan Stafford, who was, unlike Byrnes, retained for Series, with Merv hiring Chuck back to host.
As noted earlier, 3 years after its cancellation, NBC revived "Jeopardy!" in 1978, with Art Fleming once again serving as host, with Don Pardo succeeded as announcer by John Harlan.
In 1984, after "Wheel of Fortune" became a juggernaut in Syndication the previous year, Merv Griffin decided to bring "Jeopardy!" back to the airwaves as a nighttime Syndicated series, this time choosing Alex Trebek to serve as Host.
George Alexander Trebek was born on July 22, 1940 in Sudbury, Canada; his presumably late father, George (ne George Edward Trebek), was an Alcoholic; Alex's parents, George Trebek and Lucille Lagasse (Lucille still very much alive as of 2019 at age 98), were, respectively, Russian and French Immigrants who settled in Canada just prior to Alex's birth and divorced when Alex was a young teenager; after graduating from the University of Ottawa, Alex (then an aspiring actor and newsman) arrived in America from Canada and at age 58, in 1998, eventually became a Naturalized U.S. Citizen, arriving in America in 1973.
After a series of short-lived Game Shows (including 1976's "Double Dare" on CBS), Alex got his big break as "Jeopardy!" host in 1984, with Johnny Gilbert serving as Announcer--a role both still maintain 35 years later as of 2019.
On March 6, 2019, Alex Trebek announced in a YouTube video his Confirmed diagnosis of Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer; after a round of Chemotherapy, Alex initially found that his Tumors were Shrunk by almost Half, but however, in September 2019, months after his 79th Birthday, Alex went back to Chemo.
As of this writing, Alex Trebek is continuing his mission both as "Jeopardy!" host and battling his own personal fight against Pancreatic Cancer--which ironically his predecessor, Art Fleming, had been diagnosed with on April 11, 1995, passing away 2 weeks after the diagnosis on April 25, 1995, at age 70.
Also passing away in 2007 was "Jeopardy!" creator Merv Griffin, who after a long remission from Prostate Cancer, became Gravely Ill with the disease, and died on August 12, 2007 at age 82; Merv's successor on "Wheel of Jeopardy!" (my joke name for both "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" combined), Harry Friedman, is set to retire as Showrunner in April 2020 from both Programs, to be succeeded as Showrunner in Fall 2020 by veteran TV producer Mike Richards.
During the peak of "Wheel of Jeopardy!" in the mid-'80s and early-'90s, the late, great Video Game company Gametek released several different "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" games on various platforms, including 4 different Nintendo NES Games, 2 Sega Genesis games, and a series of PC Games alone.
Of the FEW original '60s "Jeopardy!" episodes that exist, I remember watching online via YouTube this one episode telecast on NBC on February 21, 1972; the episode, the show's 2000th episode, featured a cameo by Mel Brooks as himself, albeit in the guise of his alter ego The 2,000 Year-Old Man. The episode is available via YouTube at
Including the short-lived NBC 1978 revival, Art Fleming hosted "Jeopardy!" for 12 years and approximately 2895 times; by comparison, since 1984 Alex Trebek has hosted over 8000 "Jeopardy!" episodes in 35 1/2 Television Seasons.