Jeopardy! fans ‘infuriated’ at show for poor treatment of first host and ‘forgetting’ to honor him at annual event

JEOPARDY! fans have called out the iconic game show for brazenly forgetting its roots in a bit of an insulting way.

Internet users pointed out that, after recently turning 60, Jeopardy! producers have made no effort to celebrate its original host.

Before Ken Jennings or Alex Trebek, there was Art FlemingCredit: Getty

Art Fleming hosted Jeopardy! from 1964 until 1979 on NBCCredit: Getty

Jeopardy! has no relationship with the late host’s estate nor has celebrated him at their annual Honors eventCredit: Getty
Casual viewers may best associate Alex Trebek as the OG Jeopardy! host, but that isn’t the case.

Art Fleming hosted the first iteration of the show on NBC from 1964 until 1979.

Art got no mention when the game show turned 60 with a Diamond Celebration in March.

In addition, Jeopardy! launched an annual Honors ceremony in 2022, during which show figures are inducted into a new Hall of Fame.

Six people have been inducted so far, given their impact on the show:

Alex, creator Merv Griffin and his wife Julann, influential former showrunner Harry Friedman, the ageless announcer Johnny Gilbert, 95, and longtime writer Steven Dorfman.

The first five were inducted in 2022, the last in 2024 at live events held before the annual Tournament of Champions.

Despite hosting for ten years, Art also does not have a section on Jeopardy.com either.

‘INFURIATING’

On Wednesday, a fan took to Reddit urging Jeopardy! to fix their strained relationship with the late Art Fleming.

They wrote, “Jeopardy! NEEDS to honor Art Fleming at the next Jeopardy! honors ceremony.”

“I find it infuriating. It’s been 2 ceremonies, and they haven’t honored him. He should have been honored the very first ceremony.”

While others replied that “infuriating” may be a strong word, they agreed that it’s odd that a show about trivia doesn’t embrace its entire history.

“Maybe they’re only focusing on the 1984-forward show.” It could be that the Fleming era is considered a different show,” one speculated.

“Last time around they said something like they wanted to properly check things with his family before properly honoring him. Either the guy has no living family or they’re taking an awful long time,” theorized another.

A third fan buzzed in to say Art does have surviving relatives.

“I’m friends with his granddaughter, actually,” they wrote.

A fifth wrote, “I agree. Without that version, there would’ve been no show to bring back in 1984. Wake up, powers that be in the studio!”

A sixth noted that the show celebrating 60 years does encompass Art’s tenure, so it doesn’t track to disclude him from the lore.

“I agree, Fleming should at least be mentioned since the current producers did acknowledge and word it as ’60th Diamond Celebration’. I’d write to [EP Michael] Davies.”

‘NOT IN COMMUNICATION’

Art hosted the show before it retooled in its modern iteration with Alex and Johnny Gilbert.

Viewers were even wary of Alex because they loved Art at the time.

In 2022, its executive producer admitted that the show is not in contact with his estate since his 1995 passing.

“One name suggested to me was Art Fleming,” EP Mike Davies explained on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, referring to his snub from Honors.

He implied the show does not have a relationship with Art’s surviving family.

“I would love get in communication to those close to him around him to honor him in the future,” the showrunner said.

ART’S EPISODES ARE ‘LOST’

In 2022, producers also shared a shocking revelation about Art’s episodes as host – they’re all gone.

On Inside Jeopardy!, producer and former “Clue Crew” member Sarah Foss was joined by alum Buzzy Cohen.

A fan question was read, “Do you have access to other Art Fleming episodes?”

The answer was a resounding no; “I wish we did, I wish we had more of those,” Foss said.

All they have is “the original pilot,” which “never aired.”

“We don’t even have the first episode of the show,” Sarah lamented.

“It’s just one of those things; tape used to be so big and so heavy, and over time, we didn’t have space or storage to store them.

“All these older programs. It’s lost.”

In other words, the show lost all tapes of episodes before Alex began hosting in 1984 until his passing in 2020.

“If only we could have known, so many special episodes I’d love to go back and watch – but I have my imagination,” she added.

Jeopardy! holds an annual Honors event with key figures added to a Hall of FameCredit: Jeopardy

HOST HISTORY

Ken Jennings holds the record for the longest winning streak in Jeopardy! history with 74 consecutive wins in 2004.

Now, he has taken over as a full-time host of the series.

Alex Trebek hosted the show’s modern iteration from 1984 until in November 2020 after losing a battle with pancreatic cancer.

After his death, things got a bit chaotic, as viewers know all too well.

After a series of guest hosts, officials announced that producer Mike Richards and actress Mayim Bialik would be taking over as co-hosts.

However in August 2021, Richards resigned over sexist resurfaced comments and Ken stepped in to split hosting duties with Mayim.

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

In July 2022, it was announced that Mayim and Ken would continue to host together for season 39.

However, after the show’s summer 2023 hiatus, it was revealed that Jennings would take over as the permanent host for season 40.

Mayim announced in a personal Instagram message in late December 2023 that she would “no longer be hosting” the show.

Ken later said he “understood” the decision as shows “don’t have two hosts.”

Now, Ken helms all facets of Jeopardy! including specials and spinoffs.