'Jeopardy!' host Ken Jennings' secret nickname honors his performance as ex-contestant on game show
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It’s impossible to not utter Ken Jennings and ‘Jeopardy!’ in the same breath. No one can last remember the time when Ken was not anywhere near the coveted gameshow. After all, Ken was once a contestant who broke all records and took home a whopping $ 2.52 million at the end of his streak. That was not it. Ken returned to host the show and since then, has turned into a fan favorite.
Given his successful tenure as a host and a contestant before, the ‘Jeopardy!’ podcast conjured up a nickname for him. Only he didn’t know about it. The 49-year-old anchor was taken aback when he learned about his secret nickname. He joked that the game show’s podcast was gutsy to even think about a nickname for him. He didn’t seem disappointed but was extremely surprised to see a piece of information evade him for so long. And then he took to Twitter, to let his thoughts out.
Jeopardy! podcast just straight up inventing a new nickname for me in the show description. Gutsy! pic.twitter.com/c5KRzhGFBW
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) June 1, 2023
'Ken Jennings - The Professor'
When Ken learned about his nickname, he couldn’t help but rush to Twitter to share his astonishment with the world. The ‘Jeopardy!’ host attached a screenshot of a description from the recent ‘Jeopardy!’ podcast which read, “It's 2004. Up until a year before, Jeopardy! had a rule: contestants could only win five consecutive games. After the fifth win, they had to leave. But now there was no limit, and everyone wanted to know, who would be the first contestant to go the distance?” The final sentence was the ultimate revelation which gave us Ken’s nickname. The sentence read, “Cue: Ken Jennings, aka 'The Professor.’”
Ken was completely in the dark about his nickname and was clearly astounded by ‘The Professor', a nickname that he will surely grow to love soon. However, Ken never made his feelings clear about the nickname but he did find it a little humorous.
Ken is always dressed as a ‘Professor’
Ben Chan, a contestant on ‘Jeopardy!’ who enjoyed a nine-day winning streak on the game show revealed that Ken once came to the set in a hoodie but was told that he could not wear it for the game show. Ken later joked that he'd unquestionably be changing into a suit. Given this exchange, it is certified that the nickname, ‘The Professor', is apt for Ken since he’s always dressed as one, whenever he’s on the job, hosting the show.
