Ken Jennings Admits Most “Unfortunate” Part of Jeopardy!

1. Jeopardy! was first conceived by media mogul Merv Griffin in the 1960s, when he and his then-wife Julann Wright were discussing the infamous quiz show scandals of the 1950s. She joked to Griffin about creating a game show in which the host would give contestants answers to let them come up with the question.

2. According to Griffin, he went straight to NBC with the idea and the network “bought it without even looking at a pilot show.”

3. How did they land on the name Jeopardy!? Answer: Griffin’s initial title of What's the Question? was rejected, with network executives commenting that it sounded like a show without any "jeopardies" in the game.

4. Art Fleming served as the host of Jeopardy! when it first premiered in 1964. Alex Trebek took over the post when the show went into syndication in 1984.