It’s been one week since longtime “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek died at the age of 80 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Now, fans of the popular game show have launched a petition calling for former “Reading Rainbow” host LeVar Burton to be named as his replacement.
A Change.org petition calling for Burton to host the game show has already garnered over 83,000 signatures at the time of this writing. The petition states:
“Between hosting 21 seasons of the educational Reading Rainbow, playing the brainiac engineer Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: the Next Generation, and filling the roll of Kunta Kinte in the ever important mini-series Roots, LeVar Burton has inspired and shaped the minds of several generations of trivia-loving nerds. This petition is to show Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and producers Mike Richards and Harry Friedman just how much love the public has for Burton, and how much we’d all love to see him as the next host of Jeopardy!”
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The petition eventually went so viral online that Burton himself came upon it.
“Even if nothing comes from it, I can’t tell how much I appreciate all of your love and support!” he wrote on Twitter, later adding, “Of course while I’m flattered by the petition, my thoughts are definitely with Alex Trebeck’s (sic) family and his millions of fans and the devastating loss of this irreplaceable legend.”
Burton added the hashtag “#LongLiveAlex” to the second tweet.
Even if nothing comes from it, I can’t tell how much how I appreciate all y’alls love and support! 🙏🏾♥️
Petition · Make LeVar Burton the next host of Jeopardy! · https://t.co/60lC1WCD61 https://t.co/QFxedpuWpU
— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) November 12, 2020
Of course while I’m very flattered by the petition, my thoughts are definitely with Alex Trebeck’s family and his millions of fans and the devastating loss of this irreplaceable legend. #LongLiveAlex
— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) November 12, 2020
After Trebek’s death, “Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Richards revealed that the show had “not actively pursued people” for replacing Trebek yet.
“We still had our guy and and now we don’t,” Richards said. “We will eventually, in a couple weeks, start having those conversations, because we owe it to Alex to keep the show going. That’s the only thing that will propel us, to be honest. That’s when we’ll start to really talk to people and see who can do this. It’s going to take someone with an amazing skill set.”
He added that Trebek made him and others “promise” not to end the game show after his death.
“That is the one thing he made us promise, that this great show was not done. He did not want to be bigger than the show. [He] fought that his whole time. He said, ‘It’s the show. It’s the clues. It’s the contestants,'” Richards said. “Obviously, we all feel that he was an incredibly huge part of that, but that was his take.”
This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.
Read more at UpliftingToday.com:
Details Emerge About How Alex Trebek Spent His Final Hours Before Passing Away At 80
Alex Trebek’s Widow Breaks Her Silence After His Death
George Stephanopoulous Reportedly In Talk To Replace Alex Trebek On ‘Jeopardy!’
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