Fans know who they want to take over the reins of Jeopardy! since the tragic passing of long-time host Alex Trebek. Although many wonderful people have appeared on Jeopardy! as guest hosts in the months since Trebek’s death from pancreatic cancer, there is one person who has a following of fanatic fans who are eager for the show to give him the permanent spot on the program – and that person is former Reading Rainbow host, LeVar Burton.
LeVar Burton has appeared on Jeopardy! as a guest host from July 26, 2021, to July 30, 2021. Throughout his career, he helped get millions of children to read more books as part of the award-winning PBS series “Reading Rainbow,” which he hosted and served as an executive producer for. In addition to his work for the coveted children’s program, Burton also hosts his own podcast called “LeVar Burton Reads,” in which he highlights wonderful short fiction for the world to enjoy.
In addition to Burton’s work with reading and education, which makes him the perfect fit as a host of Jeopardy!, Burton has also starred in other recognizable roles, including Kunta Kinte in the acclaimed mini-series “Roots” and as Lt. Commander Geordi LaForge in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Now, fans have launched a petition urging Jeopardy! to choose Burton as the permanent host of the show. On Monday, there were 257,000 people who signed the petition, and Burton finally spoke out about the petition and his hope of being picked as a permanent replacement to host the popular game show.
“I’ve been asked over the past couple of weeks, ‘what is this about?’” Burton explained, according to Fox News. “And I think it has something to do with the fact that this generation of adults that have grown up on ‘Reading Rainbow’ think I’ve made an investment in them, and they are hoping to return the favor.”
During an interview with Fox, the anchor asked Burton if he felt he would be a good fit as the new host of Jeopardy! He admitted that he has been training for such a role his entire career.
“This is what I’ve been doing my entire career. For 45 years, I’ve tried to use the medium of television to do more than just entertain,” Burton explained. “I know that we have the opportunity, when we do it with consciousness, to inform, to enlighten, to educate, to even uplift ourselves with the stories we tell one another. I see ‘Jeopardy!’ as absolutely in the sweet spot of that Venn diagram.”
Although fans believe Burton would be a wonderful Jeopardy! host, Burton did not miss an opportunity to pay tribute to the great Alex Trebek, who passed away at age 80 of cancer in November 2020.
“For me, my standard of excellence is so intense that my initial approach was to try and be as good as Alex was,” Burton said. “Of course, I realized right away that was an impossibility. The man had 37 years to perfect his mastery.”
Do you think LaVar Burton would make a great host of Jeopardy!?
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Sources: Awm
