Levar Burton Set To Guest Host ‘Jeopardy’ Show After More Than 246,000 Fans Make The Demand from Game Show!
YourBlackWorld.net, By Victor Omondi, Posted May 11th 2021
For about six months now, LeVar Burdon’s name has been out there as a possible new host for ‘Jeopardy.’ It all began after the show lost Alex Trebek who’d been a host for more than three decades. From the look of things, it appears like Burton is going to get the post, finally.
On April 21, the game show took to Twitter to announce a new list of guest hosts to steer the show for the remainder of season 37. To the joy of his fans, the “Reading Rainbow” star’s name appeared on the list.
In his response, Burton expressed his joy, saying, “THANK YOU… to all y’all for your passionate support! I am overjoyed, excited, and eager to be guest-hosting Jeopardy!, and will do my utmost best to live up to your faith you in me. YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE! Go ahead and take my word for it, this time.”
The others on the list are David Faber, Robin Roberts, Joe Buck, and George Stephanopoulos.
Burton’s expression of gratitude doesn’t come as a surprise, considering that the 64-year-old has made it clear on several occasions that he’s salivating for the position. During a recent interview with “Entertainment Weekly,” Burton expressed his confidence that he’d be the best fit for the hosting job. He said, “I don’t believe there is anyone out there who is better suited for this job than me. And I will go to my grave believing that.”
There were many other people who also considered Burton as a perfect fit for the gig. One of his fans started a Change.org petition to have Burton given the position, a petition that received over 246,000 signatures.
After he was named for the job, Burton thanked the fan who started the petition. “Special shout-out to Joshua Sanders who started the petition! #Jeopardy,” he tweeted.
Although there were no details shared about the nature of the hiring process, Mike Richards, the show’s executive producer, shed some light, saying, “Our goal has been to present a wide variety of guest hosts with different skill sets and backgrounds on our path to finding a permanent host. Our passionate fans are telling us what they like, and we are listening.”
Many of Burton’s fans were overjoyed after learning of the “Star Trek” star’s appointment.