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What is…
Merv Griffin didn’t have the name “Jeopardy!” in mind for the iconic game show when he created the concept. In fact, he had a wildly different title picked out.
Griffin’s first choice was “What’s the Question?” and how the long-running NBC show’s name came to be is quite the story.
While brainstorming ideas for a new game show with his wife, Julann, all the way back in 1963, Griffin reportedly began mulling over the previous scandals that plagued other quiz shows.
In the 1950s, producers on popular shows “Twenty-One” and “The $64,000 Question” were called out for giving their favorite contestants answers to the questions. The misconduct left a bad taste in viewers’ mouths, with many at home believing the programs could no longer be trusted.
While Griffin stewed on the controversies, his wife made a joke that changed the trajectory of his idea and the show.
Julann jokingly proposed that her husband create a show where contestants are given “the answers to start with,” Griffin revealed in the forward of 1990’s “The Jeopardy! Book.”
“She was kidding, but the thought struck me between the eyes,” he noted.
The early version was still being developed under “What’s the Question?” and had several similarities to what “Jeopardy!” is today, only it included one round of 100 questions.
The questions were displayed on a large board and organized into 10 categories with 10 clues in each, which was a concern to executives.
The bosses at NBC had a positive reaction to the trial run; however, they weren’t sure Griffin’s 10-by-10 game board would fit a TV screen.
The game show creator continued to fine-tune his idea, squashing the concerns by dividing the categories into shorter rounds of play.
But it wasn’t until NBC producer Ed Vane went over his notes with Griffin that “Jeopardy!” became the clear front-runner.
Vane “told me that he liked the premise but that it lacked enough ‘jeopardies,’” Griffin shared in his 2007 memoir, “Merv: Making the Good Life Last.”
That’s when Griffin implemented the concept that contestants would lose money if they buzzed in and gave the wrong answer.
Griffin, who died in 2007, said that Vane had “inadvertently given me the perfect name for the show.”
“Jeopardy!” debuted on March 30, 1964, with the original host, Art Fleming.
While the game show has had five official hosts over its 39-season span, the most popular host was Alex Trebek.
He hosted “Jeopardy!” for 36 years, from 1984 until his death. Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer in November 2020, with his last episode airing the following month.
“Jeopardy!” is now famously hosted by Ken Jennings after he shared on-camera duties with “The Big Bang Theory” alum Mayim Bialik.
English (US)