The game he hosted on September 18 never aired, nor was it intended to it was a pilot, for Griffin and King World (the company that would sell the show to local stations) to evaluate. What better quiz than the classic game that they already knew and loved?Īrt Fleming would sit out the new version, replaced by Alex Trebek, best known to viewers at that point for High Rollers and Battlestars. In the 80s, the popularity of the board game Trivial Pursuit convinced Jeopardy! creator Merv Griffin that the audience was hungry for a tough trivia quiz on television.
On Sunday, September 18, 1983, Alex Trebek walked onstage to host his first game of Jeopardy! The game had previously enjoyed 12 years on NBC with original host Art Fleming.
