Johnny Gilbert

Johnny Gilbert
Johnny Gilbert
	Gilbert announcing Jeopardy! in 2019
Born	John Lewis Gilbert III; July 13, 1928 (age 96); Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Game show host/announcer
Years active	1958–present
Known for	Announcer of Jeopardy! (1984–present)
Spouse	Sharee Gilbert (m. 1984);
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Unit	Seventh Army Special Services

John Lewis Gilbert III (born July 13, 1928) is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various eras, dating as far back as the 1950s. He is known primarily for his work as the announcer and audience host for the syndicated version of the quiz show Jeopardy! since its revival in 1984.

Early life and education

John Lewis Gilbert III^[2] was born on July 13,^[2] 1928)^[3]^[4]^[5] in Newport News, Virginia. He began performing by singing as a boy in his hometown Lutheran Church choir.^[6] Although his parents had never worked in the theatrical profession themselves, his grandmother had been a church singer.^[2]

While he was still in high school, Gilbert decided to take up a professional singing career and learned from an opera teacher. He never sang opera independently, but was the regular vocalist with Shelly Harmon and His Orchestra, a group that toured the Virginia area.^[2]

Career

Stage and early television career

A few years after graduating from high school, Gilbert resided in Florida for three months working as an emcee, during which he received on-the-job training and learned to walk on stage, speak in front of a public crowd, and tell jokes and stories.^[2]

The Dead End Kids, a group comprising young actors such as Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, and Gabriel Dell, were organizing a revue. Gilbert joined the group and played throughout the southwestern United States for 16 weeks.^[6] When they played in Norfolk, Virginia, Gilbert got special billing.^[2]

In the 1950s, Gilbert joined the United States Army's Seventh Army Special Services in Germany,^[1] and was cast as the lead in Xanadu: The Marco Polo Musical, an original musical comedy inspired in part by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem Kubla Khan, which chronicles Marco Polo's trip to China. The company toured throughout Western Europe, performing for servicemen and civilians alike.^[6]

After resigning from the service and returning to the U.S., Gilbert continued singing and hosting in clubs.^[6] One day, a manager of a well-known group in Philadelphia asked Gilbert if he was interested in auditioning for television.^[2] He said yes, and received his first television assignment as a singer and emcee on WDSU in New Orleans.^[7]

Hosting

Gilbert went to New York City, where he quickly signed with the William Morris Agency and in 1958 received his first job on national television—as the host of a newly created game show, Music Bingo.^[6] The show ran for three years, airing first on NBC and then on ABC.^[2] His popularity on that show led him to record an album and several singles. Gilbert went on to emcee the local game show Words and Music on KTLA-TV in Los Angeles.^[2]

Gilbert was later contacted by Avco Broadcasting to host his own local talk/variety show, The Johnny Gilbert Show, which aired on WLWD-TV (now WDTN) in Dayton, Ohio, and three other Avco stations in Ohio and Indiana. The show was a 90-minute, live telecast running 5 days a week. It included celebrity guests and a 60-person studio audience. He hosted it for two years until he left Dayton on short notice for New York, where he became the host of the Metromedia-produced game show Fast Draw. His slot was then given to Phil Donahue, who at that time was a reporter in WLWD-TV's news department.^[2]

After his year-long run on Fast Draw, Gilbert was contacted by Bing Crosby Productions to host the game show Beat the Odds, produced in Los Angeles by Bill Carruthers.^[2] After that, he hosted a local, weekday version of Dialing for Dollars on Los Angeles's KCOP-TV.^[8]

Announcing

In 1963, Gilbert was selected by Mark Goodson to replace Don Pardo as the announcer and audience host for the original Bill Cullen-hosted version of The Price Is Right when it moved from NBC to ABC. He hosted the show for the absent Cullen on June 19, 1964.^[9] Gilbert also served as the announcer and audience host for Dinah Shore's syndicated daily talk show, which ran from 1974 to 1980.^[10]

When Merv Griffin's quiz show Jeopardy! was reintroduced to television in 1984 as a daily syndicated program hosted by Alex Trebek, Trebek convinced Griffin to hire Gilbert as announcer and audience host; Trebek had met Gilbert at a dinner party in the early 1980s and was impressed with his voice.^[5] Gilbert has held these two roles ever since.^[11] He has become well known for opening each of the show's nightly episodes with the announcement, "This is Jeopardy!" After that opening line, he would introduce the two new challengers for the episode followed by the defending champion, stating the total winnings of the latter, before introducing the host. His additional duties have included announcing the fee plugs for the sponsors of the show (until 1996) and announcing consolation prizes offered to non-winning contestants (until 2002).^[12] As audience host, Gilbert handles warm-up duties, exciting the crowd before the commencement of taping.

In 2017 Gilbert was honored by Guinness World Records for having the longest career as a game show announcer for a single show, after 32 years with Jeopardy!^[13] This was commemorated with a rare on-screen appearance by Gilbert just before the Final Jeopardy! segment of the episode aired September 28, 2017 (season #34, show #7599, Austin Rogers's 3rd win). He has also lent his announcements to most of the Jeopardy! video games since 1992, including a few game versions in which he voiced all of the clues and effectively hosted the entire game off-screen instead of Trebek. Gilbert briefly considered retirement after Trebek's death but chose to continue in the role. In recent years, Gilbert has handled much of his announcer load remotely, with a member of the Clue Crew providing in-studio announcements that are replaced with Gilbert's in post-production.^[14] Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Gilbert began doing his announcements in a studio built for him at his home.^[15]^[16] Since December 19, 2023, he also appears during the show's opening titles.

Alex Trebek died in 2020, and his final episodes aired in January 2021. Gilbert is the only person the daily syndicated Jeopardy! employed upon its 1984 launch to remain a part of the program's cast or crew through 2024.

In addition to announcing for Jeopardy!, Gilbert has worked as a guest announcer on its sister show, Wheel of Fortune. He announced on the episode that aired on April Fools' Day in 1997,^[17] as well as a few weeks of episodes in 2010 following the death of the show's longtime announcer, Charlie O'Donnell. Gilbert also guest announced on Wheel in late 1995, when O'Donnell was ill,^[18] and on the daytime show in 1988 before the death of then-regular announcer Jack Clark.

Other game shows for which Gilbert has announced over the decades include The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime,^[2] The $25,000 Pyramid, The $100,000 Pyramid, Anything for Money,^[2] Blackout, Camouflage, Chain Reaction, Dream House, Every Second Counts, Fantasy, Go, Headline Chasers (produced by Griffin), Jackpot, Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time, The Joker's Wild, Make Me Laugh,^[2] Perfect Match, Quiz Kids Challenge, Sports Challenge, Supermarket Sweep, Tic-Tac-Dough, Win, Lose or Draw,^[2] and Yours for a Song. He substituted for Gene Wood on several Goodson-Todman game shows, including Family Feud, the CBS version of Card Sharks, and Child's Play. He succeeded Rich Jeffries (another part-time substitute for Wood) as permanent announcer of Chuck Woolery's game show Love Connection during the 1988–89 season.

Other roles

Gilbert's voice was heard on the CBS television special Circus of the Stars, in People's Choice Awards and Emmy Awards ceremonies, and on episodes of the animated series The Angry Beavers and Johnny Bravo. He announced a fictional episode of Jeopardy! in the "Ellen's Energy Adventure" show at EPCOT Center's Universe of Energy attraction, and appeared in a subplot of the 1992 movie White Men Can't Jump in which a character played by Rosie Perez attempts to pass the Jeopardy! audition. Gilbert also lent his voice to an announcer in a 1989 episode of the TV series 227 and announced in The Golden Girls episode "Questions and Answers" (season 7, episode 17, on February 8, 1992) and in the Cheers episode "What Is... Cliff Clavin?" (season 8, episode 14, on January 18, 1990).

Personal life

Gilbert married his wife Sharee in 1984.^[19]^[20]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	Gidget Goes Hawaiian	Johnny Spring	Uncredited
1967	AVCO Hour of Stars	Vocalist
1979	Rock 'n' Roll High School	Announcer	Uncredited
1992	White Men Can't Jump	Jeopardy! Announcer	Voice
1996	Ellen's Energy Adventure	Jeopardy! Announcer	Voice
2005	Jeopardy! An Inside Look at America's Favorite Quiz Show	Himself
2018	Game Changers	Himself	TV movie
2020	What is Jeopardy!?: Alex Trebek and America's Most Popular Quiz Show	Himself

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Bachelor's Haven	Host
1958	Music Bingo	Emcee
1961	Yours for a Song	Announcer	Uncredited
1961–1962	Camouflage	Announcer/Guest Host	4 episodes
1963–1965	The Price Is Right	Announcer/Guest Host	8 episodes
1967	The Bob Braun Show	Himself	1 episode
1968	Fast Draw	Host	1 episode
1968–1969	Beat the Odds	Host
1969	The Movie Game	Announcer
1970–1971	Words and Music	Announcer
1971	Sports Challenge	Announcer
1972–1973	The Joker's Wild	Guest Announcer
1975–1976	The Magnificent Marble Machine	Announcer	15 episodes
1977	Hollywood Connection	Announcer	85 episodes
1979	Make Me Laugh	Announcer
1979	Dinah!	Announcer	1 episode
1980	Chain Reaction	Announcer	71 episodes
1981	The New Tic Tac Dough	Guest Announcer
1981	Family Feud	Guest Announcer	21 episodes
1982	Child's Play	Announcer
1982–1991	The $25,000 Pyramid	Announcer	267 episodes
1982–1991	The $10,000 Pyramid	Announcer	107 episodes
1983	Fantasy	Announcer	1 episode
1983–1984	Go	Announcer	40 episodes
1983–1984	Dream House	Announcer	2 episodes
1984	Every Second Counts	Announcer	1 episode
1984	Anything for Money	Announcer	1 episode
1984–present	Jeopardy!	Announcer	9,000 episodes^[21]
1984; 1989	Jackpot	Announcer
1985–1986	Headline Chasers	Announcer	2 episodes
1985–1988	The $100,000 Pyramid	Announcer	100 episodes
1986	Celebrity Double Talk	Announcer
1986	$1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime	Announcer
1987	Money in the Blank	Announcer	Unsold pilot
1987	Win, Lose, or Draw	Announcer
1988	Mama's Family	Himself	Episode: "Mama on Jeopardy!"
1988	Blackout	Announcer	55 episodes
1988–1989	Love Connection	Announcer	195 episodes
1989	227	Announcer	Episode: "A Date to Remember"
1990	Cheers	Himself	Episode: "What Is... Cliff Clavin?"
	The Finish Line	Announcer	Unsold pilot
	Super Jeopardy!	Announcer	13 episodes
	The Quiz Kids Challenge	Announcer
1990–2000	Supermarket Sweep	Announcer	27 episodes
1992	The Golden Girls	Himself	Episode: "Questions and Answers"
1995	Beverly Hills, 90210	Himself	Episode: "Double Jeopardy"
1995–2010	Wheel of Fortune	Guest Announcer	26 episodes
1997	Johnny Bravo	Jackie Jacques	1 episode
1999	The Angry Beavers	TV Host	1 episode
2009	The Florence Henderson Show	Himself	1 episode
2009	The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien	Announcer in Jeopardy!	1 episode
2020	Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time	Announcer	4 episodes
2020	Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?	Himself	Episode: "Total Jeopardy"
2022	Jeopardy! National College Championship	Announcer	9 episodes
	Celebrity Jeopardy!	Announcer	13 episodes
	Inside Jeopardy!	Guest	4 episodes
2023-present	Jeopardy! Masters	Announcer/Clue Giver	20 episodes
2023-present	This is Jeopardy!: The Story of America's Favorite Quiz Show	Himself	1 episode
2024-present	Pop Culture Jeopardy	Announcer/Clue Giver	3 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Jeopardy!	Announcer	Voice
2000	Jeopardy! 2nd Edition	Announcer	Voice
2003	Jeopardy! 2003	Announcer	Voice
2007	Jeopardy! DVD Game	Announcer	Voice
2010	Jeopardy! America's Favorite Quiz Show	Announcer	Voice

Awards and honors

On September 29, 2022, Gilbert was inducted into the inaugural class of the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame at the 1st Jeopardy! Honors event.^[22]

References

^ ^a ^b VOICE OF ‘JEOPARDY!’ JOHNNY GILBERT EARNS GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ TITLE FOR LONGEST CAREER AS A GAME SHOW ANNOUNCER FOR THE SAME SHOW. Jeopardy.com. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Johnny Gilbert...and More!". Johnny Gilbert official website. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
^ Elber, Lynn (June 3, 2021). "Johnny Gilbert, the voice of 'Jeopardy!', keeps going at 92". Associated Press. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
^ Shepherd, Katie (March 10, 2020). "'Protect Alex Trebek at all costs': Live audiences banished from 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune' tapings amid coronavirus fears". The Washington Post.
^ ^a ^b Jacobs, Julia (January 7, 2021). "On Alex Trebek's Final 'Jeopardy!,' a Last Introduction From a Friend". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Johnny Gilbert: Three Talents and Two Voices". The Milwaukee Sentinel. May 17, 1959. p. 2.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Bio of Johnny Gilbert". Jeopardy!. official website. Archived from the original on November 5, 2010. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
^ "Talent Flourishes at Queen's Arms", Van Nuys Valley News. October 25, 1974.
^ videoarchives1000 (May 7, 2013). "The Price Is Right with guest host Johnny Gilbert 6/19/64 part 1". Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Stephenson, Kristen (September 28, 2017). "Voice of 'Jeopardy!' John Gilbert achieves a record for his career on the show". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
^ Harris, Bob (2006). Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!. Random House Digital. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-307-33956-0.
^ Opening narrations and other announcements on the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! from its premiere on September 10, 1984 through the present.
^ "'Voice of "Jeopardy!" ' Johnny Gilbert, earns Guinness World Records title for longest career as a game show announcer for same show". Niagara Frontier Publications. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
^ Podplesky, Azaria (December 6, 2018). "Nine Mile Falls' Staci Huffman to appear on 'Jeopardy!' on Friday". The Spokesman-Review. Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
^ McNear, Claire (April 12, 2021). "Inside the 'Jeopardy!' Guest Host Rotation". The Ringer. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
^ Davies, Michael; Whitcomb-Foss, Sarah (August 15, 2022). "What is the Tournament of Champions?". Inside Jeopardy! (Podcast). Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via YouTube.
^ kermitTHEdinosaur93 (July 22, 2014). "Wheel of Fortune April Fools Episode (1997)". dailymotion.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Downs, David (August 25, 2015). "Wheel of Fortune (December 1, 1995): Sheila/Wayne/Mokihana". Dailymotion. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
^ Lovece, Frank (December 22, 2020). "'Jeopardy!' announcer Johnny Gilbert pays tribute to Alex Trebek". newsday.com. Newsday. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
^ Russell, Lisa (December 21, 2020). "Voice of 'Jeopardy!' Johnny Gilbert Remembers Alex Trebek: 'Part of Me Left When Alex Left'". People. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020. Gilbert, now 96 [as of December 22, 2020]
^ "'Jeopardy!' Marks 9,000th Episode With Celebration of Announcer Johnny Gilbert". TV Insider. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
^ Jeopardy! (September 29, 2022). "2022 Jeopardy! Honors Ceremony". YouTube. Retrieved March 23, 2023.

External links

Media offices
Preceded by Rich Jeffries	Announcer on Love Connection 1988–1989	Succeeded by John Cervenka (1989–1994; 1998–1999)
Preceded by Don Pardo	Announcer on The Price Is Right September 9, 1963 – September 3, 1965	Succeeded by Johnny Olson (in the 1972 revival)
Preceded by John Harlan	Announcer on Jeopardy! 1984–present	Succeeded by Sarah Whitcomb Foss Foss only announces early sessions for the live taping; Gilbert's voice is dubbed over in post-production.
Preceded by Richard Hayes	Announcer on Supermarket Sweep 1990–1995, April–June 2000	Succeeded by Randy West

[jeopardycom-1] VOICE OF ‘JEOPARDY!’ JOHNNY GILBERT EARNS GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ TITLE FOR LONGEST CAREER AS A GAME SHOW ANNOUNCER FOR THE SAME SHOW. Jeopardy.com. Retrieved May 24, 2021.

[officialbio-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Johnny Gilbert...and More!". Johnny Gilbert official website. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2010.

[keeps_going_at_92-3] Elber, Lynn (June 3, 2021). "Johnny Gilbert, the voice of 'Jeopardy!', keeps going at 92". Associated Press. Retrieved August 18, 2021.

[The_Washington_Post-4] Shepherd, Katie (March 10, 2020). "'Protect Alex Trebek at all costs': Live audiences banished from 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune' tapings amid coronavirus fears". The Washington Post.

[NYTGilbert-5] Jacobs, Julia (January 7, 2021). "On Alex Trebek's Final 'Jeopardy!,' a Last Introduction From a Friend". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2021.

[Milwaukee_Sentinel-6] "Johnny Gilbert: Three Talents and Two Voices". The Milwaukee Sentinel. May 17, 1959. p. 2.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[Jeopardy-7] "Bio of Johnny Gilbert". Jeopardy!. official website. Archived from the original on November 5, 2010. Retrieved November 2, 2010.

[8] "Talent Flourishes at Queen's Arms", Van Nuys Valley News. October 25, 1974.

[9] videoarchives1000 (May 7, 2013). "The Price Is Right with guest host Johnny Gilbert 6/19/64 part 1". Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[10] Stephenson, Kristen (September 28, 2017). "Voice of 'Jeopardy!' John Gilbert achieves a record for his career on the show". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2017.

[11] Harris, Bob (2006). Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!. Random House Digital. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-307-33956-0.

[12] Opening narrations and other announcements on the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! from its premiere on September 10, 1984 through the present.

[13] "'Voice of "Jeopardy!" ' Johnny Gilbert, earns Guinness World Records title for longest career as a game show announcer for same show". Niagara Frontier Publications. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.

[14] Podplesky, Azaria (December 6, 2018). "Nine Mile Falls' Staci Huffman to appear on 'Jeopardy!' on Friday". The Spokesman-Review. Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 10, 2020.

[15] McNear, Claire (April 12, 2021). "Inside the 'Jeopardy!' Guest Host Rotation". The Ringer. Retrieved February 11, 2023.

[16] Davies, Michael; Whitcomb-Foss, Sarah (August 15, 2022). "What is the Tournament of Champions?". Inside Jeopardy! (Podcast). Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via YouTube.

[17] rmitTHEdinosaur93 (July 22, 2014). "Wheel of Fortune April Fools Episode (1997)". dailymotion.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[18] Downs, David (August 25, 2015). "Wheel of Fortune (December 1, 1995): Sheila/Wayne/Mokihana". Dailymotion. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2018.

[19] Lovece, Frank (December 22, 2020). "'Jeopardy!' announcer Johnny Gilbert pays tribute to Alex Trebek". newsday.com. Newsday. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.

[People_2020-20] Russell, Lisa (December 21, 2020). "Voice of 'Jeopardy!' Johnny Gilbert Remembers Alex Trebek: 'Part of Me Left When Alex Left'". People. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020. Gilbert, now 96 [as of December 22, 2020]

[21] "'Jeopardy!' Marks 9,000th Episode With Celebration of Announcer Johnny Gilbert". TV Insider. Retrieved 25 March 2024.

[22] Jeopardy! (September 29, 2022). "2022 Jeopardy! Honors Ceremony". YouTube. Retrieved March 23, 2023.

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Johnny Gilbert

Early life and education

Career

Stage and early television career

Hosting

Announcing

Other roles

Personal life

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and honors

References

External links

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