Trebek stamp put ‘focus on the game’ says ‘Jeopardy!’ host Ken Jennings

By Jay Bigalke

Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City, Calif., played host to the first-day ceremony for the new United States Alex Trebek commemorative forever stamp. The July 22 event took place on Trebek's would-be 84th birthday, complete with chocolate cake (his favorite flavor) served afterwards.

Immediately after the ceremony, I spoke with three of the event's participants.

Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings was very kind with his time and chatted with me and many others after the ceremony for almost an hour.

Here are a couple of the questions I asked Jennings:

How are you going to use these stamps?

Can you imagine if I’m not using the Alex and Jeopardy! themed postage stamps? Somebody gets a letter from me and they’re like, "Yellowstone National Park? What the hell, Ken?” It’s got to be this stamp.

What do you think about the concept of the stamp pane?

I love the concept so much. I’m not sure if there’s been another stamp like this. You’re the expert, but I love that it looks like a Jeopardy! game board when you see the pane. I love the categories on the sheet.

And I think Alex would have liked that it puts the focus on the game. You know, he was kind of an oddly ego-free character for this town and for show business.

He always said he was the host of Jeopardy!, not the star of Jeopardy!

And I think he would love the game and the clues being front and center.

Next I chatted with Alex Trebek’s widow, Jean. I asked if Alex ever wrote her any notes. She said he did write notes all the time to her, but not ones that he mailed. And I asked how she planned on using the stamp, to which she said she would definitely use them on upcoming Christmas cards.

Lastly, I talked to Michael Elston, secretary of the U.S. Postal Service board of governors.

So with the stamp design and the concept, what are your thoughts about exactly how Alex was honored with the postage stamp?

Because it’s a little different? Meaning that his face is not on the stamp, is that the implication of the question?

Yes.

I think, first of all, I think it’s unique in the way we did it. I think it’s fun.

I think it is in the best tradition of the show and I think it’s consistent with what I’ve come to learn about Alex Trebek’s personality.

He wanted the contestants and the show to stand on its own and he was just a facilitator in his own mind. Even though we know he was in many ways the star, he would never have said he was the star. And so I think he would have been pleased that we did it this way and put the show at the center of the tribute to him.

So with this ceremony, obviously you have a number of people that would have been interested in dedicating this stamp. How did you pull this one off?

When I took the job as secretary of the board, I told [Postmaster General] Megan Brennan, I said I’ll do it on one condition, I get to dedicate a stamp every year. And she agreed and it’s been a fantastic part of my job.

This year, this one was special because it’s something that I’ve watched since I was a teenager. My kids have watched with me. We watch it as a family, not every night, but most nights. And it’s just such a wonderful part of our family experience that I felt like it was something that was important for me to come out and do.

To read the full story about the Alex Trebek stamp, visit Linn’s, July 22, page 12.

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