You might not recognize him right away but if you ever tuned into Jeopardy! then you heard him every single time as he announced the popular game show. This, is, Jeopardy! Johnny Gilbert now holds the Guinness record for announcing a single game show for 32 consecutive years in a row. He and Alex Trebek are actually the only two individual that have been working on the show that have stuck around. He’s been announcing the show for every taped episode from the very beginning and has finally been given the honor of being distinguished as the longest running game show announcer ever.
Here are a few more things you didn’t know about Johnny Gilbert.
5. He was a full-timer nightclub performer to start with.
Gilbert has had a love affair with singing since he was a boy. Unfortunately neither of his parents were that musically inclined, but his grandmother was. He went on to sing in a church choir and continued to hone his voice in the nightclub scene where he would eventually gain enough notice to be granted a chance to do something with his talents.
4. He received his training from an opera teacher.
It seems like this would be the best way to learn how to throw your voice and amplify your words in a way that would allow everyone to hear you loud and clear. Chances are that Johnny managed to learn well enough that he no longer had any issue when it came to projecting his voice out among the crowd so that not a word was missed.
3. He’s been an announcer for several other shows.
He wasn’t confined just to Jeopardy!. Johnny has lent his voice to other shows like the Love Connection, the Price is Right, Joker’s Wild, The $25,000 Pyramid, and many others. He’s been in hot demand throughout his career thanks to his voice, but once he settled into Jeopardy! it was almost like he’d come home. Since then he’s been the host of the show for ever episode.
2. He joined the US Army at one point.
In the 1950’s he joined the Army just as so many young men like him did. It was kind of expected back then that you would serve your country for a determined amount of time, even if there was nothing going on at the moment. Of course thanks to the ever-increasing difficulties between the US and several other countries there was still a need for soldiers.
1. He was billed as an emcee before he knew what it was.
Johnny was actually given the job of Master of Ceremonies, or emcee, before he knew what it was. Being from a small town in Virginia he’d never heard the term, but he proved to be up to the challenge at least and almost immediately flourished once he realized what it was he was supposed to do. Since then he’s been one of the best in the business.
Congratulations to Johnny Gilbert for the great honor of being noticed for his unswerving dedication to his craft.
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