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Why has Alex Trebek regrown his mustace?

B

bpatrick

The promos for "Jeopardy!" said Trebek had his mustache again, and on Monday night he showed up with it. My question is, why? He actually looks more respectable and somewhat less threatening without it.

Trebek once said that he got the job as host of his first American game, "Wizard Of Odds," because of the mustache and rhe huge sideburns; "I was the first emcee since Groucho to have a mustache" (never mind that Ernie Kovacs had one on "Take A Good Look" or Jack Bailey on "Queen For A Day"), he once said, and at the time (1973) it was different (and Lin Bolen was looking for hosts who had a different look about then). But the man is 74 years old and. quite frankly, he looks better clean-shaven.

Groucho could get away with it; the fake mustache of the movies was instantly recognizable and the real one he wore on television reminded viewers that this was a more sedate Captain Spaulding, S. Quentin Quale, Wolf J. Flywheel, etc. Trebek must be having a mid-life crisis and I'd be happy if he shaved it off.

Aside: I'd love to have Trebek's job. My problem would not be mustaches, but the temptation to pull a Judge Judy and ream contestants who give stupid answers (a la Richard Dawson). I could be even less genial than Groucho who is, nevertheless, one of my comedy idols, and partially for one reason: Groucho had a compassionate streak; the other day I read about a couple who appeared on his show in 1954 to promote a book, "The Family Nobody Wanted," about their adoption of five refugees from Nazi Germany and several kids from other nationalities. Groucho actually let the couple win and issued no apology for it, he was that respectful of what they were doing (a cynic might argue that it was because Groucho was Jewish himself). (BTW, "The Family Nobody Wanted" was a 1975 TV-movie with Shirley Jones.)

But I'm twenty miles offtrack, so to get back on point: Alex, lose the mustache!
 
I actually like it. I grew up watching him with a mustache, and I was rather disappointed when he got rid of it. He looks just as telegenic to me either way, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Kerbert Xela Htiw Ehcatsum.
 
bpatrick said:
The promos for "Jeopardy!" said Trebek had his mustache again, and on Monday night he showed up with it. My question is, why? He actually looks more respectable and somewhat less threatening without it.

Trebek once said that he got the job as host of his first American game, "Wizard Of Odds," because of the mustache and rhe huge sideburns; "I was the first emcee since Groucho to have a mustache" (never mind that Ernie Kovacs had one on "Take A Good Look" or Jack Bailey on "Queen For A Day"), he once said, and at the time (1973) it was different (and Lin Bolen was looking for hosts who had a different look about then). But the man is 74 years old and. quite frankly, he looks better clean-shaven.

Groucho could get away with it; the fake mustache of the movies was instantly recognizable and the real one he wore on television reminded viewers that this was a more sedate Captain Spaulding, S. Quentin Quale, Wolf J. Flywheel, etc. Trebek must be having a mid-life crisis and I'd be happy if he shaved it off.

Aside: I'd love to have Trebek's job. My problem would not be mustaches, but the temptation to pull a Judge Judy and ream contestants who give stupid answers (a la Richard Dawson). I could be even less genial than Groucho who is, nevertheless, one of my comedy idols, and partially for one reason: Groucho had a compassionate streak; the other day I read about a couple who appeared on his show in 1954 to promote a book, "The Family Nobody Wanted," about their adoption of five refugees from Nazi Germany and several kids from other nationalities. Groucho actually let the couple win and issued no apology for it, he was that respectful of what they were doing (a cynic might argue that it was because Groucho was Jewish himself). (BTW, "The Family Nobody Wanted" was a 1975 TV-movie with Shirley Jones.)

But I'm twenty miles offtrack, so to get back on point: Alex, lose the mustache!
Click to expand...

Could it be the popularity of Steve Harvey on "Family Feud"? What's next, Alex shaves his head??
 
Could Steve Harvey's popularity on "Family Feud" also be responsible for this? What's next, Alex will shave his head on a whim?
 
On the first show of the season Alex said that he would leave it to a vote of the fans on Jeopardy's Facebook and Twitter pages whether he keeps the mustache or not. I really don't care one way or the other. It's his face. :rolleyes:
 
On the first show this season when he walked out with the stache, he said he got bored while they reran the million dollar shows....so he regrew the mustache.....but like Anotherguy said, he told viewers they could decide if he kept it or let it go...

I dont care one way or the other...hell he could shave his head like I do and go bald....or die his hair back to black....

I DO miss Art Fleming....I grew up watching him doing the show...and think his voice and demeanor was much smoother and better suited....Alex tends to go off sometimes on certain answers or responses a bit too much....
 
I agree that Art Fleming was a far more genial, reassuring presence than Trebek; likewise, Allen Ludden and Robert Earle on "GE College Bowl," and--since I mentioned Groucho earlier--he seemed as if he genuinely cared if the contestants won the big money on his show. I get the idea that someone connected with Merv decided to make "Jeopardy!" a serious, thinking-person's game, and that meant a no-nonsense host who (with himself and maybe Will Ferrell to blame) has established himself as almost a cold fish. Merrill Heatter, who produced Wink's "Gambit" and Alex's "Wizard Of Odds," once said that Wink gave a Music Man approach; if you didn't have a good time he felt as if he wasn't doing his job. Alex, on the other hand, was content to move the show along, not caring if the audience was having a good time. I think in Alex's case that's still true. And although I was more of a fan of Art James' "Who, What Or Where" in the early '70s I still prefer Fleming to Trebek on "Jeopardy!".

But as for the mustache; yes, he can do whatever he wants with it, but I hate it and wish to be on record as such.
 
I liked the mustache Alex Trebek had in this past week's new editions of "Jeopardy!" and hoped he would keep it and let it become thicker.

JoshTheRadioDude said:
I actually like it. I grew up watching him with a mustache, and I was rather disappointed when he got rid of it. He looks just as telegenic to me either way, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Kerbert Xela Htiw Ehcatsum.
Click to expand...

I believe you meant Kebert Xela Htiw Ehcatsum (no extra "r" in "Kebert").
 
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Alex constantly mentions this is the 30th anniversary of "Jeopardy" It's like the Art Fleming version never existed. Actually this is the 50th anniversary of the show. It would have been interesting if The Battle of the Decades included winners from the 60's and 70's. Always wondered why Alex never acknowledged Art Fleming and the original. It was the same game as it is now.
 
"Wheel Of Fortune" hardly, if ever, mentions the early NBC years (1975-83), especially the 1975-81 years with Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford. It's like this is "Wheel's" 31st season instead of its 40th. Likewise, Bob Barker never mentioned Bill Cullen (although Cullen appeared once in 1982 to promote "Child's Play") on "TPIR."

If you'll recall, in 1990 ABC had a primetime "Super Jeopardy!" tournament with the biggest winners from the syndicated show (up to that point, long before Ken Jennings) plus one from the Fleming version: Burns Cameron, who won a whopping $11,100 in 1966. I don't recall that Cameron went very far in the tournament.
 
bpatrick said:
I get the idea that someone connected with Merv decided to make "Jeopardy!" a serious, thinking-person's game, and that meant a no-nonsense host who (with himself and maybe Will Ferrell to blame) has established himself as almost a cold fish.
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I don't see it that way. It was two years before I started watching the show regualrly, although if I happened to be in a room where it was on, especially "Final Jeopardy", when I was in college, I would watch. Only after a reporter for my local newspaper was a contestant was on did I watch, and I haven't stopped since. The reason I was so slow to start watching is I remembered how difficult and intellectual the clues seemed in Art Fleming's day. I think people say the current version has watered down the material by comparison. That's more entertaining.

I'm used to the mustache but I hated it the first several days.
 
bpatrick said:
"Wheel Of Fortune" hardly, if ever, mentions the early NBC years (1975-83), especially the 1975-81 years with Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford. It's like this is "Wheel's" 31st season instead of its 40th. Likewise, Bob Barker never mentioned Bill Cullen (although Cullen appeared once in 1982 to promote "Child's Play") on "TPIR."

If you'll recall, in 1990 ABC had a primetime "Super Jeopardy!" tournament with the biggest winners from the syndicated show (up to that point, long before Ken Jennings) plus one from the Fleming version: Burns Cameron, who won a whopping $11,100 in 1966. I don't recall that Cameron went very far in the tournament.
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I remember watching "Wheel" in science class in junior high school, so yeah, it's been on a lot longer than they say.
 
benale said:
Alex constantly mentions this is the 30th anniversary of "Jeopardy" It's like the Art Fleming version never existed. Actually this is the 50th anniversary of the show. It would have been interesting if The Battle of the Decades included winners from the 60's and 70's. Always wondered why Alex never acknowledged Art Fleming and the original. It was the same game as it is now.
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Alex has mentioned Art Fleming and his version of the show numerous times(usually when a contestant who was on the original made it onto the modern versio...or, more recently, a contestant mentions his parents/grandparents watched the original.)
Trebek also acknowledged the 50th anniversary, but since the show has been on the air continuously for (now) 31 seasons, not 50 years, they celebrated the modern version .
 
ContinuousWave said:
Well, it was gone as of yesterday.....He says he could grow it back but then he would have to take some time off to do that or else it would be a scraggly look....something I think the producers would want top avoid..
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I wasn't even paying attention. I guess he looks better without it.
 
Today, a first on Jeopardy (for me anyway):

First question had an answer so funny, the audience was laughing before any player buzzed in....that's the first time I have ever seen that...(and it was a funny one...concerning the Dodgers which someone said "in a race with a pregnant woman, they would come in third!")
 
According to the The Jeopardy! Archive, this is the exact question referenced by ContinuousWave:

"Tommy Lasorda of this MLB team said Danny Heep was so slow, 'if he got in a race with a pregnant woman, he'd finish third' "

By the way, I wish Alex Trebek had kept his mustache a little longer and allowed it to become thicker. More folks probably would have liked if it were thicker than it was during its last appearance on "Jeopardy!".
 
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