Alex Trebek Fans in Tears Over Touching 'Jeopardy!' Clip of Contestant Who Learned English From Watching Him Host

In the wake of Alex Trebek's passing, Jeopardy!, fans are revisiting the viral moment from last [...]

By Michael Hein

In the wake of Alex Trebek's passing, Jeopardy!, fans are revisiting the viral moment from last week's episode where contestant Burt Thakur thanked Trebek for being a massive influence in his life. Thakur told Trebek that he learned English by watching the show as a child, and all these years later, he got the opportunity to play. Fans were glad to see Trebek getting the praise he deserved before his passing.

"I learned English because of you. And so my grandfather, who raised me, I'm gonna get tears right now… I used to sit on his lap and watch you every day," Thakur revealed. "So, it's a pretty special moment for me, man." Trebek got teary-eyed during the taping of that episode, and later, Thakur gave more details in the post-show recap. "As you heard a little bit, I'm an immigrant and I learned English by watching Jeopardy!, and my oldest memories are with my grandfather watching the show," he said. "So, to have it come full circle the way it did, especially during this time of pandemic and everything, to have this opportunity and this gift is, I mean, it's so emotional and incredible."

Trebek passed away on Sunday morning, following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. According to Jeopardy! producers, Trebek passed away at home, surrounded by friends and family. Fans everywhere mourned him throughout the day, and many revisited Thakur's story. Here is a look at what they had to say.

Thanks

Viewers thanks Thakur for the story, and thanked Trebek for his part in it. Many tagged Thakur, or even the Jeopardy! account.

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One Such Story

Some fans commented with the assumption that Thakur's story was just one out of many similar stories about Trebek. They praised the game show host for touching many lives in the same way.

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English

Since Thakur said that he "learned English" from Trebek, many viewers commented on his grasp of the language, remarking that he sounded like a native English speaker. Some even made self-deprecating jokes about their own accents.

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Similar Stories

Whether they related to Thakur's story of learning English or not, many viewers did relate to his memories of watching Trebek over the years with their families. Many remarked that that was the real reason they would miss the game show host so much.

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Re-run

For some, seeing the clip of Thakur on Twitter reminded them that they had watched this episode of Jeopardy! when it aired last week. They had the dawning realization that this was the last new episode of the show they would see with Trebek.

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Immigrant

Some commenters pointed out that, like Thakur, Trebek was an immigrant to America, coming from Canada himself. Although Trebek's story was very different, they noted that this was yet another thread that connected Trebek to so many viewers.

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'He Knew'

For many people, the touching thing about this clip was that Thakur got to share his story with Trebek, and thank him. They remarked that unlike other posthumous tributes, here fans got to see Trebek accepting the praise, which was what many needed in the wake of his passing.

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