‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants Couldn’t Identify a Movie Icon

A true Hollywood icon managed to stump a trio of recent Jeopardy contestants. As the New York Post noted, Jeopardy contestants Cris Pannullo, Rob Lamanna, and Jeri Zulli were unable to identify a photo of Gene Kelly. Jeopardy viewers were subsequently incensed that the three contestants weren’t up to date on their Singin’ in the Rain knowledge. 

The clue appeared in the “Olivia Newton-John” category and featured the late Grease star posing alongside Kelly. None of the contestants were able to identify the celebrity that Newton-John was posing next to, prompting some awkward silence. As the NYP noted, Kelly and Newton-John starred in the musical Xanadu, which was released in 1980 and marked the former’s final film role. But, evidently, none of the three Jeopardy contestants are big fans of the film. 

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Some fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the Jeopardy moment. One individual wrote, “Sad: on “Jeopardy!” tonight, none of the contestants knew who Gene Kelly was when shown a photo of him. Guess I’m getting old.” Another tweeted, “Sometimes, I’m just perplexed… on #Jeopardy tonight, how could all 3 of the contestants NOT know Gene Kelly, the answer to the Olivia Newton-John category? Maybe I’m just old or something.” There were so many Jeopardy viewers that were talking about the contestants’ Kelly faux pas that the actor’s name briefly became a trending topic on Twitter. 

This Kelly-related ordeal came as the reigning Jeopardy champion, Pannullo, continues to dominate on the show. As of Friday’s episode of the quiz show, Pannullo has won 20 consecutive games. Thanks to his winnings, which total $710,865, he has also made a name for himself in the Jeopardy history books. According to the Courier Post, he is in the fifth spot on the list for the highest winnings earned in regular play. The publication noted that he’ll have to make some significant plays if he wants to nab the fourth spot on the list, which belongs to the recent Tournament of Champions winner, Amy Schneider, who won $1,382,800 during regular play. 

While Pannullo hasn’t been too vocal in interviews about his impressive streak, his uncle, Mike Glaser, did give fans some insight on him to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He told the outlet, “Cris is just on a different level with his intelligence.” Glaser added, “People think he’s a brain, that he has no personality. He is so much better in real life than he is on Jeopardy! as far as his personality goes.”