See How ‘Jeopardy!’ Honored Johnny Gilbert on His 96th Birthday

Martin Holmes July 15, 2024, 10:37 am

Johnny Gilbert in ABC's — Casey Durkin via Getty Images

Legendary game show announcer Johnny Gilbert celebrated his 96th birthday on Saturday, July 13, and Jeopardy! marked the occasion by sharing a classic clip of Gilbert’s “musical stylings.”

“Happy 96th birthday to the one and only Johnny Gilbert! Celebrate with him singing (or saying) some of these iconic lyrics,” the official Jeopardy! Instagram page posted on Saturday alongside a clip from a memorable Alex Trebek-era episode.

The category was titled “The Musical Styles of Johnny Gilbert” and saw the iconic announcer reading out lyrics from various hit songs. Gilbert read aloud each quote in what Trebek referred to as “his inimitable style.”

This included lyrics from Adele‘s “Hello,” Taylor Swift‘s “Shake It Off,” and Mike Posner’s “I Took a Pill in Ibiza.”

However, perhaps the most memorable was Gilbert’s reading out the lyrics from Snoop Dogg‘s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” which heard him reciting, “G’s to the bizzack, now ladies here we gizzo, when the pimp’s in the crib ma, drop it like it’s hot, drop it like it’s hot.”

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Fans loved this blast from the past and took to the Instagram comments to share their love for Gilbert and wish him a happy birthday.

“I love johnny so much, hes a charm!” wrote one fan.

Johnny Gilbert and honoree Alex Trebek attend Canada’s Walk Of Fame; Evan Agostini/Getty Images for Chanel

“Happy Birthday Johnny. I always love seeing your voice on Jeopardy,” added another.

“Johnny Gilbert is a legend!” said another commenter.

Another fan added, “Happy Birthday to the greatest announcer!”

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“The iconic voice of Jeopardy, 96 years strong, congratulations to him,” wrote one user, while another added, “Johnny Gilbert dropping those snoop dogg bars was the greatest thing to ever happen to this show.”

Gilbert has been working on game shows since the 1950s, starting with the show Music Bingo, which ran for three years, airing first on NBC and then on ABC. In 1963, he replaced Don Pardo as the announcer and audience host for The Price Is Right when it moved from NBC to ABC.

When Jeopardy! made its turn to television in 1984, Gilbert was hired as the show’s announcer on the recommendation of Trebek, who had met Gilbert at a dinner party years earlier and was impressed with his voice. Gilbert has held the Jeopardy! announcer role ever since.

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