How Jeopardy! Honored Announcer Johnny Gilbert on 98th Birthday

Jeopardy! Contestant Hilariously Predicts Downfall of Other Competitors

This... is… Johnny Gilbert’s birthday.

The long-time Jeopardy! announcer celebrated his 98th birthday on July 13 with a special shoutout from the game show.

Jeopardy! posted several iconic photos of Gilbert over the years to Instagram in honor of the big day, captioning the photos, “A very happy birthday to our legendary announcer, Johnny Gilbert.”

In one snap, Gilbert can be seen sporting his infamous red Jeopardy! jacket while holding a mic, while in another, he is busy warming up the crowd—his other duty as part of his game show gig.

The famed announcer also received a birthday tribute from current Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings, who posted a photo of the two on his Instagram, writing, “Happy 98th birthday to the legend Johnny Gilbert.”

Gilbert’s longtime association with Jeopardy! began when the show was relaunched in 1984 by producer Merv Griffin with the late Alex Trebek as the host. In fact, it was Trebek himself who suggested Gilbert for the job after the two met at a party in the early 1980s.

As Trebek recalled in his 2020 memoir The Answer Is . . .: Reflections on My Life, “How could you forget a voice like that?”

And as Gilbert had plenty of experience from his days as guest announcer on The Price is Right and even his own hosting stints, it made perfect sense.

Casey Durkin via Getty Images

“We’ve been together longer than either one of our marriages,” Trebek wrote, “and we’ve never had a cross word.”

And while Gilbert is known for his announcing skills today, the TV personality actually began his career as a singer—even recording two albums in the early 1960s.

“I started taking voice lessons when I was still in high school, got a job with a little band and traveled around in that area for a while,” he shared with Today in 2021. “That was the beginning of it all.”

Gilbert even holds the distinction of having the longest career as a game show announcer for the same show in the Guinness Book of World Records, marking the achievement in 2017 with 32 years under his belt.

For all the behind-the-scenes secrets you’ve always wanted to know about Jeopardy!, keep reading.

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App