They’re not LeVar Buon.
This week, Burton takes his temporary place on the twinkling azure set ruled for 37 seasons by the beloved Alex Trebek. Some would call it his rightfulplace. No other potential replacement for Trebek, who died of pancreatic cancer in the objectively terrible year of 2020, has excited the popular imagination as much as Burton.
L.D. says, “If I were one of the other [potential] hosts I’d be like: ‘I’m going stepping aside and giving it to the man that gave children a love for reading.’ Lewis, a 35 year-old Atlantan who grew up watching Burton’s Reading Rainbow. She fondly recalls visiting the back catalog of the actor with her father, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Roots (1977), which she loved.
Lewis said that Burton is a “bookish” person who can also be a sci-fi or history fan. She was responding to a tweet she had sent in support of Burton, which she did for the Black speculative fiction magazine FIYAH. Lewis is the art director.
“We are watching @levarburton’s Jeopardy as a family right?” She asked. Lewis, it turns out, is not only a super fan, she also is a researcher for Burton’s short fiction podcast in which the actor reads works by Kurt Vonnegut, Neil Gaiman, N.K. Jemisin, and other lesser-known authors.
Burton’s Jeopardy! goals are supported by other coworkers, including former Star Trek castmates Commander Riker, Captain Janeway and android second officer Data.
These endorsements were bolstered in part by over a quarter million signatures on a Change.org petition that was started in November. All of them eager to see the actor become permanent Jeopardy! __S.22__
Burton is passionately campaigning in online communities for the job. It is worth asking why he bothers — or why he has to.
The 64-year old is a novelist, advocate for AIDS research, and an actor and director. Recent credits include NCIS: New Orleans. She has Emmys and a Grammy.
Burton said that while it’s hard to explain, there’s something in me that makes this make sense, in a June interview with The New York Times. “I feel like I’m meant to do this. Jeopardy has been on my mind! __S.29__ Jeopardy! has a cultural touchstone and it is significant for a Black man that he occupy this podium.
Burton admitted that he had “a career for all ages” and said it would be difficult to not get the Jeopardy! position. It will hurt. He said, “I’m not going lie.” “But if that happens I will get over it. I’ll be fine. Remember that everything happens for a reason. This is my default. It’s all going well.”
Fans will tune in every week because of this kind of spirit. Many admirers compare it to Mister Rogers. Burton said that Fred Rogers shares a similar commitment to service as one of his many values.
