Alex Trebek apologizes to Newark residents after 'Jeopardy!' snafu

This game show host mispronounced Newark, Delaware on national television Thursday night and apologized to the city's residents.

Who is "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek?

Correct!

Newark's unique pronunciation — New-Ark, unlike its New Jersey cousin of New-erk — tripped up the 35-year "Jeopardy!" host when he was speaking with contestant Rob Wolf, who lives in Newark.

While Wolf didn't correct Trebek, the host returned after a commercial break to acknowledge the error.

"My apologies to the people of Newark, Delaware," Trebek said, pronouncing the city's name correctly this time. "I moved you into New Jersey. Sorry about that."

His apology drew chuckles from the crowd.

Wolf, 51, medical director of West Cecil Health Center in Conowingo, Maryland, spoke to The News Journal Friday and said he had warned show producers about the tricky pronunciation.

And while the show's 94-year-old announcer Johnny Gilbert got it right, Trebek got it wrong when chatting with Wolf, giving Newark its extended TV moment.

"They could have edited it out, so it was nice that Newark got an extra shout-out," Wolf said.

Wolf's episode was recorded the day Trebek announced cancer diagnosis 

Trebek himself has been in the news in recent months, announcing in March that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

His Newark stumble was aired on the same day of a new interview with the beloved 78-year-old game show host, who told People magazine that he was "near remission."

"It's kind of mind-boggling," Trebek says in the cover story. "The doctors said they hadn't seen this kind of positive result in their memory ... Some of the tumors have already shrunk by more than 50 percent."

The day in March that Trebek announced his cancer diagnosis via a pre-taped video also happened to be when Wolf was there for his episode.

Soon, the show's staff and contestants all knew about Trebek's illness.

"They just got news that the guy they've been working with for 35 years has a terminal diagnosis and they were understandably really bummed about it," Wolf said. "And then they were like, 'Just go out there and have a good time and don't mention anything about this to Alex.'"

Fifteen minutes later, he was on stage with Trebek shaking his hand and recording the episode. 

"All I wanted to say is, 'I'm really sorry,'" Wolf said. "It was very strange to be there on that historic day."

Wolf on Holzhauer: 'It was like walking into a buzz saw'

Wolf lost his game Thursday to James Holzhauer, who won his 31st straight "Jeopardy!" game with $58,612. (Wolf ended with $1.)

That brings Holzhauer's total earnings to $2,402,538, still a bit behind "Jeopardy!" king Ken Jennings, who won $2,520,700 during his 74-match winning streak.

Holzhauer is now just $118,162 behind Jennings for the all-time record.

Since the game show is pre-taped months in advance, Wolf didn't know about Holzhauer's streak until he was in an orientation session for the program.

"I was like, 'Oh f--k.' This is not good," said Wolf, who lives in Newark with his wife Rachel Davidson, a University of Delaware professor of civil and environmental engineering. "It was like walking into a buzz saw. He's winning at an astounding rate."

Former Newark mayor on mispronunciation: 'I probably would have screamed at him'

Former Newark Mayor Vance Funk is a longtime stickler about Newark's pronunciation, always spelling it with a capital "A": NewArk.

He's notorious for it.

If he's at a public meeting and someone mispronounces the city's name, he'll pounce. And if you're a freshman University of Delaware student from New Jersey and you make the mistake in front of him, you'll get a free course on how "Newark, Delaware" is to be said.

Funk was watching "Jeopardy!" in his Main Street condo on Thursday when Trebek mispronounced the city's name and town's biggest fan nearly blew his top.

"If I was sitting in the audience, I probably would have screamed at him," Funk said, laughing.

In fact, Funk immediately went to his computer to research how to send a message to show producers about the miscue.

But before he could fire off an email, Trebek returned to the screen for his apology.

"I thought that was very professional of him to do that," Funk added. "I gave him a pass on that one and I'm really glad to see he's doing well."

Got a tip? Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).