Overview

• On the Sept. 15 episode, all three contestants stayed silent on a Sesame Street clue before Ken Jennings said, "That's James Earl Jones."
• The prompt, read by Oscar the Grouch, referenced the show's first celebrity guest who recited the alphabet as a black-and-white photo of a young Jones appeared.
• Jeopardy! posted the moment on Instagram, where comments piled up criticizing the miss, including "Nobody knew James Earl Jones, straight to jail."
• The contestants were reigning champion Paolo Pasco with challengers Ryan Sharpe and Kelsi Tyler.
• Reports noted Jones’ celebrated career and his death on Sept. 9, 2024, as some fans argued the archival image made him harder to recognize.