Former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, a three-time Jeopardy contestant, responded to the death of longtime host Alex Trebek on Sunday morning.
Cordray was a five-time champion in 1987 and appeared on the show again during the Tournament of Champions and Battle of the Decades Tournament.
His fondest memory of his one-on-one time with Trebek was a comment the host made to Cordray while he was serving as director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under President Barack Obama.
“He said to me, basically, that we could use a little more fairness in our society,” Cordray said Monday. “I was really touched by that because I had no idea. Alex never made any show of what his political views might be, but he was actually encouraging to me, and that was … that felt good.”
Trebek, who was 80 years old, announced his diagnosis in March of last year.
Jeopardy says episodes hosted by him will air through Christmas.