Rosie Perez is sharing fond memories of what it was like to work with the late Alex Trebek. The pair met while filming for a 1992 film, "White Men Can't Jump," which starred Perez and featured Trebek as a guest. During an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore" show, Perez said she was "thrilled" to learn that she would appear alongside the late "Jeopardy!" host.
"It was an honor [to work with Trebek] and I was beyond thrilled. I'm a nerd and a geek and I love game shows and I always watched 'Jeopardy!' and then 'Wheel of Fortune' with my aunt and I couldn't believe I was going to be in a scene with this man," she said, according to Fox News.
"So when we went to shoot, he walks out on the stage and we were on the actual 'Jeopardy!' stage and my heart just went up in my throat," Perez continued. "If you see in the scene my shoulders are [raised and tense] because I was so nervous and I knew my lines but my speech impediment came out."
There were no rehearsals for the scene and Trebek and Perez had to both wing it. At one point, Perez mispronounced a word and Trebek immediately went along with it.
"That's not correct but we will check with the judges. ... The judges say 'OK,' OK," she recounted Trebek saying.
"I was like, 'Oh, my gosh!' and that was all ad-lib on Alex's part, he was so smooth and everything," the 56-year-old Oscar nominee recalled. "When the director Ron Shelton yelled, 'Cut!' we all were like, 'Yeah, that was awesome!'"
After filming, a star-struck Perez said she approached Trebek and asked for a hug.
"I went over to Alex afterward and I said, 'Sir, it's such an honor to meet you. My aunt and I watch you every single night and I just love you. Can I give you a hug?'" she said. "He said, 'I was going to ask you the same, but you know, I am a gentleman and I don't want to be rude.'"
Trebek died on Nov. 8 at age 80 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Speaking of his death, Perez said it was a "great loss" to the world.
"He was just wonderful," she said. "Not just a national treasure, a worldwide treasure. And a great loss — a great loss, you know. But what he's given us, we will always have, so that's a wonderful thing."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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