Who is LeVar Burton?
LeVar Burton was famous before he boarded the USS Enterprise-D in 1987, where he spent seven seasons and four feature films playing engineer Geordi La Forge. In addition to starring in the landmark 1977 mini-series Roots, Burton is also known to anyone who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s as the host of the PBS educational series Reading Rainbow. And he is still reading through his popular LeVar Burton Reads podcast.
Burton has made no secret that he is interested in the hosting gig on Jeopardy! In 2018 after Trebek first indicated he may be retiring, Burton told a crowd in STLV “I’ve made it very clear… when Alex Trebek retires in two years, I want that job!” He has expressed interest in the job a few times on social media in the last two years, including in September of this year when he tweeted “Not gonna lie, I feel like I’ve been preparing my whole life to occupy the Jeopardy! host podium when Alex retires.”
After Trebek’s passing, an online fan petition was started for Burton to host Jeopardy! and it has already garnered over 60,000 signatures. And Burton himself responded to express his appreciation for those supporting the petition. SIGN THE PETITION!