What To Know
- Ken Jennings revealed he still receives residuals from his 2017 appearance on The Simpsons.
- He played himself in the Season 28 episode “The Caper Chase,” where his character interacted with Homer alongside other notable guest stars.
- Despite the tiny residuals, Jennings is financially secure due to his Jeopardy! hosting role, game show winnings, and other ventures.
Have you ever wondered how much celebrities make in residuals from their one-time appearance on a show? Ken Jennings revealed that he still earns money from his The Simpsons episode in 2017, but it is certainly not enough to live on.
The Jeopardy! host shared a photo of his residual check on Instagram on November 13. “Small residual checks are always funny, but I’m finally posting one because it’s $0.01! I did it!” he wrote.
“Really clinging to my current job with both hands now, because apparently my foreign residuals for a 2017 Simpsons episode are not paying the bills.”
“Spy magazine used to send $0.13 checks to rich people to see who would actually deposit them. Answer: only two people did, a Saudi arms dealer and… Donald Trump,” Jennings ended. The post had a check for $0.01 from Fox Corporation, signed by a man named Gary L. Hauser.
Ken Jennings appeared in the Season 28 episode titled “The Caper Chase,” which premiered on April 2, 2017. According to The Simpsons wiki, the episode’s synopsis was “Mr. Burns goes to Yale and discovers, much to his dismay, how politically correct it is. So he starts his own college, Burns University, which is similar to another billionaire’s university you might have heard of lately, and Homer is hired as a professor.”
Jennings played himself and was one of the educators that Homer met at Bourbon Verlander’s private estate. “Who is… glad to meet you?” the Jeopardy! champion told Homer when they met. Homer also met Neil deGrasse Tyson, Robert McKey, and Suze Orman.
However, Jennings doesn’t have to rely on income solely from that performance. He currently hosts Jeopardy!, and earned $4,370,700 from his 74-game streak and tournaments, according to the Leaderboard of Legends. Jennings also writes books and has appeared on numerous game shows. So, he is not hurting for money, but he thought his payout of a penny was funny.
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
The Simpsons, Season 37, Sundays, 8/7c, Fox