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Celebrity Jeopardy!
The setup
The premise
Here’s the bit.
Alex Trebek welcomes three famous contestants playing for charity, but the game never gets going. Sean Connery keeps asking for "Swords" from a category of words beginning with S, Burt Reynolds offers wild guesses, and Jerry Lewis turns every clue into a shtick routine. Trebek coaxes and corrects them before skipping ahead to an easy Final Jeopardy!, where Connery writes "Swords", Reynolds starts an insult and Lewis traces his hand. Lewis then soaks Trebek with water and chases the camera into the audience.
The funny people
Meet the cast. 4
Say it with us
Highly quotable.
That would be 'Jaws'.
Ah, hell, let's go nuts.
We're not doing 'Swords'!
Behind the scenes
The people who made it.

Norm Macdonald
Writer

Steve Higgins
Writer
A little extra
Notes from the archive.
This was the first of Saturday Night Live's Celebrity Jeopardy! sketches. Norm Macdonald's Burt Reynolds appeared in each of the first three installments.
Script
Automatically generated script; wording may contain errors. Speaker labels are inferred.
- 00:01
From the Sony Picture Studios, this is Celebrity Jeopardy! And now, here's the host of Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek.
- 00:15
Alex Trebek
Welcome to Celebrity Jeopardy! We've got three wonderful celebrities playing for charity. Let's meet them. Sean Connery.
- 00:23
Sean Connery
Hello, Alex.
- 00:24
Alex Trebek
Burt Reynolds.
- 00:26
Burt Reynolds
How you doing?
- 00:27
Alex Trebek
And finally, comedy legend Jerry Lewis.
- 00:31
Jerry Lewis
May I tell you what a joy in this, Phil, and all the good stuff it is to be here? It's super-duper.
- 00:39
Alex Trebek
Good luck to all three of you.
- 00:41
Burt Reynolds
Yeah, we're going to need it.
- 00:44
Alex Trebek
What do you say we take a look at our board? The categories are celebrities, potpourri, popular music, movies, potent potables, US history, and S words, which are words that begin with the letter S. Mr. Connery, it's your turn.
- 01:04
Sean Connery
uh i'll take movies for 400.
- 01:08
Alex Trebek
the answer is john travolta learned how to dance for this 1977 hit movie mr connery
- 01:16
Sean Connery
that would be josh
- 01:18
Alex Trebek
no jaws is incorrect and please answer in the form of a question burt reynolds
- 01:27
Burt Reynolds
what is just
- 01:29
Alex Trebek
no that was already guessed mr lewis
- 01:39
Jerry Lewis
if i remember correctly alex that would be dancing for ladies i had to go for it
- 01:48
Alex Trebek
no that is incorrect also what is saturday night fever heads up players sean connery it's still your board
- 01:56
Sean Connery
uh i'll take george for 400. hundred.
- 02:01
Alex Trebek
It's actually not swords, sir. Swords. These are words that begin with S. The answer is Popeye is this sort of man. Burt Reynolds.
- 02:19
Burt Reynolds
What is Popeye?
- 02:22
Alex Trebek
No. Sean Connery. And remember, Remember, these are words that begin with the letter S, not swords.
- 02:31
Sean Connery
Shaber.
- 02:32
Alex Trebek
No.
- 02:33
Sean Connery
It began with a bloody S.
- 02:39
Alex Trebek
Mr. Lewis.
- 02:41
Jerry Lewis
I got the answer, Alex. You won the answers, it's simple. They're terrified of a perfectionist, they being the people who are running the studios this week.
- 02:54
Alex Trebek
I'm sorry, Mr. Lewis, time's up. What is sailor was the correct response. tough start for everyone all three celebrities are $800 down
- 03:07
Sean Connery
the hell if I'm going to pay you a bloody $800
- 03:10
Alex Trebek
please rest assured mr. Connery this is for charity it's not your own money and it is still your board
- 03:18
Sean Connery
I'll take movies for 200
- 03:21
Alex Trebek
this racing movie with Dom DeLuise told us that yes cannonballs Cannonballs can run. Cannonballs can run. Bert, you might want to guess this. Bert Reynolds.
- 03:45
Burt Reynolds
Hell, I don't know Shakespeare.
- 03:47
Alex Trebek
No. Sean Connery.
- 03:50
Sean Connery
I'll not pay this fine I've incurred. It's unjust!
- 03:53
Alex Trebek
You don't have to pay the... Jerry Lewis.
- 03:57
Jerry Lewis
Cannonball and maven...
- 03:58
Alex Trebek
Wait, wait, wait. It sounds like you might have the right answer. Did you say cannon?
- 04:03
Jerry Lewis
Cannon.
- 04:04
Alex Trebek
Now say ball. put them together.
- 04:10
Jerry Lewis
Cannon! Yeah!
- 04:20
Alex Trebek
Okay, let's just move on. Bert, can you please pick a category?
- 04:25
Sean Connery
Pick, pick swords.
- 04:28
Burt Reynolds
Yeah, sure, give me swords.
- 04:30
Alex Trebek
It's S-words. It's S-words. And for how much, Mr. Reynolds?
- 04:36
Burt Reynolds
The hell, let's go nuts. Swords for $48,000.
- 04:42
Alex Trebek
We're not doing swords. You know, why don't we just move on to Final Jeopardy? The category is Bodies of Water. This body of water gave Salt Lake City its name. And time is up. This body of water gave Salt Lake City its name. Sean Connery, you wrote swords. And you wagered what appears to be a Roman numeral seven.
- 05:29
Sean Connery
That's an M.
- 05:31
Alex Trebek
That it is, sir. Burt Reynolds, you put down my name. That's nice. And you wagered is a... Okay, obviously that's some kind of swear word. Jerry Lewis has wandered off somewhere. Let's see if he had anything. Apparently his answer was an outline of half of his hand. And he wagered the other half of his hand. That's beautiful. Well, I'd like to thank all of our celebrities for joining us this evening.
- 06:05
Jerry Lewis
I'm sorry, I was late. I was in the little boy's room. Oh, boy, I didn't mean to do that. Let me stretch.
- 06:10
Alex Trebek
Celebrities, for joining us, unfortunately, because of your scores, money will be taken away from Cher... That's very funny, Jerry, very funny. Join us tomorrow when we return to more and more Jeopardy.
- 06:21
Jerry Lewis
I... No, I see it. I see it. I got a tax...
The rabbit hole continues
One more couldn’t hurt.
More from across the archive.









