(Update: Wes Hazard is now a three-time Jeopardy! champion.)
What does āJeopardy!ā host Alex Trebekās cologne smell like? Wes Hazard ā06 knows, but heās not telling.
The comedian, storyteller, writer, and self-described ātrivia nerdā got a whiff back in March when he taped his appearance with Trebek on the venerable game show. On Monday, July 9, the show will air nationwide (locally on CBSās WBZ-TV). Until then, Hazard canāt reveal how he did.
Wes Hazard
The Boston native graduated from ĀŅĀ׊”æÉ°® with degrees in film studies and political science and then worked for ĀŅĀ׊”æÉ°® Libraries until 2014. During the same period, he rose through the ranks of Bostonās stand-up comedy scene and branched out into other performances, including taking deep dives into the arts and popular culture and hosting āStories from the Stageā on PBS television.
In 2016, Hazard published his first book,Ā Questions For Terrible PeopleĀ (Adams Media). The following year, he won a New England Emmy for his work on the web documentary "The Secret Worlds of Boston Comic Con" for WBZ-TV.
TheĀ Boston Globe MagazineĀ called him one of āfive Boston comedians to watch.ā Heās been described as both ālankyā and perspicacious.
Hazard blogged earlier this year that it took nearly a year from the time he took the āJeopardy!ā application test to the taping of the show.
āI took the online test in March of 2017, found out I was invited for a live audition in October, auditioned in November, and got the call in January,ā Hazard said. āThe amount of study prep, game-tape watching, mental conditioning, and focus behind this represents probably the single greatest investment of time/energy/emotion I've ever put into anything.ā
He described the experience as surreal, and his trip to Los Angeles in March as āthe pinnacle of my trivia nerd dreams.ā
He has admitted his obsession with trivia for the past two decades stems from finishing second in a middle school geography bee, something he vowed he would never let happen again.
As with so many of his passions, Hazard will be taking his āJeopardy!ā experience to the stage in a 70-90 minute set heās currently developing.
No one really knows what happens to āJeopardy!ā contestants who reveal the results of their performance prior to broadcast. Hazard is unwilling to find out through personal experience. So far, heās managed to keep that to himself, as well as exactly what fragrance the dapper Trebek favors.
āI could tell you what Alex's cologne smells like, but that's a secret I've decided to take to my grave,ā he wrote to friends this spring. āJust know that it's elegant and dignified, as you'd expect.ā
Ed Hayward | University Communications | July 2018