Ken Jennings Opened Up About His Happy Gilmore 2 Cameo, And I Love How Adam Sandler Contributed To The Jeopardy Scene Off-Camera

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The multitude of references and celebrity appearances in Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore 2” make it challenging to follow, as the film has consistently ranked among Netflix’s top movies since its release on the 2025 movie calendar. In this installment, homages are made to actors who have passed away since the original film in 1996, such as Bob Barker from “The Price Is Right,” following his famous fight scene. Additionally, “Jeopardy!” – another highly-regarded game show – is featured in the sequel, with Ken Jennings discussing his role in it.

Ken Jennings recently appeared on the “Inside Jeopardy! Podcast” to talk about his role in a new Netflix film. In this movie, Vienna, who’s portrayed by Sunny Sandler (Adam Sandler’s daughter) and is Happy Gilmore’s daughter, watches Jeopardy! and sees a clue about her dad, but no one can recall his name correctly. Although the movie may seem far-fetched in many ways, it appears that such a situation isn’t entirely unheard of. Jennings commented that:

The situation is that no one on Jeopardy! seems to recall Happy’s name, leaving him watching at home feeling down. And yes, this actually happens – I often hear stories about such moments, when a person is mentioned in a clue but goes unnoticed, causing some lingering disappointment among viewers.

No one enjoys being stumped three times in a row. (Consider how uncomfortable it must have been for then-77-year-old Diana Ross, when two contestants struggled to identify her based on a clue seeking a 95-year-old singer.)

Because Happy watched everything unfold on a screen, it implies that Adam Sandler wasn’t physically present during the filming of the Jeopardy! scene on the Alex Trebek Stage. Nevertheless, the star and co-writer of Happy Gilmore 2 found an innovative way to be part of the scene as Ken Jennings disclosed: Adam Sandler contributed significantly even though he was not there in person.

We had Adam Sandler on speed dial suggesting joke alternatives.

Listening to Ken Jennings laugh at the Sandman’s humorous phone banter undoubtedly provided an invaluable moment for the Jeopardy! team. As producer Sarah Foss put it, capturing this unique interaction on set was truly special.

In one scene, the director was present as you took your position, and then Adam might say something like, ‘This could be our shot, let’s give it a go, let’s try this out,’ because they aimed to capture many amusing responses from people who were unfamiliar with ‘Who is Happy Gilmore?’

The video seemed quite straightforward, reminiscent of an ordinary episode of Jeopardy!, as none of the competitors managed to guess the golfer’s name correctly.

‘Who is Happy Goldberg?’ … ‘Who is Happy Gudenstein?’ … ‘Who is Skippy Goldenbaum?’

The manner in which Ken dismissed all those incorrect answers, followed by him telling the players, “He is Jewish, but we were actually searching for Happy Gilmore,” had me bursting into laughter. Given that Adam Sandler was on the phone providing them with lines, I’m convinced there must be a compilation of every response they attempted out there. Please share the bloopers, I’m pleading you!

Ken Jennings expressed his delight in stating that he’d likely seen the initial “Happy Gilmore” film over a hundred times. He felt deeply privileged to be part of the sequel, albeit just for a brief appearance. As a lover of Jeopardy!, I was thrilled to catch him in it too.

You can now stream “Happy Gilmore 2” on Netflix, provided you have an active subscription. Additionally, keep an eye out for upcoming Adam Sandler films that are in development.

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2025-08-15 21:09