Celebrity Extra: Kenan Thompson
By Dana Jackson
Q: Do the People's Choice Awards still exist? As a kid, I remember them being on TV. I always wanted to take a survey to vote for my favorites, but never got the chance. -- H.L.
A: Yes, the People's Choice Awards are still a thing and are still broadcast on network television. This year, they'll be hosted by Kenan Thompson ("Saturday Night Live") and air on NBC and the E! channel on Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Voting is done online by Nov. 9 at www.votepca.com.
Kenan Thompson, Host of the 2022 People's Choice Awards. Photo Credit: Depositphotos
The awards first aired in 1975, and up until 2005, the winners were determined through a Gallup poll. The first winners included Barbra Streisand as Favorite Film Actress and John Wayne as Favorite Film Actor. Ellen DeGeneres has won the most awards since its inception. This year, Ryan Reynolds ("The Adam Project") will be honored with the "People's Icon Award" for the bulk of his work.
Each category for the stars, shows and movies consist of eight nominees each and include recent films like "Halloween Ends" and "Black Adam."
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Q: Did they ever find a permanent host for "Jeopardy!" or will they continue to rotate the two they have now? -- A.A.
A: In July 2022, it was officially announced that Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik would remain hosts of the hit syndicated game show "Jeopardy!" When Alex Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2020, there was a long rotation of hosts, including NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and fan favorite LeVar Burton ("Reading Rainbow"), until it was announced the search had ended because producer Mike Richards had landed the coveted job. He was soon fired after past sexist and racist comments of his resurfaced.
In the meantime, the show called upon past "Jeopardy!" champion Ken Jennings and sitcom star Mayim Bialik ("The Big Bang Theory") to rotate hosting duties. It was such a ratings success that they were offered contracts, and the rest is history.
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Q: I read that former Bachelorette Emily had another baby. How many children does she have, and how old is her daughter, Ricki, now? -- B.C.
A: Emily Maynard was chosen as the star of ABC's "The Bachelorette" 10 years ago. She was a young mother who had lost her fiance, NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick, in a plane crash in 2004. She found love briefly with contestant Jef Holm, who proposed to her at the conclusion of the reality show, but it wasn't meant to be.
After the show, she stayed under the radar, living a normal life in Charlotte, North Carolina, raising daughter Ricki, when she started dating a man she met at church named Tyler Johnson. They eventually married and had five more children, including a new baby boy named Jones, who was born in August of this year.
Ricki, the little girl Maynard was pregnant with when she tragically lost her fiance, is now 17 years old.
Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.
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