Identical twin brothers from Canada make 'Jeopardy!' history
Jeopardy! fans did a double-take, thinking that one Canadian contestant had returned, but to their shock, it turned out to be his twin brother.
For Jeopardy! viewers who thought Ron Lalonde looked familiar, show host Ken Jennings explained, “If Ron looks familiar to those of you at home who are Jeopardy! fans, you’re probably thinking of his brother, Ray.”
In 2023, Ron’s identical twin brother, Ray, appeared on the show and certainly made his family proud after winning 13 games and taking home an impressive US$386,400 in winnings. The brothers were born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ont., and made Jeopardy! history as the first identical twins to appear on the show. Ray is a scenic artist from Toronto who has worked on movies and sets like The Handmaid’s Tale.
Ray Lalonde during his 2023 appearance on “Jeopardy!” (Jeopardy)
Now, it’s his brother’s turn to step up to the podium to carry on the Lalonde legacy. According to TV Insider, Ron is a medical physicist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“Your twin brother, Ray, called you the real Jeopardy! talent in the family, and here you are,” stated Jennings. “Those are big shoes, though.”
“Very big, yes, no pressure at all,” agreed Ron.
View this post on Instagram
“Is there a way to prove that you are not, in fact, Ray Lalonde inventing a twin just to get a second crack at Jeopardy?” asked Jennings.
“He’s here,” Ron said, pointing to his brother Ray, who was seated in the audience.
Some viewers were relieved that the show cleared up the confusion.
“The way I literally thought that someone played the wrong episode tonight, until I realized his name was Ron, not Ray!” wrote one viewer.
One person recalled, “I thought I had clicked on a repeat episode and turned it off, then realized the first names were different, so I put it back on! They truly are identical!”
Another commenter wrote, “Not me yelling to my husband, ‘This guy has definitely been on Jeopardy! already! Am I losing my mind?'”
Viewers are certainly cheering for the second Lalonde brother.
“Ray has been one of my favourites, and I feel the same about his brother,” stated one commenter.
However, the twins are so identical that not everyone’s convinced that they’re not the same person.
Someone wrote, “That’s a cut, get him to the stage, and stand beside him! 😂”
“That camera cut and outfit change aren’t fooling anyone, Ray,” joked another viewer.
On Monday, Dec. 8, Ron returned for his fourth game against contestants Morgan Lloyd, from San Diego, Calif., and Will Riley, from Houston, Texas.
With files from Isabelle Docto