'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' Star Paris Themmen Shocks Fans as He Appears on 'Jeopardy!'
One Jeopardy! contestant surprised some viewers Monday night as former child actor Paris Themmen appeared on the game show.
Forty-seven years may have gone by, but eagle-eyed viewers immediately recognized Themmen, now, 58, as the kid who played the television-obsessed Mike Teevee in 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory opposite Gene Wilder.
Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek made no mention of Themmen’s role in the children’s cult classic as he introduced him to the audience.
Instead, Themmen was presented as an entrepreneur and backpacker.
"The producers were aware, and what they do is they take three fun facts about me and write it on a little card, and they give that card to Alex. So, the top of the stack was Willy Wonka. No. 2 was the 61 countries I backpacked to," he told Inside Edition.
Themmen only appeared on the show Monday and came in second place, securing $6,800 in winnings.
Today, Themmen sells Wonka merchandise that he and other cast members have signed. For more information, click here.
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