Fox News Radio anchor Matt Napolitano who appeared on ‘Jeopardy!’ dead

Media

By Ariel Zilber

Matt Napolitano, a 33-year-old anchor and reporter for Fox News Radio who lived his dream by appearing as a contestant on “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” died on Saturday following a short illness.

The tragic news was announce by Napolitano’s husband, Ricky Whitcomb, who wrote on X: “With a heavy heart I have to share that my husband @MattNapolitano passed away yesterday morning.”

“He loved his job and he loved bringing the news to your radios and televisions,” Whitcomb wrote Sunday.

Napolitano was “an honest journalist who truly cared about facts. You can thank him for the last-minute Jets win today,” Whitcomb added.

Napolitano was hired by Fox News in 2015, when he started writing for its SiriusXM channel titled “Fox News Headlines 24/7.”

He then became a sports reporter for the network as well as a contributor for Fox Business shows such as Neil Cavuto’s “Cavuto Coast to Coast.”

Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott paid tribute to Napolitano in a memo to staffers.

“Matt did everything from anchoring to writing and producing for our audio platforms and loved being able to work in the journalism field that he trained for his entire life,” Scott wrote in the memo.

Napolitano was an avid “Jeopardy!” fan. He achieved his lifelong dream of appearing on the show as a contestant in 2020, according to Variety.

He also appeared on “Wheel of Fortune” in 2016, advancing to the bonus round.