Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy! passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends, according to the show. He was 80 years old.
Alex was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2019, and he continued to host Jeopardy! for the next 18 months. Throughout that time, Alex was open and public about his battle with cancer. Jeopardy! episodes hosted by Alex will air through December 25, 2020 (his last day in the studio was October 29). The show is not announcing plans for a new host at this time.
Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Alex hosted dozens of game shows before becoming the host of Jeopardy! in its syndicated debut in 1984. He hosted more than 8,200 Jeopardy! episodes over the course of nearly 37 seasons, setting a Guinness World Record for hosting the most episodes of a single game show. Alex won the Daytime Emmy® Award for Outstanding Game Show Host seven times and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He received the Order of Canada honor from his native land in 2017. (Here at The Jeopardy! Fan, I had the pleasure of meeting Alex Trebek at my final audition for the show, two days before he accepted the award.)
“This is an enormous loss for the Jeopardy! staff, crew, and all of Alex’s millions of fans. He was a legend of the industry that we were all lucky to watch night after night for 37 years. Working beside him for the past year and a half as he heroically continued to host Jeopardy! was an incredible honor. His belief in the importance of the show and his willingness to push himself to perform at the highest level was the most inspiring demonstration of courage I have ever seen. His constant desire to learn, his kindness, and his professionalism will be with all of us forever,” said Mike Richards, Jeopardy! Executive Producer.
Alex is survived by his wife of 30 years, Jean, and children Matthew, Emily, and Nicky. The family has announced no plans for a service, but gifts in Alex’s memory could go to World Vision, according to the show.
A graduate of the University of Ottawa, Trebek’s career began in Canada, at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in the early 1960s. He then famously hosted Reach for the Top as well as curling coverage in Canada before heading to the United States. His American game show hosting career included The Wizard of Odds, High Rollers, the 1970s CBS version of Double Dare, The $128,000 Question, Pitfall, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, and the 1990-91 version of To Tell the Truth.
The Jeopardy! Fan raised and donated $648.11 to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network in 2019 and 2020 through the sale of shirts.
Alex Trebek you will be sorely missed. Even though I thoroughly understood how ill you were, I still was not expecting this day to come. At least, not so soon. Peace to your family and friends.
Rest in peace, Alex. The world is a little less kinder without you.
Alex has been my idol forever. I nagged my son Andrew to take the test for 35 years. He appeared on Friday night and won the game, so of course will be back on Monday. This tragic news turned a wonderful weekend into a very sad one but l am so grateful that Andrew got the opportunity to meet Alex.
Rest in peace tough fighter and brilliant and charming gentleman. My sincerest condolences to his loved ones.
Your courage and grace for the better part of the last two years was something to see and you will be missed. Rest in gentle peace sir, you’ve earned it. ❤️🙏
Even though he was 80, this day still seems to come too soon. All my life, He was such a mainstay of this show and I remember him in other shows like Classic Concentration, the Geography Bee and those World Vision infomercials in Canada. I actually watched an old episode of Classic Concentration the other day where there was more of a chance for him to demonstrate his wit and humour. Even a new host takes over, his contributions to the show will be acknowledged pretty much every episode going forward (maybe a “Trebek” trophy for the Tournament of Champions winner?…). He will be missed by all and he will not be forgotten.
For a long time, I didn’t really appreciate how difficult a show Jeopardy is for the host. It’s the players, not the host, who determine where the game goes next (Anagrams for $200, or Classical Composers for $800?), and to a large extent they control the pacing of the show too.
Alex deserves a lot of credit for doing the hosting as well as he did.
As someone who has been watching Jeopardy my entire life, the news of Alex’s passing was devastating and felt like losing an old family friend. My deepest condolences go out to his family and friends for their loss of such a great man.
Rest in peace, Alex. You will be missed dearly. ❤️
He was total class. RIP
In a spooky coincidence, Art Fleming died the same way. Somebody will have a tough act to follow.
I think we all feel like we’ve lost a family member. He was in our homes every night at dinner time. He was a class act and that’s very rare in this world of anger and resentment. The world was a better place with him in it and those of us who faithfully watched him are all better for having had him as our “friend”. Thanks to his family for sharing him with us. Rest In Peace Alex.
Alex will be greatly missed by me and
all my friends. We’ve been watching
and admiring him on Jeopardy! since
1984. It’s like losing a good friend.
This caught me totally by surprise. Alex had been really sharp recently and we knew that he was filming new episodes. I guess that speaks to how profeesional and good at his job he was. He made it look so easy. Like everyone else here, I will really miss watching him.
Truly a role model who will not be forgotten. We are fortunate he was able to pen his autobiography during his final year.