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THE ANSWER IS... Alex Trebek


samhexum

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For $200: What famous game show host died today at age 80?

 

 

“Jeopardy is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends,” the show said in a statement to TMZ.

 

Trebek, who hosted “Jeopardy!” for 36 years, announced he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2019.

 

“I’m going to fight this and I’m going to keep working and with the love and support from my family and friends and with the help of your prayers,” he vowed in a video released at the time. “I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease. Truth told, I have to because under the terms of my contract, I have to host ‘Jeopardy!’ for three more years, so help me. Keep the faith and we will win. We will get it done.”

 

Trebek powered through his diagnosis to host the iconic game show — most recently returning to set for the 2021-22 season.

 

George Alexander Trebek was born on July 22, 1940 in Sudbury, Ontario in Canada to Lucille and George Trebek. His father was a chef at a hotel and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. He had one younger sister, Barbara, who passed away in 2007 after battling breast cancer.

 

“My dad got along with everybody,” Trebek said in an interview with the Television Academy in 2007. “He was everybody’s best friend. He also enjoyed drinking with everybody. Mom didn’t drink, doesn’t drink. Didn’t smoke, doesn’t smoke … she got along with people also and to a certain extent I guess I picked up on that from them. At least, I hope I did.”

 

Trebek moved to Ottawa when he was 12 years old for boarding school and then stayed there for college, attending University of Ottawa in the late ’50s, where he majored in philosophy. He first got into broadcasting in college when he took a summer job to help him pay for school. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation then offered him a full-time position, which he took while finishing his education.

 

In 1963, Trebek moved to Toronto, where he hosted a live teen music show called “Music Hop,” and beginning in 1966, Trebek moved into the game show sphere when he hosted a Canadian academic quiz show called “Reach for the Top.” Just like

“Celebrity Jeopardy,” “Reach for the Top”
in which Eugene Levy portrayed a quiz show host named “Alex Trebel.”

 

“Eugene Levy to this day did the best Alex Trebek ever,” Trebek said in a 2007 interview, adding, “Better than Will Ferrell.” When asked what he thinks of parodies of him he said, “I love them. It means you’ve arrived.”

 

In the 1970s, Trebek made his move to the United States where, with the help of Alan Thicke, he became the host of the short-lived NBC game show “The Wizard of Odds.” His girlfriend at the time, Elaine Callei, came to the US with him and the pair tied the knot in 1974. They were married for seven years before divorcing in 1981. By 1998, Trebek became a naturalized US citizen.

 

Trebek hosted shows including “High Rollers,” CBS’ “Double Dare,” “$128,000 Question” and “Pitfall” before he landed the role that would define his legacy. In 1984, Trebek was tapped to host a reboot of Merv Griffin’s quiz show “Jeopardy!” The original show aired on NBC from 1964-1975 and featured Art Fleming as its host. It was picked up again with Fleming from 1978-79 before the current version with Trebek premiered on Sept. 10, 1984.

 

Trebek has won five Daytime Emmy Awards for hosting “Jeopardy!” and in 2011, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honored him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. As of 2014, Trebek held a Guinness World Record for “the most game show episodes hosted by the same presenter.” Trebek has also been inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, the National Association of Broadcasters Broadcasting Hall of Fame and has won a Peabody Award.

 

In his interview with the Television Academy, he said he wanted to be remembered “as a decent guy who did his best to help the contestants perform at their best because that’s really what a host is supposed to do. You are there to make these players relax enough that they can demonstrate their skills because they’re the stars of the show. They’re the ones the viewers are interested in seeing … so lay back, put the emphasis on the players and if you do that properly, the viewers will look on you as a good guy … and if that’s the way they remember me down the line, perfectly happy with that.”

 

Throughout his career, Trebek has appeared as himself on many TV shows including, “Cheers,” “The Golden Girls,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “The Nanny,” “Seinfeld,” “Baywatch,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Family Guy” and “Orange Is the New Black.” During his time on “Jeopardy!”, he has also gone on tour with the USO 13 times to support the troops and their families. Trebek hosted the National Geographic Bee for 25 years.

 

Trebek wed Jean Currivan in 1990 and was married to her up until his death. In January 2019, he told People he wish he’d met her sooner, so they could have had a longer life together. The couple had two kids together, Emily, who works in real estate, and Matthew, who owns two restaurants, Oso and Lucille’s, in Harlem.

 

“When I was little, going to work with my dad was one of my favorite things to do,” Emily said in 2016. “One morning, I drew him this ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ sign. He’s kept it on the front of his office door ever since, even 18 years later. I’m so proud to be his daughter.”

 

Although the future of “Jeopardy!” is still up in the air, Trebek has previously offered his opinion on who should replace him as host, throwing out names including CNN’s Laura Coates, LA Kings announcer Alex Faust and TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz. In 2018, he said in an interview that he won’t have a say in who replaces him but, “It should, and will, go on after I’m done.”

 

Following Trebek’s cancer announcement in March 2019, Jeopardy record-holder Ken Jennings, wrote an ode to the host for the New York Times, explaining he’s not the “stern, judicial presence you might expect.”

 

“When the cameras stop rolling, Alex is a looser, even goofy presence,” Jennings wrote. “He still has the slight testiness, the dry imitation hauteur you can see when he spars with contestants in the interviews, but he’s gracious and candid and self-deprecating.”

 

Jennings added, ”[Johnny] Carson and [Walter] Cronkite are long gone, but Alex Trebek remains, the last of the old-school broadcasters who once visited us every night as a matter of ritual.”

 

In his 2020 memoir, “The Answer Is…”, Trebek wrote,

 

“My life has been a quest for knowledge and understanding, and I’m nowhere near having achieved that,” he wrote. “And it doesn’t bother me in the least. I will die without having coming up with the answer to many things in life.”

 

He went on to explain that he wanted to enjoy the time he has left by going out, but the coronavirus pandemic was restricting him from leaving the house, but that sitting on the swing out in the yard — his favorite spot — would be just as nice.

 

“I’ll be perfectly content if that’s how my story ends: sitting on the swing with the woman I love, my soul mate, and our two wonderful children nearby.”

Edited by samhexum
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The news is saying they had a short tribute to him just before Monday's episode - our local station that shows Jeopardy didn't air it. That's odd.

I saw it... I think it was a producer or CEO of Jeopardy who said some kind words. It lasted one or two minutes at most, and no photos or anything like that. A short but nice speech thanking Alex, and letting the audience know that he had taped the shows to air up until Christmas and they would air as planned because that's what Alex said he wanted.

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I vaguely remember watching Jeopardy as a child when Art Fleming was host. In one instance in particular I remember answering What is soy sauce? (which happened to be correct), although I don't remember the question posed. I was beside myself that I answered correctly!

 

Filling Alex's place will be difficult, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ken Jennings takes over.

Edited by dcguy20
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The show will never be the same with Ken Jennings. He is just too smug to win over the hearts and minds of Jeopardy! fans. Alex had just the right mix of authority and humility to do a very difficult job on a very difficult game show.

 

I agree. LeVar Burton is my choice.

https://www.change.org/p/sony-pictures-entertainment-levar-burton-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_25762052_en-US%3A3&recruiter=27282535&recruited_by_id=ed178f70-d2be-012f-a0a5-40401fa5e37a&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&utm_term=psf_combo_share_abi

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The show will never be the same with Ken Jennings. He is just too smug to win over the hearts and minds of Jeopardy! fans. Alex had just the right mix of authority and humility to do a very difficult job on a very difficult game show.

 

I'll politely disagree. In the "best of all time" tournament, and the summer reruns I watched, Jennings was never completely sure of his answers and seemed genuinely pleased when he got things right; so "smug" is not an adjective I would ascribe to him.

 

Now "Jeopardy James" would be another matter ...

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I'll politely disagree. In the "best of all time" tournament, and the summer reruns I watched, Jennings was never completely sure of his answers and seemed genuinely pleased when he got things right; so "smug" is not an adjective I would ascribe to him.

 

Now "Jeopardy James" would be another matter ...

Up front I will say I was never a fan of Jeopardy and only became aware of it when I developed a friendship with a couple of Americans around 1998 who also had residences in Montreal which they used in the summers. They watched this show every day.

 

I have only watched a few episodes all the way through but would give them some attention if I was over at my friends’ homes while the show was on. So I know how it went.

 

In selecting a successor to Trebek, I would think the show’s producers would want to have someone like him who had a broad background. He had a university degree in philosophy, a journalistic background and a fairly long experience in broadcasting on Canada’s national news organization, the CBC, and on shows on TV hosting game shows Before coming to Jeopardy.

 

Besides all that Trebek had a radio announcer’s voice, which was easy on the ears. It didn’t hurt that he was also handsome.

 

In a completely different context, Ronald Reagan was always remembered as an actor who became a politician, first as governor of California and then president of the United States. What people often overlooked was his 8 year stint as the official spokesman for General Electric, which sharpened his skills as a public speaker. Film actors often don’t have that ability as they work in an environment where they only have to do short segments of oral dialogue, stitched together later by the film’s editors. Stage actors can speak uninterrupted but Reagan wasn’t one of those.

 

While obviously they can never find someone exactly like Trebek, selecting a successful game show participant may not be the best choice.

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