Iconic Game Show Host, Alex Trebek Passes Away

Alex Trebek, hosted multiple game shows before becoming the iconic Jeopardy! host. Back in March of 2019, Trebek was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Despite being sick and exhausted, he continued to host the show. Unfortunately on November 8, 2020 Alex Trebek lost his battle with cancer. 

Jeopardy! plans on airing episodes with Trebek in them until December 25, 2020. His last day in the studio was October 29. Jeopardy! has not announced any plans for a new host yet. 

Trebek set a Guinness World Record for hosting the most episodes of a gameshow. He hosted over 8,200 episodes over the course of 37 seasons.

Mike Richards, Jeopardy! executive producer said, “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.”

Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment said, “For 37 amazing years, Alex was that comforting voice, that moment of escape and entertainment at the end of a long, hard day for millions of people around the world. He was the heart and soul of Jeopardy! and he will be deeply missed by everyone who made him part of their lives.”

On Monday November 9, 2020, Jeopardy! started the show with a message from Mike Richards, thanking Alex for everything he did for the show. He was brought to tears as he explains how much of an enormous loss this is for the show’s crew, Alex’s family and fans. Richards says they will air his last 35 episodes as that’s what he wanted. 

Ken Jennings, a contestant on Jeopardy! known for being the highest winning game show contestant of all time, took to twitter after hearing about Trebek. He shared an image of him and Trebek with the caption, “Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did. He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend with him.”

Via @KenJennings on Twitter