Alex Trebek Shared His Final 'Jeopardy!' Sign Off Earlier This Year, and It'll Make You Weep
On Sunday, Nov. 8, the Jeopardy! Twitter account shared some heartbreaking news — longtime host Alex Trebek died of pancreatic cancer earlier that morning. "Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends," the Tweet read. "Thank you, Alex."
Trebek first revealed he was battling pancreatic cancer in 2019 via a YouTube video. Since then, he has been very open about his health and what it would mean for the future of the show.
Earlier this year, the veteran game show host said he had been preparing for his eventual final episode. Trebek, who has hosted Jeopardy! for more than 35 years, has continued working all the way through his various cancer treatments. But during an interview with ABC's Michael Strahan, Trebek revealed that he has rehearsed his final sign off for when he is no longer able to carry on with the show.
“It’ll be a significant moment for me, but I've kind of, in my mind, rehearsed it already and what I would do on that day is tell the director, ‘Time the show down to leave me 30 seconds at the end. That’s all I want,” Trebek said.
According to the LA Times, Trebek, 79, has previously said that he will continue to do the show “as long as my skills have not diminished,” but told Strahan that the process had already begun, without specifying what he meant. Although no final show date has been announced, fans have been left wondering who could replace the iconic host. Trebeck says that he would address that question in his sign off as well.
“I will say my goodbyes, and I will tell people, 'Don't ask me who's going to replace me because I have no say whatsoever. But I'm sure that if you give them the same love and attention and respect that you have shown me... then they will be a success and the show will continue being a success. And until we meet again, God bless you and goodbye,'" he said.
Trebek stated that he has wanted to be courageous throughout the ordeal, and added that he hasn't felt a sense of being "scared to death," but rather has been left feeling entirely appreciative of all of the love, support, and kind words he's received from people all over the world.
“I have learned something in the past year and it’s this: Most of us have open ended lives — we don’t know when we’re going to die,” said Trebek. “Because of the cancer diagnosis, it’s no longer an open-ended life, it’s a closed-end life because of the terrible statistic survival rates of pancreatic cancer, and because of that and something else that is operating here, people all over America and abroad have decided they want to let me know now, while i'm alive about the impact that I've been having on their existence. They have come out and they have told me and, my gosh, is makes me feel so good."
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'Jeopardy' host Alex Trebek dead at 80
Alex Trebek has died more than a year and a half after publicly revealing his stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis. The Ontario-born Trebek was an American pop culture icon and a fixture in homes around the world as the beloved host of Jeopardy! for more than 35 years. He was 80.
Alex Trebek has died at age 80 after pancreatic cancer battle
Alex Trebek has died more than a year and a half after publicly revealing his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. The Ontario-born Trebek was an American pop culture icon and a fixture in homes around the world as the beloved host of Jeopardy! for more than 35 years. He was 80.
The death was confirmed in a statement posted by the Twitter account for Jeopardy!, which noted that Trebek died early on Nov. 8 while surrounded by loved ones.
In October, Trebek said he was "hanging in" there after announcing he was undergoing another round of chemotherapy. "We’ll play it by ear and keep chugging along until we either win or lose," he told CTV News, adding he's "not afraid of dying."
"I’ve lived a good life, a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life," Trebek shared. "If it happens, why should I be afraid of that?" He kept a positive attitude throughout his cancer battle.
Fans were ecstatic when Trebek, who hosted more than 7,000 Jeopardy! episodes, returned for Season 36 in September. He never missed an episode of the syndicated show since its 1984 premiere — even after undergoing surgery to remove blood clots from his brain in December 2017. In May, Trebek won his sixth Emmy for hosting Jeopardy!.
"I was concerned that sympathy might play a big role in the voting this year. I’m not a big fan of sympathy votes. We should be judged on the merits of our work. However [I remember] last year, I had just had major surgery to remove two life-threatening blood clots. You think that would elicit a certain amount of sympathy. But I didn’t win, so maybe I’ve been worrying about the wrong thing," he quipped during his acceptance speech. "So I’ll do what Sally Field did [at the Oscars] … you guys like me, and you value my work. I tell you if that’s the case, I can live with that."
Although Trebek studied philosophy at the University of Ottawa he decided to pursue a career in journalism landing his first job with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC TV, in the '60s. Trebek, who spoke both French and English, resonated with younger viewers thanks to his breezy demeanor covering everything from sports to music. It's where he began hosting quiz and game shows.
"I went to school in the mornings and worked at nights," Trebek said. "I did everything, at one time replacing every announcer in every possible job."
In 1973, Trebek left Canada for Hollywood where he landed his first American gig as the host of the NBC game show The Wizard of Odds, which only lasted one year. He followed it up with a slew of other jobs hosting short-lived shows High Rollers, The $128,000 Question, Battlestars and Pitfall. It wasn't until 1984 that Trebek — and his trademark mustache — was tapped to launch the syndicated reboot of Jeopardy!, changing his career and life forever. (Jeopardy! had two previous runs from 1964-1975 and 1978-1979.) Trebek said there was an art to fitting in as Jeopardy! host.
"You have to set your ego aside," he told Vulture in 2018. "The stars of the show are the contestants and the game itself. That’s why I’ve always insisted that I be introduced as the host and not the star. And if you want to be a good host, you have to figure a way to get the contestants to — as in the old television commercial about the military — 'be all you can be.' Because if they do well, the show does well. And if the show does well, by association I do well."
In the same interview, Trebek had an interesting response when asked about viewers assuming he knows the answers to all the questions he asks on the show.
"I’ve learned that people draw conclusions that satisfy their prejudices, and those conclusions don’t always coincide with reality. People think because I’m the host of a fairly serious, intelligence-based quiz show that I must know all the answers. I do — because they’re written on a sheet of paper in front of me," Trebek explained. "And audiences are always surprised when they discover that I like to fix things around the house, that I’m not a nerdy person who spends all his time researching information that might come in handy on Jeopardy!. But I don’t mind surprising people in that way."
He also didn't mind surprising producers — and his wife — when he buzzed off his signature mustache, Trebek's most defining physical characteristic for 30 years, during the show's 18th season in 2001. Why? Because he felt like it.
"And it got so much press, I couldn’t believe it. The wars with Iraq or whatever at that time, and people are all in a stew over my mustache," he recalled to the New Republic. "I have one response: Get a life."
And Trebek loved his life — especially his life at home. He leaves behind wife Jean Currivan, 55, whom he wed in 1990. In an interview with People earlier this year, the television icon said his one regret is not meeting her sooner.
"I’m pretty satisfied with my life," he shared. "But my wife Jean and I have been together almost 29 years, and I was thinking about President [George H.W.] Bush when he died, and all the comments about his life about what a nice guy he is, and how he and his wife had been together 73 years. I thought, oh my gosh if I’d just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together."
Trebek is also survived by their two children: restaurateur Matthew, 29, and Emily, 27, who works in real estate.
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