Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek dies aged 80 of pancreatic cancer - ABC News

The beloved host of popular US quiz show Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek, has died at his home aged 80.

Key points:

• Alex Trebek was the host of Jeopardy! from 1984
• He revealed in 2019 he had advanced pancreatic cancer
• Trebek has a star on the Hollywood and Canadian walks of fame

Trebek, who announced in 2019 that he had advanced pancreatic cancer, died surrounded by family and friends, producers of the show announced.

When revealing his illness to fans, Trebek said he was joining the 50,000 other Americans who receive such a diagnosis each year and that he recognised that the prognosis was not encouraging.

But Trebek said he intended to fight it and keep working, even joking that he needed to beat the disease because his Jeopardy! contract ran for three more years.

Less than a week later, he opened the show with a message acknowledging the outpouring of kind words and prayers he had received.

"Thanks to the — believe it or not — hundreds of thousands of people who have sent in tweets, texts, emails, cards and letters wishing me well," Trebek said.

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Messages of grief and respect from former contestants, celebrities and the wider public quickly followed news of his loss.

"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," former contestant Ken Jennings said.

"Thinking today about his family and his Jeopardy! family — which, in a way, included millions of us."

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Jeopardy! bills itself as "America's favorited quiz show" and captivated the public with a unique format in which contestants were told the answers and had to provide the questions on a variety of subjects.

Trebek became its host in 1984 and was a master of the format, engaging in friendly banter with contestants and appearing genuinely pleased when they answered correctly.

He never pretended to know the answers, deferring to the show's experts to decide whether a somewhat vague answer had come close enough to be counted as correct.

"I try not to take myself too seriously," he told an interviewer in 2004.

"I don't want to come off as a pompous-ass and indicate that I know everything when I don't."

Long identified by a full head of hair and trim moustache, Trebek was more than qualified for the job, having started his game show career on Reach for the Top in Canada.

Trebek was the host of several shows throughout his career, but found most fame with Jeopardy!, which he began in 1984.(AP: Alan Greth)

Moving to the US in 1973, he appeared on several shows including The Wizard of Odds, High Rollers, The $128,000 Question and Double Dare.

However, he will always be remembered for Jeopardy! which he hosted for over three decades.

He won five Emmys as its host, including one last June, and received stars on both the Hollywood and Canadian walks of fame.

In 2012, the show won a prestigious Peabody Award.

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He taped his Jeopardy! shows at a frenetic pace, recording as many as 10 episodes — or two weeks' worth — in just two days.

After what was described as a mild heart attack in 2007, he was back at work in just a month.

Although many viewers considered him one of the key reasons for the show's success, Trebek himself insisted he was only there to keep things moving.

"I'm introduced as the host of Jeopardy!, not the star," he said in a 2012 interview.

"My job is to provide the atmosphere and assistance to the contestants to get them to perform at their very best.

"And if I'm successful doing that, I will be perceived as a nice guy and the audience will think of me as being a bit of a star.

"But not if I try to steal the limelight. The stars of Jeopardy! are the material and the contestants."

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Born July 22, 1940, in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, Trebek was sent off to boarding school by his Ukrainian father and French-Canadian mother as a teenager.

After earning a philosophy degree from the University of Ottawa, he went to work for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, starting as a staff announcer and eventually becoming a radio and TV reporter.

In 1990, he married his second wife Jean Currivan, and they had two children, Emily and Matthew.

Trebek is survived by his wife, their two children and his stepdaughter, Nicky.

AP

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZ2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTExLTA5L2plb3BhcmR5LXF1aXotc2hvdy1ob3N0LWFsZXgtdHJlYmVrLWRpZXMtYWdlZC04MC1jYW5jZXIvMTI4NjIyNzDSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTI4NjIyNzA?oc=5

2020-11-08 21:02:00Z
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