Alex Trebek of “Jeopardy!” Passes Away At Age 80

The legendary game show host Alex Trebek, known best as the iconic host of “Jeopardy!” has passed away at the age of 80 from pancreatic cancer. Trebek announced his diagnosis to his fans in March of 2019 and has been very open about his struggles ever since. A spokesperson for the show posted a statement to Twitter saying that the beloved host passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends.

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

Since his diagnosis last year, Trebek has continued to host his show and engage with fans, despite intense chemotherapy treatments. He shared his ups and downs with his fans as well, telling them about the “massive attacks of great depression” that made him “wonder if it was really worth fighting on.” However, he continued to persevere for his family and his fans, and became an inspiration to many as a result.

Alex continued to host “Jeopardy!” into his 37th season earlier this year, and also hosted the  ‘Greatest of All Time’ tournament.

“Jeopardy!” says that episodes hosted by Trabek will air through December 25th of 2020. His last day taping in the studio was October 29, just over a week before his death. They have not announced any replacement for the show, and it is not clear if the show will go on without Trebek.

Many of his fans think that it is time for the show to retire now that he is gone. Before Trebek signed his contract extension, he was considering retirement. At that time, he was talking about choosing a potential replacement. His top choices included L.A. Kings announcer Alex Faust and CNN legal analyst Laura Coates.

The shows executive producer, Mike Richards, said in a statement that, “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.”

Alex started his career on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1961 as a news announcer, and then moved on to host the high school quiz show, “Reach for the Top.”

His first major appearance on network television was an NBC show called “The Wizard of Odds,” which launched a career in numerous other game shows, including High Rollers, Double Dare, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth.

For his work on Jeopardy!, Trebek received 31 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, winning 7 times.