A sad day for all.
The hits just keep on coming in 2020. Alex Trebek, beloved host of Jeopardy! for the past 36 years and Officer of the Order of Canada, passed away at age 80 due to pancreatic cancer on November 8, 2020.
Trebek had been struggling with pancreatic cancer for some time, undergoing chemotherapy and several surgeries and experimental treatments, while battling mental health concerns around the disease. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Long seen as a gold standard for game show hosts, Trebek received numerous awards for his work in the field, even receiving the extremely prodigious Peabody Award in 2012. In addition to hosting Jeopardy!, Trebek hosted a smattering of game shows and teen programs on Canada’s public broadcaster, served as the host for the National Geographic Bee for 25 years, and was also a very active force in philanthropic and charitable events.
Tributes poured in for the host.
The show itself broadcast a roughly one minute cold open on Monday before the start of the latest episode honouring the host. Jeopardy tapes multiple episodes a day and the parent company, Sony Pictures, says episodes starring Trebek should air through Christmas.
CTV News reported that the Canadian Parliament’s bell tower chimed out the show’s theme song in his honour. A makeshift memorial was erected on his installment of the Canadian Walk of Fame. World Vision, a charity that Trebek has been long associated with, released a tribute video dedicated to his lifelong commitment to humanitarian causes.
Finally, famed contestant Ken Jennings sums up Trebek as “the best ever at what he did” and “a lovely and deeply decent man”.
Select episodes of Jeopardy are streaming on Netflix.
TOP IMAGE: Sony Pictures.