Alex Trebek Passes Away

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Elizabeth Whitman

As many people know, Alex Trebek has been the host of the game show “Jeopardy!” for a very long time. But all good things must come to an end because unfortunately, he died on November 8th. In March 2019, Trebek announced that he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. As one can imagine, many people were deeply saddened by this news. Trebek filmed episodes of “Jeopardy!” almost right up until his death. His last episode was filmed on October 29th and will air on Christmas Day. He is known as one of the most beloved icons on television.

Alex Trebek was the host of “Jeopardy!” for 37 seasons between the years of 1984 and 2020. He has filmed over 8,000 episodes of the game show, breaking the Guinness World Record for the Most Game Show Episodes Hosted by the Same Presenter. Trebek has won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host seven times, his most recent being just a few months ago in June 2020. He also won awards like the Television Critics Association (TCA) Lifetime Achievement Award and the Academy Icon Award. Throughout his life, Trebek had been involved in many worthy causes including raising money for pancreatic cancer research, raising money to protect the musk ox from extinction, and was the moderator for the National Geographic Bee for 25 years. After his diagnosis, he got involved in the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). However, he had been interested in the musk ox and geography for much longer, as the ox was his favorite animal and he had loved geography his whole life. He enjoyed spending time studying atlases and other geography books. In fact, he “even looked forward to medical appointments so he could read National Geographic in the waiting room” (AMP.CNN.com). Additionally, he made a private foundation with his wife called The Trebek Family Foundation. He said that having the foundation made giving much easier. Alex Trebek was loved by many people and will be greatly missed. “Jeopardy!” will not be the same without him.