Alex Trebek Passes At 80

According to TMZ Alex Trebek has died at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

According to those close to the Trebek family, he passed away early on Sunday (November 8th) surrounded by family and friends at his California home.  He had been battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer since the spring of 2019.

The host of Jeopardy for over three decades, he continued to host the game show throughout his cancer battle.  And, despite his rather grim prognosis, he had no plans to retire as the show's host.

According to Wikipedia, Alex Trebek was born on July 22nd, 1940 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.  His father was an immigrant from the Ukraine and his mother was Canadian.  Trebek's first job was at the age of 13 when he worked as a bellhop at the hotel where his father was a chef.

Trebek got his start in broadcasting in 1961 as a host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  He quickly gained popularity as the host of a high school quiz show called "Reach For The Top".  U.S. audiences first saw him in 1973 when he hosted a new NBC show called "The Wizard of Odds." He would also work on a show called "High Rollers" before taking on the role as the host of the revival of "Jeopardy".

He also appeared on Good Morning America (as a guest host), Jimmy Kimmel Live, "Hot In Cleveland"(as himself), and "How I Met Your Mother".

Alex -- winner of 6 Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding game show host -- set a Guinness World record in June 2014 for most episodes (6,829) of a game show hosted.

Rest in peace.  You will be missed.

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