ALEX TREBEK
After hinting at his retirement, the Jeopardy! host names two options for possible successors.
“It’s very important in life to know when to shut up.”
The answer to the question “Who is Alex Trebek?” may soon be “the former host of TV’s Jeopardy!” He’s emceed the popular syndicated quiz show since 1984, but Alex, 78, recently said the chances that he will continue after his contract ends in 2020 are 50-50 or less.
He’s even considered who might succeed him in the job, recommending Alex Faust, the play-by-play announcer for the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, and Laura Coates, a lawyer who frequently appears as a commentator on CNN. “[I’m] incredibly honored and humbled,” Coates tweeted.
HE’S GOT GAME
Alex has endured health problems in recent years; he suffered a mild heart attack in 2012, underwent knee surgery in 2015 and had surgery for a subdural hematoma after falling and hitting his head last year. “One good thing [came] from this,” he joked upon returning to work earlier this year: “I’ve now had successful surgeries from head to toe.”
Although Alex tells Closer, “I’ve never gotten sick of the job” at Jeopardy!, he does concede, “I have wanted to do other things.” Should he retire, he says he’ll spend his time “growing turnips in the Central Coast area” of California. “I enjoy working around the house and fixing things,” he adds. “And I’m fairly involved in a number of charities.”
No matter when he calls it quits, Alex will have nothing but good memories of his hosting gig. “I get to spend a half-hour each day in the company of bright people — that’s enjoyable for me,” he says. “There’s a familiarity and warmth because I’m in people’s homes five nights a week. I’m one of the family.”
— Bruce Fretts, with reporting by Katie Bruno