Alex Trebek
Host of legendary American quiz show Jeopardy! for more than 30 years
Alex Trebek, television quizmaster. Born: 22 July 1940 in Greater Sudbury, Canada. Died: 8 November 2020 in Los Angeles, California, United States, aged 80
AlexT re bek, who presided over legendary US quiz show Jeopardy! for more than 30 years with dapper charm and a touch of schoolmaster strictness, has died.
Jeopardy! bills itself as “America’ s favourite quiz show” and captivated the public with a unique format in which contestants were told the answers and had to provide the questions on a variety of subjects, including movies, politics, history and popular culture. They would answer by saying “What is ... ?” or “Who is .... ?” Six nights a week for 36 years, Trebek brought together liberals and conservatives, city dwellers and rural folk, grandparents and grandchildren for a half-hour of brainy exercise.
His style was all facts with a touch of fun, and no politics, religion or opinion, unless they came in the form of a question in the course of the quiz show.
Trebek was more than qualified for the job, having started his game show career on Reach for the Top in his native country. Moving to the US in 1973, he appeared on The Wizard of Odds, High Rollers, The $128,000 Question and Double Dare. Even during his run on Jeopardy!, Trebek worked on other shows. In the early 1990s, he was the host of three – Jeopardy!, To Tell the Truth and Classic Concentration.
Jeopardy! made him famous. He won five Emmys as its host, including one last June, and received stars on both the Hollywood and Canadian walks of fame. Trebek, who became its host in 1984, was a master of the format, engaging in friendly banter with contest ants, appearing genuinely pleased when they answered correctly and, at the same time, moving the game along in a brisk nononsense fashion whenever people struggled for answers.
“I try not to take myself too seriously ,” he told an interviewer in 2004.“I don’t want to come off as a pompous ass and indicate that I know everything when I don’t.”
He became a US citizen in 1997. Trebek’s first marriage, to Elaine Callei, ended in divorce. In 1990, he wed Jean Currivan, and they had two children, Emily and Matthew. trebek is survived by his wife, their two children and his stepdaughter, Nicky.