“He loved that ‘Jeopardy!’ popularized intelligence and it was important for him,” Mike Richards, the show’s executive producer, told CNN on Sunday. Trebek began hinting it might be time to retire in 2018, before agreeing to sign one last contract extension, which was to run through 2022. Amanda Edwards/Getty Images North America/Getty ImagesĪlex Trebek supported many causes. Game show host Alex Trebek created a private charitable foundation with his wife in 2011 to support a number of causes and nonprofits. It wasn’t until 1984 that Trebek landed what turned out to be his big break, when producer-host Merv Griffin chose him to emcee a revival of “Jeopardy!,” which was paired with another hit game show, “Wheel of Fortune.” In 1966, while still in his mid-20s, he switched from journalism to hosting game shows, starting with a quiz show titled “Reach for the Top,” and followed a few years later by another, “Jackpot.” Over 37 seasons, Trebek hosted more than 8,200 episodes of “Jeopardy!,” the most by a presenter of any single TV game show, according to a statement from Sony Pictures.īut despite the years he spent on “Jeopardy!,” the syndicated quiz show where answers are presented in the form of a question, Trebek wasn’t exactly an overnight success.īorn in Sudbury, Ontario, he studied philosophy before becoming a journalist, working as a reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Host Alex Trebek talks to the 10 finalists in the fifth annual National Geography Bee in Washington, DC, on May 26, 1993.

Trebek is survived by his wife, Jean, whom he married in 1990, and his three children. “He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend with him.” “Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did,” Jennings wrote. “Jeopardy!” contestant Ken Jennings tweeted Sunday he was thinking of Trebek’s family and the “Jeopardy!” family, “which, in a way, included millions of us,” he said. Trebek revealed in March 2019 he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, triggering an outpouring of support and well wishes at the time.

The cause of death was not immediately announced. “Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends,” said a statement shared on the show’s Twitter account Sunday.

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images North America/Getty Imagesįormer 'Jeopardy!' contestants react to Alex Trebek's death Game show host Alex Trebek poses on the set of the 'Jeopardy!' Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational Tournament Show Taping on Apin Culver City, California.

Alex & Me by Irene M. Pepperberg