BY: Evan Justice
On November 7th, 2020, the official Jeopardy Twitter account announced that Jeopardy’s longtime host Alex Trebek died at 80 years old.
Although the cause of Trebek’s death was not immediately announced, many speculated it may be related to his battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Trebek first announced his diagnosis on March 6, 2019, through a video posted on the official Jeopardy YouTube and Twitter accounts. Trebek stated in the video that he wanted to be the one to announce his diagnosis. Trebek stated, “It’s in keeping with my long-term policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy fanbase,” before announcing his diagnosis.
Over the course of the new year-and-a-half, Trebek posted updates about his condition and how he was feeling. In a video update posted one year after his diagnosis, Trebek stated he would be lying to his audience if he said that everything was going smoothly: “There were moments of great pain. Days when certain bodily functions no longer functioned, and sudden, massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it really was worth fighting on.”
But fight on he did. Despite exhausting treatment sessions and a pandemic outbreak that not only shut down production of the show but could have made things worse for the TV personality’s health, Trebek went on to continue taping episodes of Jeopardy after a short break.
Despite no official plans about the future of the show being announced, an article by the New York Post claims that ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos has been eyeing the role for some time now. Whether true or not, this news has understandably upset many longtime fans of the show who believe it is too soon to be discussing replacements.
While waiting for an official announcement as to the future of the show, Jeopardy fans will be able to enjoy Alex Trebek as host of the show for a little while longer. The final episodes taped with Trebek are scheduled to be released within the coming weeks. The final episode with Trebek as host is scheduled to air on Christmas Day.