Alex Trebek Has Died At 80. Jeopardy host and longtime beloved television personality Alex Trebek has passed after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 80 years old, TMZ reports.
Alex Trebek Has Died At 80. Jeopardy host and longtime beloved television personality Alex Trebek has passed after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 80 years old, TMZ reports.
The announcement was made through an emotional video on the Jeopardy Twitter, where Trebek announced that “normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I'm going to fight this. And I'm going to keep working and with the love and support of my family and friends -- and with the help of your prayers also -- I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”
He told People, “It's kind of mind-boggling. The doctors said they hadn't seen this kind of positive result in their memory. Some of the tumors have already shrunk by more than 50 percent."
Trebek spoke to Good Morning America, revealing that he had lost 12 pounds and that his numbers were back up, so under the direction of his doctors he would be restarting chemotherapy. He said, “The thought of passing on doesn't frighten me. Other things do. The effect it will have on my loved ones -- yes, that bothers me. It makes me sad. But the thought of myself moving on? Hey, folks, it comes with the territory."
"Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends. Thank you, Alex," it read.
He worked on various game shows, moving from Canada to the U.S. in the '70s. He has been the host of Jeopardy! since it premiered in 1984.
He even set a Guinness World Record in June 2014 for most episodes of a game show hosted, hitting 6,829 at the time.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Trebek’s friends and family at this time.