‘Jeopardy’s Tribute to Alex Trebek: ‘Thank You for Everything’ (VIDEO)
On Sunday (November 8), longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek passed away at the age of 80 after battling pancreatic cancer, and the first episode of the game show to air after (November 9) paid tribute to him.
“Over the weekend, we lost our beloved host, Alex Trebek. This is an enormous loss for our staff and crew, for his family, and for his millions of fans. He loved this show and everything it stood for,” executive producer Mike Richards said in a message at the beginning of the show.
“In fact, he taped his final episodes less than two weeks ago. He will forever be an inspiration for his constant desire to learn, his kindness, and for his love of his family,” he continued. “We will air his final 35 episodes as they were shot. That’s what he wanted. On behalf of everyone here at Jeopardy!, thank you for everything, Alex. This is Jeopardy!.” Watch the message below.
“For over three decades he brought integrity, humor and intelligence to his duties as host of Jeopardy!,” reads the message posted with the video to the show’s Twitter account. “He will be in our hearts forever.”
Trebek began hosting the trivia game show in 1984 and hosted more than 8,200 episodes over almost 37 seasons. He continued to do so following his cancer diagnosis in March 2019.
“He was a legend of the industry that we were all lucky to watch night after night for 37 years. Working beside him for the past year and a half as he heroically continued to host Jeopardy! was an incredible honor,” Richards said in a statement. “His belief in the importance of the show and his willingness to push himself to perform at the highest level was the most inspiring demonstration of courage I have ever seen. His constant desire to learn, his kindness, and his professionalism will be with all of us forever.”
Trebek’s final Jeopardy! episode will air on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25. His last day filming in studio was on Thursday, October 29.
Jeopardy!, Weekdays, check your local listings