While it’s impossible to replace Alex, it raises the question of who could be considered a successor to such an iconic position. Well, we don’t need to guess who Alex would have chosen, he told the world last year. Speaking to reporters during his appearance at the 92nd Street Y Center in New York, Alex said:
“It would probably be a female, younger person, smart person, likable style, someone with a sense of humor, so I recommended Betty White,” according to USA Today.
It takes some guesswork, but since Betty White turns 99 on January 17, 2021, it’s unlikely you’ve joined her as a full-time host. However, it is possible that she will come as a guest host – anything seems possible at this point. The two previously worked together on Betty’s Hot in Cleveland.
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Meanwhile, among those mourning the loss of Trebek are the legendary Jeopardy! Alumni Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, who also honored Trebek with their own social media posts. Jennings posted a sweet photo of himself with Trebek on Twitter, along with a sweet greeting.
“Alex was absolutely not the best at what he did, wrote Jenning. He was also a very nice and kind man, and I am grateful for every minute I spent with him.” “Thinking today of his family and his Jeopardy family! Which, in a way, includes millions of us.”
Meanwhile, James Holzauer wrote in his tribute:
“It was one of the greatest privileges of my life to spend time with this brave man as he fought the battle of his life. You will never be replaced in our hearts Alex.”
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Trebek first announced his diagnosis via Jeopardy Channel! on YouTube in March 2019, in accordance with its “longstanding policy of openness and transparency”. The host told fans that same week he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, a disease that “another 50,000 people in the United States” are diagnosed with each year.
In true Alex Trebek style, he told fans he has no plans to step down as host of Jeopardy! He stayed true to his word until the end.
According to People, his last day in the studio was Oct. 29 — just ten days before his death. Its final episode is set to air on Christmas Day this year. Alex previously explained in a special what the final episode might look like, as Country Music Nation reports:
“It was going to be a big moment but, in my opinion, I kind of rehearsed it. And what I was going to do that day was say to the director, ‘It’s time for the show to let me go. 30 seconds to the end is all I want.'”
I will say goodbye and I will say to people: “Don’t ask me who will replace me, because I have no say at all. But I am sure that if you give them the same love, the same attention and the same respect that you have shown me for the past thirty years, no matter how many years, then they will be successful, and the show will continue in success.
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Despite his heartbreaking diagnosis, Trebek remained positive the entire time. Jennifer Tomazek, the WPXI reporter who interviewed the show’s late host in February, spoke about her unwavering positivity in an article she wrote the same month. During the interview, Trebek spoke of his “humility” when he received messages of support from fans in the United States and Canada.
“The response from people across America and Canada regarding my current health status is really modest,” Trebek said. “I had no idea our show and I had such an impact on so many people’s lives.”
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Alex Trebek was born in Ontario, Canada on July 22, 1940. He first made his career in television in the 1960s at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, before moving to the United States in 1973 to work as a television host. television games. In 1984 Trebek joined Jeopardy! Since then, he hosts the show.
His wife, Jan Korivan Tribec, and their two children, Matthew and Emily, survived.
