Here is a look at the life of Alex Trebek, longtime host of the game show “Jeopardy!”
Personal
Birth date: July 22, 1940
Death date: November 8, 2020
Birth place: Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Birth name: George Alexander Trebek (some sources say Giorgi Suka-Alex Trebek)
Father: George Edward Trebek
Mother: Lucille (Lagace) Trebek
Marriages: Jean (Currivan) Trebek (1990-November 8, 2020, his death), Elaine (Callei) Trebek (1974-1981, divorced)
Children: with Jean Trebek: Emily and Matthew; adopted daughter of Elaine Callei, Nicky
College: University of Ottawa, B.A., 1961
Other Facts
Hosted more than 7,500 episodes of “Jeopardy!”
Nominated for 34 Daytime Emmy Awards and won seven, and also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Trebek received a Peabody Award.
Toured with the USO 13 times.
Made guest appearances on numerous shows, including “How I Met Your Mother,” “The X-Files” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
His favorite animal was the musk ox.
Timeline
1961 - Joins Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) as a newscaster.
1966-1973 - Game show host for Canada’s “Reach for the Top.”
1973 - Becomes host of “The Wizard of Odds” on NBC, produced by Alan Thicke.
1984 - Is hired as the host of “Jeopardy!”
1987-1991 - Hosts “Classic Concentration.”
1989 - Wins his first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for “Jeopardy!”
1989-2013 - Hosts the National Geographic Bee.
1990 - Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for “Jeopardy!”
1998 - Becomes a naturalized US citizen.
May 17, 1999 - Receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2001 - Trebek shaves off his signature mustache.
2003 - Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for “Jeopardy!”
2006 - Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for “Jeopardy!”
December 2007 - Is hospitalized after having a mild heart attack.
2008 - Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for “Jeopardy!”
June 19, 2011 - Receives the Daytime Emmy Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award for his 27 years as the host of “Jeopardy!”
July 27, 2011 - Tears his Achilles tendon chasing after a burglar who had broken into his hotel room in San Francisco.
May 21, 2012 - Trebek and “Jeopardy!” receive the 2011 Peabody Award for “encouraging, celebrating and rewarding knowledge.”
June 23, 2012 - He is admitted to Cedars-Sinai following a mild heart attack.
2013 - Trebek is inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame.
June 13, 2014 - With his 6,829th appearance as the host of “Jeopardy!,” Trebek breaks the Guinness World Record for hosting a game show.
September 2014 - After a 13-year hiatus, the Trebek mustache returns. “In 2001, I shaved my mustache on a whim,” Trebek tells People magazine. “This year I had a two-and-a-half-month period where we were not taping a show, so I grew it back on another whim. I like to keep my life simple.”
November 17, 2017 - Is made an officer of the Order of Canada.
January 4, 2018 - Trebek says he is taking a medical leave after undergoing surgery to remove blood clots from his brain. Trebek underwent surgery in mid-December after being diagnosed with a condition known as subdural hematoma, a complication from hitting his head in a bad fall in October. According to a post on the game show’s website, Trebek is expected to make a full recovery and return for taping in mid-January.
October 1, 2018 - Trebek moderates a Pennsylvania gubernatorial debate between incumbent Tom Wolf, and his Republican challenger, Scott Wagner.
March 6, 2019 - Trebek announces that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
May 5, 2019 - Receives a standing ovation when he takes the stage to accept a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for his work on “Jeopardy!”
June 26, 2020 - Wins his seventh Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for “Jeopardy!”
July 21, 2020 - Trebek’s memoir, “The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life,” is published.
November 8, 2020 - Trebek dies at age 80.
