Alex Trebek, Longtime 'Jeopardy!' Host, Dead At 80

LOS ANGELES, CA — Alex Trebek, the longtime host of the iconic American game show "Jeopardy!," has died. He was 80.

Trebek's death, first reported by TMZ Sunday morning, was later confirmed by the Jeopardy! Twitter account. He died Sunday morning in Los Angeles.

"Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends," a statement from Jeopardy said.

Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends. Thank you, Alex. pic.twitter.com/Yk2a90CHIM
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) November 8, 2020

Trebek was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in 2019.

He was the host of Jeopardy! from 1984 until his death, winning several Emmy Awards for his role on the show.

The Canadian-born game show icon began his career in 1961, with his pre-Jeopardy! stops including gigs as the host of "The Wizard of Odds" and "High Rollers." He had a brief stint as a fill-in host for Chuck Woolery on "Wheel of Fortune," according to TMZ.

An outpouring of grief from former contestants and the wider public quickly followed news of his death.

“Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did. He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend with him,” tweeted “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings. “Thinking today about his family and his Jeopardy! family — which, in a way, included millions of us.”

“Jeopardy!" bills itself as “America’s favorite quiz show" and captivated the public with a unique format in which contestants were told the answers and had to provide the questions on a variety of subjects, including movies, politics, history and popular culture.

They would answer by saying “What is ... ?” or “Who is .... ?”

Trebek was a master of the format, engaging in friendly banter with contestants, appearing genuinely pleased when they answered correctly and, at the same time, moving the game along in a brisk no-nonsense fashion whenever people struggled for answers.

He never pretended to know the answers himself if he really didn’t, deferring to the show’s experts to decide whether a somewhat vague answer had come close enough to be counted as correct.

“I try not to take myself too seriously,” he told an interviewer in 2004. “I don’t want to come off as a pompous ass and indicate that I know everything when I don’t.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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