Alex Trebek | Before They Were Gone | 30 Years As Host of Jeopardy!

Before Alex Trebek would serve as the host of Jeopardy, one of the most popular game shows in television history, for more than 30 years. Before Alex Trebek would host the popular shows The Wizard of Odds, Double Dare, Pitfall and High Rollers, and as a newscaster and sportscaster for CBS in both radio and television. Before Alex Trebek would be parodied on SNL, appear in The Simpsons and guest star in an Alex Trebek, the genial Jeopardy host, with all the answers and a reassuring presence in the TV game show landscape for 5 decades, has died. He was 80 years old. Over 37 seasons, Trebek hosted more than 8,200 episodes of Jeopardy, the most by presenter of any single TV game show. Like Bob Barker, he became a constant face in all our lives and will be forever remembered for his contributions to pop culture. What's going on guys, it's your girl Cara and with a heavy heart that I bring you the life and career of Alex Trebek prior to his untimely passing, here for you on Before They Were Gone. Typically, we post these videos on the main channel before they were famous, but seeing as we cover more timeless celebs, we thought we would post it here on Famous Entertainment. Please leave your condolences in the comments down below and now let's get into this video. Alex Trebek was born on July 22nd, 1940 in Sudbury, Canada, which is about a 4 hour drive from where we film these videos, and somewhere that Alex would later refer to as a distant memory. His mother, Lucille Trebek, was a French-Canadian woman with some First Nations ancestry, and his father, George Trebek, was a Ukrainian immigrant who worked as a chef at a local hotel. Speaking about his father, Alex later said, My dad drank pretty heavily and he never missed a day of work in his life. He also describes his father as a hoarder of knickknacks that had a way of proving useful years later. A bright and curious child from a very young age, Alex attended Jesuit schools until the age of 12, which are run by Catholic priests. He decided to leave Sudbury to attend the University of Ottawa High School, in our country's capital. After graduating from high school in 1957, Trebek continued on to the University of Ottawa to study philosophy. Upon graduation in 1961, Trebek decided to ditch philosophy and pursue a career in journalism. He landed his first job as a film reporter and newscaster with the CBC, and was able to broadcast in both English and French. In 1966, he decided to shift his focus from journalism to the more lucrative field of hosting game shows. He became the host of the Canadian quiz show Reach for the Top, which pitted teams of high school students against each other in academic competitions. In 1970, Trebek graduated for hosting the more prominent, nationally televised Canadian game show Jackpot. In 1973, Trebek decided to leave Canada for Hollywood. His first American television gig was the host of the short-lived 1973 game show The Wizard of Oz. The show only lasted one season. Trebek married Elaine Kalai in 1974, and they remained married for 7 years before divorcing in 1981. In 1990, he wed for a second time to Jean Curavan, and they have 3 children. 1974, Alex signed on to host another game show called High Rollers. Alex hosted the show through a pair of two-year runs on NBC, from 1974 to 76, and again for 1978-80. At the same time, he also expanded his repertoire to host other game shows, such as the $128,000 question from 1977 to 1978, and Pitfall from 1981-82, which aired both in the United States and Canada. In 1984, ABC tapped Alex Trebek to host a game show by the famous creator of Wheel of Fortune, Merv Griffin. The show was a revival of popular trivia competition called Jeopardy, which aired from 1964-1975 in its first incarnation. Jeopardy employed a unique format in which clues were offered to a form of answers, and contestants answered in the form of questions. Alex Trebek's version of Jeopardy quickly became one of the most popular game shows in television history, and as its charismatic and unflappable host, Alex became a pop culture icon, winning multiple Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host over more than 3 decades on air. Last year, he revealed he was suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer in a video posted to the show's official social media channels on March 6, 2019. They also posted a video to YouTube. He also joked that he has to keep working due to contractual obligations. After the news about his health concerns, many celebrities took to Twitter and expressed their condolences, including Ryan Reynolds, William Shatner, and one of his biggest fans, Dane Cook. After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Trebek passed away peacefully at his home on November 8, 2020, surrounded by his family and friends. Prior to his passing, Alex named two possible replacements, Los Angeles Kings play-by-play announcer Alex Faust, and radio host, author, and legal professor Laura Coates. Our condolences go out to his fans, family, and loved ones.