{"id":516,"date":"2020-11-08T20:44:02","date_gmt":"2020-11-08T20:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/?p=516"},"modified":"2020-11-08T20:44:02","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T20:44:02","slug":"fans-mourn-loss-of-alex-trebek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2020\/11\/fans-mourn-loss-of-alex-trebek.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018And Until We Meet Again, God Bless You and Goodbye\u2019: Fans Mourn the Loss of Alex Trebek"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Wikimedia<\/a>
Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alex Trebek, the longtime host of the popular game show \u201cJeopardy!\u201d died on Sunday, November 8, 2020. He was 80 years old.<\/p>\n

Trebek got his start as a TV host on the Canadian music program \u201cMusic Hop\u201d in 1963. From there, he moved on to host \u201cReach for the Top\u201d in English and French, \u201cStrategy,\u201d \u201cthe Wizard of Odds\u201d and \u201cHigh Rollers.\u201d With his work on \u201cHigh Rollers,\u201d Trebek became one of only two hosts to emcee shows in both the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n

During the 1970\u2019s, \u201cJeopardy!\u201d had repeatedly been on and off the air, but Merv Griffin wanted to bring the show back. Trebek shot two pilots for the revival of \u201cJeopardy!\u201d and the revival sold. When the show began running again in 1984, Trebek was tapped to host it.<\/p>\n

Trebek continued to host \u201cJeopardy!\u201d even after suffering serious medical issues. Between 2007 and 2017, Trebek suffered two heart attacks and underwent brain surgery without giving up his role as host. He also spent six weeks in a cast after he attempted to chase down a burglar who broke into his San Francisco hotel room. In 2018, he floated the idea of retirement but ended up signing a contract to continue hosting through 2022. All his plans were thrown asunder, however, when he announced that he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in March 2019. Trebek said his prognosis was poor but said he would continue to fight the cancer and host \u201cJeopardy!\u201d as long as he could. With his typical humor, he joked that his contract obligated him to continue hosting for three more years. Before his death, the \u201cJeopardy!\u201d host said he already knew what he\u2019ll tell viewers on his final episode of the popular game show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve kind of in my mind rehearsed it already,\u201d Trebek said in an interview with ABC. \u201cWhat I would do on that day is tell the director, \u2018Time the show down to leave 30 me seconds at the end,\u2019\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

During that time, Trebek said he planned to tell his beloved fans goodbye and to be kind to his successor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will tell people don’t ask me who is going to replace me because I have no say in that whatsoever,\u201d Trebek said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I’m sure if you give them the same love and attention and respect that you have shown me for the past 30-however-many years, then they will be a success.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: “Until we meet again, God bless you and goodbye.”<\/p>\n

The show will go on, but there is no doubt \u201cJeopardy!\u201d will not be the same without its famous host of 36 years. Trebek is survived by his wife of 30 years, Jean, and children Matthew, Emily, and Nicky, and his millions of fans. There is no doubt he will be missed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alex Trebek, the longtime host of the popular game show \u201cJeopardy!\u201d died on Sunday, November 8, 2020. He was 80 years old. Trebek got his start as a TV host on the Canadian music program \u201cMusic Hop\u201d in 1963. From there, he moved on to host \u201cReach for the Top\u201d in English and French, \u201cStrategy,\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":616,"featured_media":996,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[208,206,207,4],"class_list":["post-516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity","tag-alex-trebek","tag-game-show-host","tag-jeopardy","tag-television"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018And Until We Meet Again, God Bless You and Goodbye\u2019: Fans Mourn the Loss of Alex Trebek<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alex Trebek, the longtime host of the popular game show \u201cJeopardy!\u201d died on Sunday, November 8, 2020 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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