Another Great One Is Gone

 Alex Trebek died Sunday, Nov. 8. He was the longtime host of the game show Jeopardy! , and had finished taping the 46 shows for the season only 10 days earlier. 

Trebek in 2012 (all photos Wikipedia)

Trebek announced in March 2019 that he'd been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. The outlook was not good -- he acknowledged that. But he also said that he would continue to host Jeopardy! as long as he could. After all, Trebek said, he had to keep his contract -- and it obligated him to do it for three more years, regardless of his health! (Current show watchers will notice an occasional slight slurring of his words -- Trebek had trouble speaking clearly sometimes because of mouth sores, a side effect of chemotherapy.)

This wonderfully self-effacing man was born a Canadian citizen, but became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998. He started in radio; his first job as game show host was in 1973 for Wizard of Odds. He took over the Jeopardy! job after his friend, former host Art Fleming, refused the job after the show was revived. Fleming thought the show had been 'dumbed down' from its move to Hollywood. (Fleming, whose real last name was Fazzin, had his first job as a stunt double for Ralph Bellamy on a detective tv series. He died in 1995 -- ironically, also from pancreatic cancer.)

                                                  I remember watching this regularly after coming home from school.

Jeopardy! first ran from 1964-1975. It appeared weekly for a few years, then started up again in 1984, with Trebek at the helm. It's been going strong ever since, for 37 seasons. Merv Griffin, its creator, originally intended to call it "What's the Question?" He said:

"My wife Julann just came up with the idea one day when we were in a plane bringing us back to New York City from Duluth. I was mulling over game show ideas, when she noted that there had not been a successful 'question and answer' game on the air since the quiz show scandals. Why not do a switch, and give the answers to the contestant and let them come up with the question? She fired a couple of answers to me: "5,280"—and the question, of course, was 'How many feet in a mile?'. Another was '79 Wistful Vista'; that was Fibber and Mollie McGee's address. I loved the idea, went straight to NBC with the idea, and they bought it without even looking at a pilot show."

   Other than an April Fool's episode 4/1/1997, when he switched places with Pat Sajak on Wheel of Fortune, Trebek hosted the rest of the episodes -- year after year after year. The show won international recognition and several awards, including a coveted Peabody. 

Some unusual facts about the show: 

*The timing song, used during the final question, is called "Think!" It was originally composed by Merv Griffin as "A Time for Tony," and meant as a lullaby for his son. When the syndicated version of the show came back on in 1984, a version of that tune has also been used as the main theme song. It has become so recognizable that it is used in many other events -- Griffin estimated that royalties for "Think!" had earned him more than $70 million in his lifetime.

*During the 2009-2010 season, a special edition of Celebrity Jeopardy! was played, featuring 27 contestants from past celebrity episodes, competing for a million-dollar prize to be given to charity.

    The winner? Michael McKean -- the so-called brainless Lenny, who with his squirrelly shorter friend Squiggy, caused so much trouble for Laverne & Shirley. Go figure. 

*Ken Jennings competed on the show from June 2-Nov. 30, 2004, winning 74 matches, along with $2.5 million and change, before his defeat by Nancy Zerg in his 75th appearance. He is now one of the executive producers -- and is rumored to take over as host in the 2021 season. 

But he will never replace Alex Trebek. 

You still have a chance to see him in action; the current Jeopardy! shows will continue through fall, with Trebek's final show on Christmas Day.

Thank you, Alex, for making it 'cool' to be a fact nerd, captivated by every new discovery. 

Thank you for emphasizing that words were wonderful, meant to be played and experimented with.

Thank you for your kindness and tact. Your dignity, in spite of difficult situations.

Thank you.