Answer: For decades, this game show host has filled family rooms around America with facts, figures, Daily Doubles and a collective sense that knowing things can be be both fun and financially rewarding. Question: Who is Alex Trebek?
The beloved “Jeopardy!” host, who has been on the job for more than 24 years and nearly 8,000 episodes, announced on March 6 that he has stage four pancreatic cancer — a grim diagnosis that Trebek shared with the world in his typical matter-of-fact manner.
“Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” Trebek said in his video message to viewers. “Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”
Trebek’s upbeat attitude, and willingness to share his personal health news with the public, is admirable. But he faces a harsh reality. The American Cancer Society estimates that of the nearly 57,000 people expected to be diagnosed with the disease in 2019, almost 46,000 of those cases will be fatal.
An outpouring of well-wishes and reflection on Trebek’s impact have followed his announcement, including here in Bangor. Author Stephen King offered a string of tweets, including an encouragement for the Jeopardy! host to kick cancer’s butt.
“I’ve said this before but Alex Trebek is in a way the last Cronkite: authoritative, reassuring TV voice you hear every night, almost to the point of ritual,” Ken Jennings, the game show’s longest-running champion, said on Twitter. And he’s not wrong. Trebek and the show where contestants answer in the form of a question have unquestionably become an integral part of many family routines and traditions, creating a shared bond that centers around the pursuit and sharing of information.
“We’re in some prestigious company,” Trebek said in 2012, when he was recognized with a Peabody Award. “But I think what makes ‘Jeopardy!’ special is that, among all the quiz and game shows out there, ours tends to encourage learning. A lot of the stuff is trivia, but maybe a subject will come up that will arouse the viewers’ curiosity and they’ll want to find out more. We tell you it’s OK to be bright, to know a lot of things, and to want to learn.”
Viewers have even been able to learn a few facts about Maine over the years, with Jeopardy answers including “Maine Joined the Union as a free state under this Congressional Act of 1820” (What is the Missouri Compromise?) and “The first woman to serve in both houses of Congress, this Skowhegan native was elected to the US Senate in 1948” (Who is Margaret Chase Smith?).
After decades as the host with has all the answers, Trebek has been honored with the Order of Canada in his native country (he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in the late 1998), spoofed on “ Saturday Night Live,” and built a loyal base of Jeopardy fans.
The show, undoubtedly, won’t be the same without Trebek — whether we lose the 78-year-old host to cancer or to eventual retirement. But for now, he’s approaching his bad news with honesty and a sense of humor, noting that he needs to beat the disease in order to fulfill the terms of his employment.
“Truth told, I have to! Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years!,” he said with a familiarly dry sense of humor. “So help me. Keep the faith and we’ll win. We’ll get it done.”
Trebek may be heading into Final Jeopardy facing daunting odds, but here’s hoping he and his doctors come up with the right answer to a very difficult question.