Alex Trebek

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Alex Trebek (2012) SigAlexTrebek.svg

George Alexander "Alex" Trebek (born July 22, 1940 in Greater Sudbury , Ontario Canada ; † November 8, 2020 in Los Angeles , California , United States ) was a Canadian-American television presenter . From September 1984 until his death he hosted the quiz show Jeopardy! and became one of the most popular presenters in the North American television world.

Career

Alex Trebek signs an autograph card for a US Navy soldier (2007)

Trebek graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in philosophy in 1961 . There he was a member of the English Debating Society during his student days . He was already interested in television journalism in college and began his broadcasting career in 1961 at CBC / Radio-Canada as a news anchor and sports reporter. Trebek specialized in national news covering a variety of special events for CBC's radio and television divisions, including curling and horse racing.

Trebek's career as a show director began in 1963 with a guest appearance on a Canadian music program. In 1966 he ran his first quiz show, Reach for the Top, and was a presenter at CBC from 1967 to 1970, where he presented classical music programs, including performances by Glenn Gould . In 1973 he moved to the United States, where he directed the game show The Wizard of Odds .

In the next few years, some very successful game shows followed, some of which he himself appeared as a player at other shows. In 1976 Trebek was together with Jim McKrell nominee at Celebrity Bowling , where the duo won against Dick Gautier and Scatman Crothers . From September 1, 1984 until his death, he hosted the US edition of the quiz show Jeopardy! and thus became the host with the most episodes of a game show on June 13, 2014, according to Guinness World Records .

Trebek has appeared as a guest star in numerous American television series such as How I Met Your Mother . He had been a US citizen since 1997 .

Life

Alex Trebek (2016)

Trebek was the son of George Edward Trebek (born April 14, 1921), a cook who emigrated from Ukraine as a child and spent his formative years in Japan. He grew up in a bilingual French-English household.

Trebek was naturalized in the United States of America in 1998. In 1974 Trebek married the businesswoman Elaine Callei. The couple had no children and divorced in 1981. In 1990 he married Jean Currivan, a real estate project manager from New York. They had two children, Matthew and Emily.

In 1996, Trebek carried the Olympic torch in Jacksonville, Florida, part of the trip to Atlanta.

Trebek owned and operated a ranch near Paso Robles in Creston, California known as Creston Farms, where he raised and trained thoroughbred racehorses.

Trebek suffered minor heart attacks in 2007 and 2012, but returned to work. Due to an injury to the Achilles tendon, he was unable to work for six weeks and later, due to a fall, he had to go through the winter months from Jeopardy! pause. In December 2017, a blood clot was removed from his brain. After a brief medical vacation, he returned to Jeopardy in mid-January 2018! back.

At the beginning of March 2019, Trebek declared by video message that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer in an advanced stage. On the morning of November 8, 2020 Trebek died of complications from cancer.

Awards

Trebek with the Peabody Award , 2012

His biggest awards included four Emmys for his role on TV shows. He was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .

On May 4, 2015, the Alumni Hall of the University of Ottawa was named after Trebek and on June 30, 2017, Governor General David Johnston appointed him Officer of the Order of Canada , as he promoted learning and promoted learning with the knowledge shows for geographic education.

Web links

Commons : Alex Trebek  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alex Trebek: Jeopardy! game show host dies with cancer aged 80 . In: BBC News . November 8, 2020 ( bbc.com [accessed November 9, 2020]).
  2. ↑ This University of Ottawa alumnus is honored for his outstanding TV career. Who is Alex Trebek? at archive.org, accessed March 17, 2018.
  3. ↑ CBC Championship Curling at tvarchive.ca, accessed on March 17, 2018.
  4. ↑ Exclusive: Alex Trebek to Guest Star on How I Met Your Mother at tvguide.com, accessed on January 17, 2018
  5. ↑ Alex Trebek Biography at monstersandcritics.com, accessed January 17, 2018
  6. ^ Reba's Gold at pedigreequery.com, accessed January 17, 2018
  7. ↑ Alex Trebek, host of 'Jeopardy !,' resting after heart attack at 71 at articles.latimes.com, accessed March 17, 2018.
  8. ↑ Alex Trebek back on 'Jeopardy!' set after recovering from heart attack at washingtonpost.com, accessed January 17, 2018
  9. ↑ 'Jeopardy!' on hiatus while Alex Trebek recovers from brain surgery at foxnews.com, accessed January 17, 2018
  10. ↑ To Update From Alex. In: jeopardy.com. January 16, 2018, accessed October 4, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Legendary "Jeopardy" presenter Alex Trebek has cancer. In: Spiegel Online . March 7, 2019, accessed March 8, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek has building at the University of Ottawa named in his honor at ottawacitizen.com, accessed January 17, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Trebek, Alex
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Trebek, George Alexander (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian-American television presenter
DATE OF BIRTH July 22, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Greater Sudbury , Ontario , Canada
DATE OF DEATH November 8, 2020
Place of death Los Angeles , California , United States