This WAS Jeopardy!

Two years ago last Tuesday, we lost a television icon and a good friend, so we are rerunning this post:

One of the saddest 2020 moments, or should I say one of the greatest celebrations of life, at least for me and my wife, was the passing of Alex Trebek just two months ago. Like many people around the country, around the world, Alex and the game show Jeopardy!, were loved and revered, and watching both became a focal point of our family’s early evenings. Long before we had ever given thought to the brilliant personality and demeaner of Alex, the show’s host, Jeopardy had become an evening ritual in our family as my wife and I, and our three kids, would gather around the TV every night and actually compete as we played along with the contestants. In the early years, while our kids were still quite young, my wife would actually keep score and she and I would dominate winning these contests. But as the kids grew in their knowledge and familiarity of the game, they began to give us a run for our money and eventually would begin sharing in the glory of being each evenings Jeopardy! family champion.

But as the kids moved on to raise their own families, the tradition waned, but not our love and respect for the host, Alex. As my wife and I became empty-nesters, we re-engaged our daily routine of watching Jeopardy!, although we were no longer interested in competing just enjoying the show and yes testing our knowledge a bit. You see, we realized the one constant that made this show enjoyable and even fulfilling was that dynamic host’s personality. The warm and engaging Alex just simply made it a must-see event – because what had occurred over the years was that Alex became our friend. He was charming yet unpretentious, funny, caring, loving, and even though always dressed to the nines, he was just one of us, a regular person. So, the charm of watching became spending time with the host, as much as the show itself. Here we could all tune in and see our friend host every day people like you and me test their wits while schmoozing with one of the finest people on earth, let alone the finest to ever host a TV game show.

If you didn’t know the man, let me quote Wikipedia:

George Alexander Trebek, July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020, was a Canadian-American game show host and television personality. He was the host of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons from its revival in 1984 until his death in 2020. He also hosted a number of other game shows, including The Wizard of Odds, Double Dare, High Rollers, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth. Trebek also made appearances in numerous television series, in which he usually played himself.

A native of Canada, Trebek became a naturalized United States citizen in 1998. He received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host seven times for his work on Jeopardy!. He died on November 8, 2020 at age 80 after a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He had been contracted to host Jeopardy! until 2022.

On November 9th, just after his passing, the show Jeopardy! released this statement which can be found at this YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/uLRZoJa9elg

Two days later, the show Inside Edition played this tribute, found at this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/jNvqdMQGrhM - BE CAUTIIONED THAT THIS REPORT STATES that Alex Trebek’s final show will air on Christmas day – this is incorrect as the executives and Trebek family felt this would detract from the positive Christmas family gatherings so they changed the scheduled showings until the first week of January-this coming week.

To watch the final week of Alex’s shows on Jeopardy, see this article which describes the viewing schedule: https://ew.com/tv/how-to-watch-alex-trebek-final-jeopardy-episodes/

I have watched many of the tributes about Alex, after his passing, and I am not the least bit surprised as to the impact and influence Alex had on many people in many walks of life. Just as my family used to do nearly every night, I have heard testimonies from numerous celebrities, politicians, professional athletes, doctors, lawyers, police officers, firemen and women, and OF COURSE everyday people like the vast majority of us, who did just as my family did, and not only invited, but planned our days around, having Alex and Jeopardy! come into our homes each and every evening.

We all will miss these wonderful evenings watching Jeopardy! – family time, time to ourselves, and of course time with Alex. Alex not only brought a fun game show into our lives, but he brought, into our homes and lives, a regular Joe, impeccably dressed who’s personality and demeaner just oozed care, compassion, positivity, friendship, knowledge, and kindness. Alex was the perfect host and guest in our homes, he was everything we would hope to be, everything we would hope our children to become, and everything we hope all of mankind would be. Our world would be the most-brightest place with more people like Alex, and in fact, it was quite bright while he brought his bright unassuming lightness into our worlds.

We will most certainly miss you George Alexander Trebek…yes, we have all lost one of our closest dearest friends in you Alex – THANK YOU - God Bless you - and God rest your soul!!!