CNN asked Jeopardy recently! champions for sharing their memories with Alex Trebek during his final season of the show, and his responses reveal how much Trebek’s spirit and influence extended beyond the podium.
“My favorite memory of my time at Jeopardy! It was Alex’s opening message during the Thanksgiving program, which embodied all the values he addressed: optimism, compassion and unity. It was an honor. being on stage while delivering that statement, and it will be one of those things that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
In this game, the correct answer to Final Jeopardy! it was Om and once the show was over, Alex addressed me and my fellow contestants (Zack and Aaron) and led us to an Om song, which was a very fun and special moment.
Overall, even though Alex was definitely visibly struggling a bit with his illness, what stood out to me the most was that he clearly really enjoyed organizing the show and wanted to keep doing it whenever he could. He was very excited during all my recordings with him, and I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to share the stage with such an amazing man. “
Carmela Chan
3 times champion
“Alex Trebek was like a member of my family. One of the first TV shows I remembered was Jeopardy! Regardless of what happened in the world, he was the only constant who appeared every evening at 7:30.
In all the shows, it was clear how much he cared about his knowledge and curiosities, and as a spectator, you could instantly tell how well he was doing on the show. In person, this feeling was magnified a thousand times.
In the four shows I recorded with him, I never had an idea of the discomfort or pain he must have been going through. He always wanted to make each episode the best and funniest show, and he was incredibly kind and generous all the time, not just with the contestants, but with his staff, who clearly loved working for him.
He took the time to give us all the words of encouragement or even sometimes a “severe” talk if we hadn’t bet enough. He loved to joke with us, and at the end of my first show, he turned to us and said, “Wow, I had fun! I hope you did too.
As a contestant and spectator, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we have had so much fun seeing him over the decades and I cannot thank him enough for the joy he has brought into our lives. ”
Kevin Walsh
5 times champion
“I’ve been a fan of the show all his career and Alex is the main reason why I’ve come to see him as a warm and welcoming institution. He set the perfect tone: erudite but approachable; he winked. and he did hair, and always clearly rooted so that the contestants could play bravely and win big.He made it smart to be smart.
Eventually, appearing on the show was a dream come true, but interacting with Alex sent it all into the stratosphere. He carried himself and controlled the games so smoothly that you would never have known he was sick. A consummate professional, but also warm and encouraging. Even when he expressed his disappointment that contestants were missing a clue about Canadian geography — as I did — it was with the air of a supportive parent or teacher that he warned you to do better.
The two specific moments I still carry with me are very small, but significant to me. During a segment of interviews, I was able to make him laugh and make Alex Trebek laugh as he seemed to win a game on his own. Second, a few games into my career, I was warned to rewrite a bet due to lack of (nervous) maneuver. Without even looking into his eyes from his lectern, Alex offered an ironic “Come on, Kevin, you’ve been here.”
I know it’s silly, but that soft rib made me feel more part of Jeopardy. to really play the game “.
Andy Wood
4 times champion
“Alex Trebek impressed me most with his professionalism when he recorded my episodes. Jeopardy! He taps five chapters a day, which is a pretty exhausting show, and I’m sure there was only once in the five games I played when Alex had to re-read a single track, and I think it was just because he didn’t like writing and was doing an edit on the fly.
During the recordings he gave no indication that he was not 100% healthy. If he hadn’t known in advance that he was ill, he wouldn’t have guessed it from his performance on set. During commercial breaks, contestants could hear a producer talking to Alex and basically saying, “You know, you don’t have to do this …” and letting him know that they could stop at any time if he needed to. But he shrank from that and insisted that production continue, making just a cheerful joke about wishing they could only record one episode a day.
“In retrospect, I’m impressed with the way he skillfully handled post-game chats with the three contestants. Five times a day, I should moderate what should be a very awkward conversation between an extremely happy person and two people who are he’s probably not too excited to have lost against that person and the grace he showed in doing so for decades is really amazing: it’s something like a doctor having good behavior in his head. “
Kristin Hucek
3 times champion
“I had been watching Jeopardy! Ever since I was young, so appearing on the show while Alex was still the host was a dream come true. If I was pressured, it would be hard for me to choose which event was most memorable: my wedding, it was scheduled for the same week, or my appearance of Jeopardy !.
And of course, the most exciting part of the whole experience was definitely the encounter with Alex. He is a cultural icon and an integral part of the show. It was very humiliating to see when the cameras started filming appearing in the 8259th episode of the show, in its 37th season with Alex as the host.
He was as kind, attractive and thoughtful in person as he appears on television. Considering they were recording five shows a day, it struck me how quickly Alex was able to connect with each group of new contestants, especially from what we now know about the advanced stage of his illness.
I was also struck by the perfectionist: he reviews the answers and questions in each game as if they were a script, taking notes for himself on the pronunciation of each of the words to make sure he said them correctly. .
His dedication and clear passion for his work were inspiring to witness. And while I’m sad for his passing and sad for the many contestants and the audience who will no longer get to experience him, I’m glad he was able to do what he loved to the end. That we could all be so lucky! “