海角大神

Alex Trebek, who presided over the beloved quiz show 鈥淛eopardy!鈥� for more than 35 years with dapper charm and a touch of schoolmaster strictness, died Sunday. He was 80.

Messages of condolences聽and respect from former contestants, celebrities, and the wider public quickly followed news of his passing.

鈥淎lex wasn鈥檛 just the best ever at what he did. He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I鈥檓 grateful for every minute I got to spend with him,鈥� tweeted 鈥淛eopardy!鈥� champion Ken Jennings. 鈥淭hinking today about his family and his Jeopardy! family 鈥� which, in a way, included millions of us.鈥�

鈥淚t was one of the great privileges of my life to spend time with this courageous man while he fought the battle of his life. You will never be replaced in our hearts, Alex,鈥� James Holzhauer, another 鈥淛eopardy!鈥� star, posted on Twitter.

John Legend tweeted that he was 鈥渙bsessed with Jeopardy as a nerdy kid growing up in Ohio. I鈥檝e loved and revered Alex Trebek since I can remember. What an iconic career.鈥�

鈥淲e have lost an icon. Almost every night for more than three decades, Alex Trebek entertained and educated millions around the world, instilling in so many of us a love for trivia. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and all who are mourning this tremendous loss,鈥� wrote Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter.

鈥淛eopardy!鈥� bills itself as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 favorite quiz show鈥� and captivated the public with a unique format in which contestants were told the answers and had to provide the questions on a variety of subjects, including movies, politics, history, and popular culture.

They would answer by saying 鈥淲hat is ... ?鈥� or 鈥淲ho is .... ?鈥�

The Canadian-born Mr. Trebek, who became its host in 1984, was a master of the format, engaging in friendly banter with contestants, appearing genuinely pleased when they answered correctly and, at the same time, moving the game along in a brisk no-nonsense fashion whenever people struggled for answers.

He never pretended to know the answers himself if he really didn鈥檛, deferring to the show鈥檚 experts to decide whether a somewhat vague answer had come close enough to be counted as correct.

鈥淚 try not to take myself too seriously,鈥� he told an interviewer in 2004. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to come off as a pompous ass and indicate that I know everything when I don鈥檛.鈥�

The New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik聽wrote of Mr. Trebek:

鈥淗e had courtly formalities that are increasingly scarce in TV today. The 鈥淪hall we?鈥� at the outset of a match. The little wince when someone would fumble a Double Jeopardy question. His Picard-like cool was his appeal, in an environment of emotive syndicated Kirks. When he delivered one of his trademark careful pronunciations 鈥� 鈥淐omintern,鈥� 鈥淎rgentina鈥� 鈥� it seemed not showy but respectful. It was the spirit of 鈥淛eopardy!鈥� to care about getting things right.鈥�

The show was the brainstorm of Julann Griffin, wife of the late talk show host-entrepreneur Merv Griffin, who said she suggested to him one day that he create a game show where people were given the answers.

鈥淛eopardy!鈥� debuted on NBC in 1964 with Art Fleming as emcee and was an immediate hit. It lasted until 1975, then was revived in syndication with Mr. Trebek.

Long identified by a full head of hair and trim mustache (though in 2001 he startled viewers by shaving his mustache, 鈥渃ompletely on a whim鈥�), Mr. Trebek was more than qualified for the job, having started his game show career on 鈥淩each for the Top鈥� in his native country.

Moving to the United States in 1973, he appeared on 鈥淭he Wizard of Odds,鈥� 鈥淗igh Rollers,鈥� 鈥淭he $128,000 Question,鈥� and 鈥淒ouble Dare.鈥� Even during his run on 鈥淛eopardy!鈥�, Mr. Trebek worked on other shows. In the early 1990s, he was the host of three 鈥� 鈥淛eopardy!鈥�, 鈥淭o Tell the Truth,鈥� and 鈥淐lassic Concentration.鈥�

鈥淛eopardy!鈥� made him famous. He won five Emmys as its host, including one last June, and received stars on both the Hollywood and Canadian walks of fame. In 2012, the show won a prestigious Peabody Award.

He taped his daily 鈥淛eopardy!鈥� shows at a frenetic pace, recording as many as 10 episodes (two weeks鈥� worth) in just two days.聽

By 2008, the show had yet to bring in a substitute host for Mr. Trebek 鈥� save once, when he and 鈥淲heel of Fortune鈥� host Pat Sajak swapped their TV jobs as an April鈥檚 Fool prank.

In 2012, Mr. Trebek acknowledged that he was considering retirement, but had been urged by friends to stay on so he could reach 30 years on the show. He still loved the job, he declared: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 not to love? You have the security of a familiar environment, a familiar format, but you have the excitement of new clues and new contestants on every program. You can鈥檛 beat that!鈥�

Although many viewers considered him one of the key reasons for the show鈥檚 success, Mr. Trebek himself insisted he was only there to keep things moving.

鈥淚鈥檓 introduced as the host of 鈥楯eopardy!鈥�, not the star,鈥� he said in a 2012 interview. 鈥淢y job is to provide the atmosphere and assistance to the contestants to get them to perform at their very best,鈥� he explained. 鈥淎nd if I鈥檓 successful doing that, I will be perceived as a nice guy and the audience will think of me as being a bit of a star.鈥�

鈥淏ut not if I try to steal the limelight! The stars of `Jeopardy!鈥� are the material and the contestants,鈥� he said.

In a January 2019 interview with The Associated Press, Mr. Trebek discussed his decision to keep going with 鈥淛eopardy!鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 not as if I鈥檓 overworked 鈥� we tape 46 days a year,鈥� he said. But he acknowledged he would retire someday, if he lost his edge or the job was no longer fun, adding: 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 still fun.鈥�

Mr. Trebek, who made a point of informing fans about his health directly, spoke in a calm, even tone as he revealed his illness and hope for a cure in a video posted March 6, 2019. But Mr. Trebek said he intended to fight it and keep working, even joking that he needed to beat the disease because his 鈥淛eopardy!鈥� contract ran for three more years. Less than a week later, he opened the show with a message acknowledging the outpouring of kind words and prayers he鈥檇 received.

鈥淭hanks to the 鈥� believe it or not 鈥� hundreds of thousands of people who have sent in tweets, texts, emails, cards, and letters wishing me well,鈥� Mr. Trebek said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a lucky guy.鈥�

Born July 22, 1940, in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, Mr. Trebek was sent off to boarding school by his Ukrainian father and French-Canadian mother when he was barely in his teens.

After graduating high school, he spent a summer in Cincinnati to be close to a girlfriend, then returned to Canada to attend college. After earning a philosophy degree from the University of Ottawa, he went to work for the Canadian Broadcasting Co., starting as a staff announcer and eventually becoming a radio and TV reporter.

He became a U.S. citizen in 1997. Mr. Trebek鈥檚 first marriage, to Elaine Callei, ended in divorce. In 1990, he married Jean Currivan, and they had two children, Emily and Matthew. Mr. Trebek lived with his family in Los Angeles鈥� Studio City section, not far from Hollywood.

Mr. Trebek is survived by his wife, their two children, and his stepdaughter, Nicky.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. The late AP entertainment correspondent Bob Thomas contributed to this report.