This famous game show host is celebrating his 80th birthday on Wednesday.
Who is Alex Trebek?
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The famed host of “Jeopardy!” is turning 8-0, but of course, these days there is one big question on the minds of fans, knowing Trebek is currently battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer: How is he doing?
Here is an update on Trebek as he blows out the candles on a milestone birthday.
It’s still an obvious struggle.
Speaking to the New York Times, Trebek said he’s had trouble sleeping and is often in pain as he goes through chemotherapy. Trebek said that he will plan on stopping treatment if his current treatment methods don’t work.
Trebek announced his diagnosis in March 2019.
“Yesterday morning my wife came to me and said, ‘How are you feeling?’ And I said, ‘I feel like I want to die.’ It was that bad,” Trebek said in the Times article. “There comes a time where you have to make a decision as to whether you want to continue with such a low quality of life, or whether you want to just ease yourself into the next level. It doesn’t bother me in the least.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Trebek has found time to write a memoir called “The Answer Is...: Reflections on My Life,” which was scheduled to be released Tuesday.
Trebek said he plans on donating the proceeds of the memoir to charity.
‘Jeopardy!' has provided strength.
As has been the case with most TV shows, the pandemic shut down production of “Jeopardy!” in March, according to the Times article.
Typically, from July to April, Trebek hosts five episodes a day for two days a week, but the show started to re-air old episodes once there weren’t any more new episodes to show.
For the re-airing of those episodes, Trebek taped introductions of those old shows from a studio in his Los Angeles home, which he said gave him a huge boost.
“Oddly enough, when we started taping, I suddenly started to regain my strength,” he said in the Times article.
What does the future hold?
Trebek said he is worried about his performance declining, but said he’ll keep monitoring whether he should continue as host.
“It’s a quality program, and I think I do a good job hosting it, and when I start slipping, I’ll stop hosting,” he said.
Another book on the history of “Jeopardy!” is slated to come out in the fall, and it’s easy to argue that Trebek has been THE history of the show.
As he turns 80, all fans can do is hope that the resumption of new shows and his chemotherapy treatments will provide enough strength to keep him alive and well into the foreseeable future.