In “Jeopardy!” terms, “Who is Alex Trebek?” is the answer to dozens of questions.
He’s a family man, a philanthropist, an author and, of course, an icon in the game show world having hosted “Jeopardy!” for more than 30 years.
And today is his 80th birthday. As a gift to us, “Jeopardy!” is going back the vault for the next couple weeks and re-airing classic episodes, including Trebek’s first episode as host.
Here are 9 fun facts to know about Trebek on his special day:
1. He holds the record for most game show episodes hosted by the same presenter -- 8,000 episodes and counting since “Jeopardy!” began in 1984
2. Trebek has won six Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and many more.
3. Trebek was born in Sudbury, Ontardio and attended the University of Ottawa where he earned his degree in philosophy.
4. He has a star on both the Hollywood and Canada Walk of Fame.
5. Trebek and his wife Jean have been married for about 30 years and have two adult children together.
6. He’s now a published author. On Tuesday, Trebek released his first memoir “The Answer Is...: Reflections on My Life.” Read more about his book here.
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7. He’s been a longtime supporter of World Vision, an Evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization, and has traveled to third-world countries on behalf of it.
8. In March 2019, Trebek announced on “Jeopardy!” that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which has resulted in an outpouring of support from fans. Read about it here.
Read: Alex Trebek expects to mark 2-year cancer survival in 2021
9. Trebek said he has already rehearsed his final “Jeopardy!” episode, and his goodbye only take about 30 seconds.
“It’ll be a significant moment for me,” Trebek previously told ABC News. “But I’ve kind of, in my mind, rehearsed it already, and what I would do on that day is tell the director, ‘Time the show down to leave me 30 seconds at the end. That’s all I want.’”