Trebek was a stately (and silly?) figure
Alex Trebek was the good, grey eminence of game shows– a reassuring sign that there are correct answers and absolute truths.
Trebek died today (Nov. 8) at 80, after almost two years of pancreatic cancer. He had been a TV presence for 58 years – totaling only nine months of joblessness, he said – including the past 36 as the “Jeopardy” host..
“He symbolizes learning and knowledge to (a) second or third generation,” Ken Jennings, one of the show’s all-time champions, told the Television Critics Assocation in January. And he makes “it look effortless,” added Brad Rutter, another all-time champ. “This guy, no matter what he’s going through, just gets better and better.”
There was also a flip side, somewhere under that dignified surface. “I love silliness,” Trebek said. Read more…