Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek marks 80th birthday with release of 1st memoir
CBC Archives | Posted: July 20, 2020 12:30 PM | Last Updated: July 20, 2020
Canadian quizmaster releasing new memoir on eve of his birthday
There are few Canadians more recognizable than Alex Trebek.
That's true whether he's clean-shaven, rocking a moustache or sporting a goatee, as he has been lately.
He's been the face of Jeopardy! since 1984, overseeing thousands of trivia contests since then and seeing a few legitimate stars born on the stage of the popular quiz show.
But Trebek's longtime fans will also remember his days with the CBC, when he hosted TV shows, covered sports and even read the news on air.
This week, the Sudbury, Ont.,-born quizmaster celebrates his 80th birthday and will mark the occasion with the release of his first memoir, The Answer Is...: Reflections on My Life, which comes out Tuesday, a day before Trebek's actual birthday.
'I'm doing well'
Trebek says he hopes that through the book, his fans will get to know "a little more about the person they have been cheering on for the past year."
Trebek revealed last year that he had pancreatic cancer and received an outpouring of support from fans around the world who've been following his decades-long career.
He said he recently received a health update and that the news was good.
"I'm doing well," Trebek said in a video posted to social media last week. "I'm continuing my treatment, and it is paying off."
No skydiving recollections
Promotional materials for The Answer Is... say part of the memoir covers the time Trebek spent working for Canada's public broadcaster before he began hosting Jeopardy! from Culver City, Calif.
Unfortunately, though, the book makes no mention of the time CBC sent the future quiz show host on a skydiving assignment, according to a publicist with Simon and Schuster.
Curious fans will have to pester Trebek about that directly.
WATCH | Alex Trebek co-hosts a segment on CBC with Moses Znaimer about a 1969 premiers conference: