‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek dies at 80
- Game show’s quizmaster, one of US television’s most recognisable faces, had been battling pancreatic cancer
- Trebek died peacefully at home surrounded by family and friends, show announced on Twitter
Game show host Alex Trebek, who as the brainy quizmaster of Jeopardy! became one of the most recognisable personalities on American television, died on Sunday at the age of 80, the show said on its official Twitter account.
The Canadian-born Trebek said in a YouTube video in March 2019 that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, vowing to beat the disease despite the long odds.
Trebek told fans in August 2019 he had completed chemotherapy, but he disclosed the following month that he had to restart treatment because of a setback.
He died peacefully at home surrounded by family and friends, the show’s tweet said.
Twenty years after Jeopardy! first aired in 1964, Trebek became the face of the show and turned it into a ratings powerhouse.