'Jeopardy!' Episodes Hosted By Alex Trebek To Air Through Christmas Day
(CBS/CNN) -- For the next six weeks, "Jeopardy!" will continue to air episodes hosted by Alex Trebek, who died of pancreatic cancer Sunday. Trebek's last day recording the show in the studio was October 29, "Jeopardy!" Executive Producer Mike Richards said in the statement.
Although Trebek had suggested a few potential replacements, the show said it would not announce plans for a new host just yet. Trebek told TMZ in 2018 that he would like LA Kings announcer Alex Faust or CNN legal analyst Laura Coates to replace him.
Coates tweeted a statement about Trebek's passing Sunday.
Another frequently rumored replacement is Ken Jennings, the winningest and perhaps the most famous Jeopardy contestant of all time. The show hired Jennings in the fall as a consulting producer and brand ambassador, but it stopped short of naming him as Trebek's replacement.
"Alex wasn't just the best ever at what he did," Jennings tweeted. "He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I'm grateful for every minute I got to spend with him."
Trebek was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2019 and he continued to host "Jeopardy!" for the next 18 months, the statement reads.
"Throughout that time, Alex was open and public about his battle with cancer," said Richards. "This is an enormous loss for the Jeopardy! staff, crew and all of Alex's millions of fans. He was a legend of the industry that we were all lucky to watch night after night for 37 years. Working beside him for the past year and a half as he heroically continued to host Jeopardy! was an incredible honor."
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute said Monday that therapies for pancreatic cancer have "improved significantly" in recent years.
"Our thoughts are with Mr. Trebek's family, and we sincerely appreciate his efforts to bring awareness to the fight against this disease," Dana-Farber tweeted.
Alex is survived by his wife of 30 years, Jean, and children Matthew, Emily, and Nicky. Though no plans for a service have been announced, the family said gifts in Alex's memory could go to World Vision.
Jeopardy! airs weeknights on WBZ-TV at 7:30 p.m.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN's Jazmin Goodwin contributed to this report.)
