Alex Trebek, the iconic and longtime host of "Jeopardy!," has passed away at the age of 80 after battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer since March 2019.
According to TMZ, Trebek passed away Sunday surrounded by friends and family in his home. Trebek continued to host "Jeopardy!" throughout the past year despite his illness and ongoing chemo treatments.
A post to the "Jeopardy!" Twitter account confirmed the news.
In an emotional video announcement to fans, Trebek noted that his prognosis was poor, but that he would fight and continue hosting for as long as the illness permitted.
“Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I'm going to fight this, and I'm going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease,” he said in the video.
Related
Despite the challenges, Trebek seamlessly continued to appear on the popular TV program, even while battling what he described as "massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it was really worth fighting on."
His odds of surviving up to a second year of pancreatic cancer were just 7%. Sadly, he took a turn for the worse and was unable to make it to that milestone.
His cancer journey was filled with many ups and downs, even announcing in May 2019 that his tumors had shrunk more than 50%. He began another round of chemotherapy a few months later.
Trebek's death is a huge loss to the community; he has been the host of the syndicated game show since its revival in 1984.
During a November episode, one fan moved Trebek to tears when he used his remaining $2,000 to write “We love you Alex” sparking the trending #WeLoveYouAlex on social media.
Trebek is survived by wife Jean Currivan Trebek and two children, Emily Trebek (26) and Matthew Trebek (29).