The late Alex Trebek would have been 84 today. The previous host's birthday is July 22. He sadly passed away in November 2020 at 80 after a 20 month battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Alex hosted the trivia game show from 1984 until 2020 and before his death, he was contracted to host into 2022. In March 2019, the longtime host horrified fans with the news of his diagnosis. At the time, he wrote: "Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working.
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.” According to the Pancreatic Cancer was the third deadliest cancer in 2024. The in January 2024 that pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all the major cancers and is on track to being the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths before 2030.
Fans were heartbroken when the news of Alex's passing and now they are on social media sharing sweet tributes for the wise-cracking, funny and delightful Canadian native. On the Jeopardy! Subreddit, a fan made a thread for Alex's 84th birthday stating that July 22 is his birthday and they're "thinking Miss him every time I catch the show. My brain is still hardwired to hear 'and now, here is the host of Jeopardy, Alex Trebek!' It hasn't been quite the same since.
" A second fan said: "Alex was a class act and is missed. Fortunately for us, Ken has stepped in and beautifully run with the host baton." Another said on X formerly Twitter: "Happy Bday Alex Trebek.
You are much missed on the Jeopardy! stage and more...
." The official Jeopardy! X and Instagram page observed Alex's birthday as well with the same message (just different usernames for the United States Postal Services): "84 years ago, a legend was born. We are thrilled to celebrate the dedication of the @uspostalservice‘s Forever stamp honoring Alex Trebek today" released its Forever stamp honoring former “Jeopardy!” host on his birthday.
The stamps were announced last month. The 20 identical stamps are arrayed in a grid to resemble the Jeopardy! game board with category headers and the clue which is "This Naturalized U.S.
Citizen hosted The Quiz Show 'Jeopardy!' for 37 Seasons." Underneath and upside down the clue is the correct response of "Who is Alex Trebek." On the stamp pane is a photograph of Alex on the Jeopardy! set to the left.
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