It’s been nearly four years since Alex Trebek died at the age of 80 after nearly four decades hosting “Jeopardy!,” but his memory will live on forever — literally.
In honor of what would have been his 84th birthday on Monday, the United States Postal Service officially unveiled the late game show host’s forever stamp. In addition to holding a dedication ceremony at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, the USPS released a special video segment with his wife Jean Trebek, star Ken Jennings and producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss sharing their favorite memories of the Emmy-winning television personality.
“Alex was so proud to be host of ‘Jeopardy!’ He really, really was. I think he and the show grew together to be this iconic show that would bless the world. It really did, it brought people together, it healed people, it schooled people on how to speak English,” Jean said. “He was such a curious man, and here was a job that he could really sink his teeth into and grow and expand. He loved ‘Jeopardy!’ I know that working at ‘Jeopardy!’ even at the end of his life was very important.”
Trebek passed away on Nov. 8, 2020, due to pancreatic cancer. After some trial and error with finding his replacement, current host Jennings ultimately stepped into the role after first being introduced as a contestant.
“I remember it was almost like a special effect, because I’d been watching him in 2D for 20 years, and then suddenly there he is,” he recalled. “’Jeopardy!’ was always my favorite show growing up. I ran home after school every day to watch the smarty patness on ‘Jeopardy!’ and Alex Trebek. For kids like me, he was a symbol of knowledge and authority.”
“I saw Alex a few times after he was diagnosed with the pancreatic cancer, and I went back to his dressing room once and he was still hosting even though he was not feeling great every day. The day I talked to him, he had just been receiving this outpouring of love from fans — tens of thousands of notes and emails. He was so delighted. I don’t think he knew what he meant to us,” Jennings continued. “He said, ‘Ken, most people don’t get to hear all the nice things about them until they’re gone, it happens at the their funeral. I was here to hear all the nice things.’ And I thought, what a lovely way to look at just a terrible stroke of luck. He was one of a kind.”
The people who worked behind the scenes on the syndicated trivia show had similar things to say about the late host.
“Alex Trebek hosted ‘Jeopardy!’ for almost four decades and in that time, so many people got to know him, got to know ‘Jeopardy!’ and it was a shared experience for families everywhere. I think it’s a part of American culture and he’s our ultimate father figure,” Whitcomb Foss echoed. “Alex liked to be very prepared whenever he would come in for a tape day. He was a morning person, so you could expect to see him in the ‘Jeopardy!’ library between 6, 6:30 in the morning. He was reviewing all the games. He wanted to make sure that he read each and every clue, that he was familiar with it, that he thought it was something that was a good clue to ask the contestants. And we got to see all the best sides of him — the goofy side, the funny side, the intelligent side, the brilliant side, the serious side.”
“Alex always said his favorite part about hosting ‘Jeopardy!’ was the time he got to spend onstage with three brilliant people for a half hour each and every day,” she concluded. “He loved a curious mind, he appreciated it, and I think it’s what we all loved when we watched him host, is that we got to learn right along with him. We couldn’t have had a better teacher.”
Michael Elston, secretary of the USPS Board of Governors, finished the video with a tribute from an outside perspective, saying: “As the host of ‘Jeopardy!,’ Alex Trebek set a world record hosting more than 8,200 episodes over 37 years. He became a beloved, trusted presence in millions of homes each weekday, and he won eight Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host, a lifetime achievement Emmy and many other accolades.”
Trebek’s stamp reads: “This naturalized U.S. citizen hosted the quiz show ‘Jeopardy!’ for 37 seasons.” It is available here.
