‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek dead at 80

Alex Trebek, the longtime host of the quiz show “Jeopardy!” has died. He was 80.

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Photos: Alex Trebek through the years Alex Trebek, 1974. (Ron Tom/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

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Trebek has hosted the long-running trivia show since 1984. He was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in March 2019 and vowed to keep hosting the show for as long as he is physically able.

“'Jeopardy!' is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends,” the show said on social media.

He had spoken candidly about his treatment and received an outpouring of support from fans since announcing the diagnosis.

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“I have learned something in the past year and it’s this: We don’t know when we’re going to die,” Trebek told ABC News earlier this year. “Because of the cancer diagnosis, it’s no longer an open-ended life, it’s a closed-ended life because of the terrible survival rates of pancreatic cancer. Because of that, and something else that is operating here, people all over America and abroad have decided they want to let me know now, while I’m alive, about the impact that I’ve been having on their existence.”

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Prolific contestant Ken Jennings, who became a consulting producer on the show this season, shared his condolences on social media.

“Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did. He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend with him,” Jennings wrote on social media. “Thinking today about his family and his Jeopardy! family—which, in a way, included millions of us.”

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Dawn Wells FILE PHOTO: Actress Dawn Wells attends the 2015 TV Land Awards at Saban Theatre on April 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. Wells died Wednesday of illness related to COVID-19. She was 82. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

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