The legendary “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek has died at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

“Jeopardy is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends,” a spokesperson for “Jeopardy,” which Trebek had hosted since 1984, told TMZ.

Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends. Thank you, Alex. pic.twitter.com/Yk2a90CHIM

— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) November 8, 2020

Trebek first announced that he was battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer in March of 2019. Though he immediately started aggressive chemotherapy treatments, he made it clear that he had no plans to retire as host of the popular game show.

Trebek managed to push through and fight for over a year despite “massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it was really worth fighting on.” He explained that giving up would be a betrayal to his wife, God and other cancer patients.

The iconic game show host had pointed out that the odds of surviving second year with pancreatic cancer were just 7 percent, and he’d hoped to celebrate that milestone as well in 2021. Sadly, he took a sudden turn for the worse in recent days.

Trebek’s sense of humor was on full display when he announced his cancer, saying that he had signed a contract to keep hosting “Jeopardy!” through 2022.

“Truth told, I have to! Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host ‘Jeopardy!’ for three more years!” he said.

Yahoo News reported that last month, Trebek said that he was “hanging in there.”

“We’ll play it by ear and keep chugging along until we either win or lose,” Trebek said, adding he’s “not afraid of dying.”

I’ve lived a good life, a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life,” he added. “If it happens, why should I be afraid that?”

Back in May, Trebek won his sixth Emmy for hosting Jeopardy!

“I was concerned that sympathy might play a big role in the voting this year. I’m not a big fan of sympathy votes. We should be judged on the merits of our work. However [I remember] last year, I had just had major surgery to remove two life-threatening blood clots. You think that would elicit a certain amount of sympathy. But I didn’t win, so maybe I’ve been worrying about the wrong thing,” he said in his acceptance speech. “So I’ll do what Sally Field did [at the Oscars] … you guys like me, and you value my work. I tell you if that’s the case, I can live with that.”

Trebek said earlier this year that his one regret was not meeting his wife Jean sooner, as they married in 1990.

“I’m pretty satisfied with my life,” he shared. “But my wife Jean and I have been together almost 29 years, and I was thinking about President [George H.W.] Bush when he died, and all the comments about his life about what a nice guy he is, and how he and his wife had been together 73 years. I thought, oh my gosh if I’d just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together.”

Rest in peace, Alex Trebek.

This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.

Read more at UpliftingToday.com:
Jennifer Lawrence Reveals She Confronted Anderson Cooper For Claiming She May Have Faked Viral Oscars Fall
‘American Pie’ Singer Don McLean Brands His Ex-Wife Of Nearly 30 Years ‘The Worst Person I Ever Knew’
Playboy Model Says She Was ‘Humiliated’ For Wearing Revealing Top On Southwest Flight

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Steve Gruber.