The legendary “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek sadly passed away on Sunday at the age of 80 following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. In the wake of his passing, “Wheel Of Fortune” stars Pat Sajak and Vanna White have spoken out to pay tribute to him.
The game shows “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel Of Fortune” have been paired together and shown one after the other for decades, so it’s not surprising that Trebek’s death has hit Sajak and White hard.
“Alex Trebek’s courage, grace and strength inspired millions and awed those of us who knew him. A tremendous loss for his family, friends, co-workers and countless viewers,” Sajak, 74, wrote on Twitter. “I was honored to be a friend and a part of his professional family for all these years. A very sad day.”
https://twitter.com/patsajak/status/1325538010226679808
White, 63, took to Instagram to pay tribute to Trebek as well.
“I will cherish the many memories I have shared with Alex Trebek that date back well before either of our careers took off. I will always be in awe of the way he faced the battle he fought so valiantly, and I’m devastated to lose my longtime friend. My heart is with his family, friends, co-workers and fans,” she wrote. “There will never be another Alex Trebek and he will truly be missed.”
“Jeopardy!” released an official statement to Fox News [1] saying that the final episode hosted by Trebek will air on Christmas Day next month. He filmed this episode on October 29, which was his last day in the studio. The show also made it clear that it will not be announcing plans regarding a new host at this time.
“This is an enormous loss for the JEOPARDY! staff, crew and all of Alex’s millions of fans,” said “Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Richards. “He was a legend of the industry that we were all lucky to watch night after night for 37 years. Working beside him for the past year and a half as he heroically continued to host ‘JEOPARDY!’ was an incredible honor.”
“His belief in the importance of the show and his willingness to push himself to perform at the highest level was the most inspiring demonstration of courage I have ever seen,” he added. “His constant desire to learn, his kindness, and his professionalism will be with all of us forever.”
This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com [2] and is used by permission.
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