Alex Trebek Shares How His Final 'Jeopardy!' Episode Will End: 'Leave Me 30 Seconds,' 'That's All I Want'

By Amanda Thomason January 3, 2020 at 9:56am

While part of Alex Trebek’s purpose in life is to keep people guessing as they answer questions on “Jeopardy!” he’s been brutally honest about his personal life, especially his fight with pancreatic cancer. Since March, he’s kept the world up-to-date on his condition: the good, the bad and the ugly.

In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” released Thursday, Trebek said part of the reason he spoke about his diagnosis so soon was so that he could control his own story. Being in the entertainment business, he knows the hungry, snapping jackal that is tabloid journalism, and he wanted to tell his own story without having others tell it first.

“I just wanted to get ahead of the tabloids, because I knew they would emphasize and misrepresent what was happening to me,” he said. “And you’ve seen some of the headlines in the tabloids. You know, ‘He’s not going to make it to Christmas.’ OK. I’ll show them. I am going to make it — and beyond.”

It was a true honor to sit down with Alex Trebek and his wife, Jean. Alex is a fighter and a hero to so many, including myself. Thank you Alex and Jean for sharing your story. ??⁣
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Check out the ABC special tonight at 8pm on @ABCNetwork. pic.twitter.com/9k35hSslYf

— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) January 2, 2020

The diagnosis wasn’t particularly surprising to Trebek, who said he knew immediately that the doctor was going to tell him he had cancer.

“I knew as soon as the doctor came back and mentioned the pancreas,” he said. “I said, ‘Uh-oh, it’s going to be cancer.'”

“Throughout my life, I’ve always wondered about how courageous a human being I was,” Trebek explained. “I just look at it as it’s a part of life. Does that mean I’m courageous because I’m dealing with it? No. I could be scared to death and I’d still have to deal with it.”

The 79-year-old said he is not scared to death of his condition, though, and has been adamant so far that the show must go on.

His wife, Jean, said it’s hard for her to see him in pain and not be able to ease his suffering — but she also said it was hard for her to watch him make poor dietary choices, specifically mentioning his taste for diet soda, which he defended good-naturedly.

.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Beloved @jeopardy host Alex Trebek and his wife Jean speak out to @michaelstrahan on his cancer diagnosis and their lives now. https://t.co/NvdnJzW8JA pic.twitter.com/8uSW1WG7ue

— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 2, 2020

Trebek knows that the process has been tough on his wife but seems to have a lot of respect and gratitude for her strength and patience.

“It’s always tough for caretakers because she has to deal with her worrying about my well-being and also dealing with …” he said. “I’m not always the most pleasant person to be around when I’m experiencing severe pain or depression, and she has to tread lightly around me.”

While he expressed that his goal in being honest about his condition was not to garner sympathy or support from his viewers, he’s been heartened by the number of people who have made the effort to tell him just how much he means to them.

During breaks while taping @Jeopardy, Alex Trebek says he takes questions from the audience. Our cameras caught one of the Q&As where the famed host mentioned the great @BettyMWhite in his answer…can you guess the question he was asked? #WhatIsJeopardy https://t.co/WsbYEliNUv pic.twitter.com/qyamKDoUqL

— 20/20 (@ABC2020) January 3, 2020

“I have learned something in the past year and it’s this: We don’t know when we’re going to die,” Trebek said. “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. They have come out and they have told me, and my gosh, it makes me feel so good.”

And there have been many ways people have shown the host some love, from cards and online messages to donations to cancer research in his name to using their valuable game time to publicly give him messages of support.

Whatever the future holds for Trebek, there will be scores of fans supporting him.

Perhaps that’s why he’s carefully formulating his final message to his fans. While he hasn’t yet announced a date for his last “Jeopardy!” appearance, the reality is heavy on his mind and he wants to give a good final sendoff.

“It’ll be a significant moment for me. But I’ve kind of, in my mind, rehearsed it already, and what I would do on that day is tell the director, ‘Time the show down to leave me 30 seconds at the end. That’s all I want.’

“And I will say my goodbyes and I will tell people, ‘Don’t ask me who’s going to replace me because I have no say whatsoever. But I’m sure that if you give them the same love and attention and respect that you have shown me … then they will be a success and the show will continue being a success. And until we meet again, God bless you and goodbye.'”

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