The final “Jeopardy!” episodes hosted by Alex Trebek are airing this week, and they were filmed just ten days before he died in November after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. On Monday night’s episode, the 80 year-old host kicked off the show by delivering a powerful message to viewers.
Trebek began by noting that he’d told fans to “take a moment to give thanks” for their blessings on Thanksgiving.
“Now today, a different kind of message,” he said. “This is the season of giving. I know you want to be generous with your family, your friends, your loved ones, but today I’d like you to go one step further.”
“I’d like you to open up your hands and open up your heart to those who are still suffering because of COVID-19,” he added. “People who are suffering through no fault of their own. We’re trying to build a gentler, kinder society. And if we all pitch in just a little bit, we’re gonna get there.”
View this post on Instagram
“Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Richards told the “TODAY” show that Trebek’s comments had taken him by surprise.
“He comes out and gives this absolutely amazing speech about the tough times that we’re in and the importance of us as a country, as a community, as humanity, coming together and being there for each other,” Richards said.
He added that on the day of filming, nobody knew it would be Trebek’s last day hosting.
“He was an absolute warrior,” Richards explained. “We didn’t know it was going to be his final episodes and neither did he … He was in enormous pain. He was, you know, 10 days away from passing away.”
Richards had previously said that Trebek was always very careful to never say who he wanted his replacement to be.
“He wanted to be very careful to not weigh in on that. Not that he didn’t care, because he cared at a very high level, [but] he knew how influential any suggestion he made would be, and he wanted us to come to it the way we wanted to, not because of what he wanted,” Richards told Entertainment Weekly. “So he and I spent a lot of time talking about what attributes a host should have, what we should look for, those types of things. He always said that the stars of Jeopardy! were the contestants and the game, not the host.”
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.