Alex Trebek Wiki: Wife, Health, Net Worth, Salary, Age, Trebek Children and Family

George Alexander ‘Alex’ Trebek is the host of the top-rated game show ‘Jeopardy!’ which he has been hosting since 1984. ‘Jeopardy!’ is a television game show where the contestants are present with general knowledge clues for which they have to form the questions. Trebek was selected to host its associated version and proved to be a competent host. Before hosting this game show, he had hosted several other shows like ‘Pitfall’ and ‘The Wizard of Odds.’

A native of Canada, he hosted the Canadian quiz show ‘Reach for the Top’ for seven years before moving to the U.S. to further his career. He reached new heights of success when he got chosen to host the associated version of the game show ‘Jeopardy!’ for which he is one of the most famous faces of the Television industry.

Childhood & Early Life

Alex Trebek was born on July 22, 1940, in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, to Lucille and George Trebek. His mother was French Canadian, while his father was a Ukrainian immigrant who worked as a chef in a local hotel.

As a young boy, he went to Jesuit schools and graduated from Lisgar Collegiate Institute in 1957. He went to the University of Ottawa to study philosophy and received his degree in 1961. While he was at the university, he became a member of the English Debating Society.

After his graduation is 1961, Trebek decided to pursue a career in journalism as he was always interested in a career in broadcast news.

Alex Trebek Career

Trebek’s first hosting job was for a Canadian music program called ‘Music Hop’ in 1963. Trebek hosted the short-lived ‘CBS’ game show ‘Double Dare’ which turned out to be his only game show with the ‘CBS’ network.

He began his journalistic career as a newscaster and sportscaster with the ‘CBC’ channel. His speciality was national news, and he soon gained a reputation for being a cool-headed and trustworthy journalist.

He moved to the U.S. in 1973 to further his career. His first job was to host the new ‘NBC’ game show ‘The Wizard of Odds.’ The show was short-lived as it lasted only one season. After hosting so many game shows, he became very popular as a show host.

He was invited to make several guest appearances as a panelist or player on several other shows, including NBC’s ‘Card Sharks’ and ‘The Magnificent Marble Machine.’ He was asked to host the syndicated version of the game show ‘Jeopardy!’ created by Merv Griffin, who had also created the ‘Wheel of Fortune.’ Trebek began hosting the show in 1984. The show was top-rated and was the winner of several ‘Daytime Emmy Awards.’

He created history in 1991 when he became the first person in American broadcast history to host three-game shows: ‘Jeopardy!,’ ‘Classic Concentration,’ and ‘To Tell the Truth’ at the same time.

Awards & Achievements of Trebek

He won five ‘Daytime Emmy Awards’ for ‘Outstanding Game Show Host’ for hosting the show ‘Jeopardy!’

He received the ‘Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Gold Medal’ for his geographic education contribution and the famous study of geography in 2010. On June 13, 2014, Trebek created a ‘Guinness World Record’ for hosting most episodes of a game show. He had hosted 6,829 episodes of ‘Jeopardy!’ at the time. On June 28, 2019, the ‘Daughters of the American Revolution’ awarded the 2019 ‘Americanism Award’ to Trebek.

Alex Trebek’s Personal life

Alex got married to Elaine Callie in 1974. The marriage ended in divorce in 1981.

His second marriage was to Jean Currivan in 1990, and the couple has two children; Emily Trebek and Matthew Trebek.

He is actively involved with the charitable organisation ‘World Vision’ and has travelled to many third world countries to implement its projects.

On December 11, 2007, Trebek suffered a minor heart attack in his home but returned to work as scheduled in January.

He injured an Achilles tendon while chasing a burglar who had entered his San Francisco hotel room on July 27, 2011. He suffered a mild heart attack on June 23, 2012, but returned to work in July.

On March 6, 2019, Trebek announced that he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer.

Alex Trebek Net Worth

The net worth of Alex Trebek is approximately 1 Billion USD. His salary is 3-4 Million USD, and he has assets worth of 60 Million USD.

Alex Trebek Physical Appearance

Trebek has 5’ 8” inches height and weighs 68 kg. His hair is Medium Brown with Brown colour eyes.

Trebek’s Favourites

Pineberry and Lemon are his favourites fruits, and he loves continental food. Rather than being on TV and hosting, he loves doing Gardening. He is a big fan of Card games (like soilitaire, Freecell, pyramid etc). France and Sao Paulo are his favourite destinations where he likes to spend his time with family and friends. Lacrosse is his favourite sport.