You may have read the news that, at 80 years old and having fought stage 4 pancreatic cancer, the beloved Alex Trebek passed away this week. : (
Like millions, I grew up with Jeopardy! on in the background. My mom and older brother, Cosmo, were huge fans. Fun story: While on a business trip to LA, Cosmo told me how he had tried out for the show. After passing the test (which he admits was ‘pretty hard’) he got to play a mock game on the actual stage where the show was filmed. ‘A cool experience,’ he reminisced.
There’s much written about Alex. A long-form New York Times essay and his own memoir earlier this summer. SNL has spoofed him (and, coincidentally, Sean Connery… much love to both), apparently a lot.
One thing I hadn’t heard or read about him was the guy, Dhruv Gaur, who brought Alex to tears by answering a Final Jeopardy! question with ‘We love you, Alex!’ If you have fifteen seconds and don’t mind getting choked up, you should watch the clip.
Just like the millions who grew up with Alex and Jeopardy! have been sharing this week, I also want to say… Alex, you were wonderful. Thank you for being you.
ps - in a longer version of that clip, Alex says to Dhruv just before revealing his Final Jeopardy! answer, ‘You’re smiling. I like that.’
