On July 22, 81 years ago, legendary Canadian American game show host Alex Trebek was born in Sudbury, Ontario. This is a bittersweet birthday for fans of the industry titan who passed away in November 2020 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Who is Alex Trebek?

As you would have to answer in Jeopardy, who is Alex Trebek? Trebek was born July 22, 1940 in Sudbury, Ontario, to parents George Edward Trebek and Lucille Marie Lagacé.

Despite ultimately receiving fame for his game show hosting prowess, Trebek initially set out to become a journalist. He attended several local schools growing up before matriculating into the University of Ottawa, where he studied philosophy and began his career in broadcasting at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). After working in broadcast journalism for several years, he made the switch to game show hosting in 1966, working on shows such as “Reach for the Top” and “Jackpot” before landing his big break with Jeopardy in 1984.

Trebek went on to win five Daytime Emmy awards for his role as host of Jeopardy, a show for which he hosted over 8,000 episodes throughout 37 seasons. However, Trebek was not only a longstanding fixture in the world of game shows; he was also a generous philanthropist and activist, working with many charities, including World Vision Canada, a Canadian Christian relief charity for children experiencing poverty worldwide. In addition to his charity work and game show hosting, Trebek was a pop culture icon who once ran the Olympic torch and made a cheeky, self-referential cameo on “The X-Files.”

Ultimately, Trebek will be remembered as a man who wore so many hats, from game show hosting to charitable giving and beyond. So, for $1000, and let’s make it a Daily Double, who is Alex Trebek?