The latest 20-20 special which aired Sunday Night centered around the TV Game Show Icon Alex Trebek, who passed away in the early hours of that same day. The documentary highlighted Trebek’s outstanding career which spanned over five decades and 11 different quiz shows starting in Ontario Canada with the Canadian Broadcasting Company and moving on to the American Broadcasting Network culminating with his most well-known role as the host of Jeopardy for nearly 37 series.
Hosted by ABC News’ anchor, Chris Cuomo, the documentary is built largely by a series of interviews including one’s recorded just last year by “Good Morning America’s” Michael Strahan as well as an earlier interview with Robin Roberts when Trebek publicly announced his battle with Pancreatic Cancer last year. Even so, the interview was not an end to his career as he was still filming Jeopardy episodes, even days prior to his passing.
One thing, Trebek wanted to highlight in his life was not wanting to stay still even when he was struggling to get up and the documentary additionally showcased that. His memoir, “The Answer Is… Reflections of My Life”, which he wrote at the beginning of the year when the pandemic stop Jeopardy from being filmed and is currently on sale at most retailers. He wanted to write the book, specifically to give hope to someone with cancer and have something to read and relate too, even when they are getting the treatments they need to survive.
Finally, he was a humanitarian and though never publicized, Trebek did a lot of work with organizations including World Vision. In fact, he once claimed the profits from the memoir would be used sole for non-profits and charities worldwide.
The 40-minute special which aired Sunday November 8th 2020 at 10 p.m. PST is currently streaming with any Hulu subscription.
Alex Trebek passed away that same morning at his home in Encino, California. He is survived by his wife, Jean and 2 children, Matthew and Emily.
As far as Jeopardy goes, according to NY Times, producers say they will continue to air all episodes that have been recorded up through the end of December and as of now, there is no talk about who (if any) will be replacing the beloved icon.