The great game show host Alex Trebek has died.
An entertainment legend, the octogenarian icon passed away Sunday after fighting a lengthy battle against stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Trebek fought long and hard against his ultimately terminal diagnosis. In October 2019, he felt he was “nearing the end” of his life, though he didn’t step down from hosting the beloved “Jeopardy!” game show, which he’d headlined for 36 years. His contract was effective until 2022.
“I’ve lived a full life, a good life, and I’m nearing the end of that life,” he said in 2019. “I know that. I’m not gonna delude myself. If it happens, it happens. Why should I be afraid of that?”
Raised Catholic, Trebek credited God and the prayers of his supporters in March for his success in fighting his cancer diagnosis, a disease with an 18% survival rate.
Trebek, who hosted more then 8,000 episodes of the classic game show, admitted there were days he wanted to give up fighting, but, he said, “It would have been a betrayal of other cancer patients who have looked at me as an inspiration and a cheerleader of sorts of the value of living and hope. And it would certainly have been a betrayal of my faith in God and the millions of prayers that have been said on my behalf.”
“If we take it one day at a time,” he continued, “with a positive attitude, anything is possible.”