- Contestants come and go. Here’s our returning champion. He’s from Maryland, she’s from Chicago. Some, like this year’s star, Arthur Chu, even briefly become big deals. But it is Alex Trebek who has remained the centerpiece. His extended tenure as America’s senior-most faculty member has made Americans forget that he’s playing a part; a few years ago, Trebek was voted the eighth-most-trusted person in the United States, sandwiched between Bill and Melinda Gates. “He’s like a Ward Cleaver figure,” says Ken Jennings, the most successful “Jeopardy!” contestant ever. “But for the past thirty years.” This month, in fact, the host will mark three decades as the face and voice of “Jeopardy!”; like the show’s theme music, he is almost post-iconic, such a known entity that he’s just there.
I like this man. Edit: Actually, and this is rich coming from me and maybe it was the editor, and maybe it was the writing, but it sounds like Trebek jokes about drinking a little too much. Like it really is the only thing he does. I don't know. By the end of the article I was like "Oooh...We're making another joke about drunk driving are we?"He has had two heart attacks but sums up his current exercise regimen as “I drink.”
Ah I felt like the author played it up a lot more than it was there. I have uncles around Trebek's age that are the similar 'home-depot' type guys like that. They make those jokes lightly, but it's never serious. Maybe it's missing tone. Or maybe Trebek is just terrible at making jokes. Either way, it's a really fascinating article to read. You don't think much about someone who's such a fixture in our culture.