Alex Trebek was the host of The Wizard of Odds, High Rollers, Double Dare, The $128,000 Question, Wall $treet, Pitfall, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, To Tell the Truth, Game Changers, a half-dozen game shows in his native Canada and a whole bunch of non-quiz shows and specials.
Oh, yeah. And Jeopardy! For a long, long time.
I wonder if there's anyone anywhere who didn't like him or Jeopardy! I know many folks who don't like Pat Sajak and Wheel of Fortune but Trebek and that show always seemed kind of in a category all its own…though I'm sure I"m not the only person who was disappointed in him once. It was when he started selling his credibility to the company that paid him — quite well, I'm sure — to sell reverse mortgages.
As I think I've discussed here, I think hosting a game show competently is sometimes an overrated skill in show business. Bob Barker helmed The Price is Right for 35 years and Johnny Carson presided over The Tonight Show for 30 — both great accomplishments but I think what Mr. Carson did was about a thousand times as difficult as what Mr. Barker did. Mr. Trebek from all accounts did a lot more on Jeopardy! than host. On a scale, I'd place his achievement somewhere between Bob and Johnny.
He did something that everyone in show business aspires to do but few manage. He became a rock-solid part of our lives for a long time. Like most of you, I never met him but I feel like I did.