Alex Trebek - FishbowlLA

Report: Jeopardy! Eyeing Matt Lauer

Marcus Vanderberg — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:00:01 +0000

Even though he doesn’t actually look 72, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek is getting up there in age, which means replacement talks are in full swing.

The New York Post reports Today co-host Matt Lauer is at the top of the short list when Trebek steps down, as expected, in 2016.

The timing works as well from a contract standpoint — Lauer’s deal is up at 2015 and Trebek recently signed a new three-year deal that will run out in 2016.

The other name the NY Post tossed out was CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who’s a reported free agent at the end of 2014. Any official decision on Trebek’s replacement isn’t expected for another 18 months.

Next year will mark 30 years as host of Jeopardy! for for Trebek. In recent years, he’s battled two minor heart attacks — the most recent one in 2012.

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Upcoming Documentary Will Offer a Big Hooray for Canadians in Hollywood

Richard Horgan — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 12:45:06 +0000

Once again this holiday season, they’re everywhere on the American pop culture firmament. Martin Short hosted SNL’s Christmas show; Seth Rogen is road-tripping on the big screen with Barbra Streisand; and Cirque du Soleil is winding down Iris at the Dolby Theatre.

To celebrate the contributions of these and many other south-of-the-border entertainment industry Canucks, the British Columbia duo of Ian Ferguson and Leslie Bland are preparing the 2013 book and documentary double whammy Gone South: How Canada Invented Hollywood. As they recently explained to a reporter for their Victoria hometown newspaper the Times-Colonist, the goal with the doc is to have fun:

In lieu of typical talking-heads footage, they plan to shoot conversations with stars engaged in activities, such as potential sequences in which Lost star Evangeline Lilly would point out Canadian stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. If he’s available, Short might speak while shooting pool, or Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek could chat while slapping pucks around.

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Alex Trebek Searching for a Few More Good Soldiers

Richard Horgan — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 17:30:15 +0000

Following sessions at two U.S. bases in Italy, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek is moving on to Germany as part of his 13th USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour. Those lucky enough to make it through this less rigorous training will get to possibly participate in the 2013 edition of the program’s popular “Salute to the Military” week.

In addition to more meet-and-greets at Ramstein Air Base and the U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, Trebek will also take time to visit medical staff and recovering soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. This marks the 25th anniversary of the TV personality’s USO volunteer efforts.

He is joined on this latest trip by Ironman triathlete Kelly Miyahara, one of three members of the Jeopardy! Clue Crew. Created in 2001, the team of roving correspondents has recorded videotaped answers in 280 cities across 44 different countries.

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Alex Trebek Returns to Jeopardy!

Marcus Vanderberg — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:39:47 +0000

One month after suffering a mild heart attack. Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek returned to work on Tuesday at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City.

According to Sony publicist Phil Zimmerman, Trebek is “in good health and already planning home improvement projects.. The 29th season of Jeopardy! begins on Monday, Sept. 17.

Glad to see Trebek back at work. I can’t imagine who would host the nightly trivia show if something were to happen to him.

Photo: Courtesy of Jeopardy Productions, Inc.

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Alex Trebek Suffers Heart Attack, Won’t Miss Work

Marcus Vanderberg — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 16:22:13 +0000

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek isn’t expected to miss any time at work after suffering a mild heart attack Saturday.

The 71-year-old was in “good spirits” at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Trebek previously suffered a heart attack in 2007.

“He is expected to fully recover and be back at Jeopardy! when production begins taping in July for the new season, the show’s 29th,” said Sony Television rep Paula Askanas.

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It’s True: Alex Trebek is Fallible

Matthew Fleischer — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:51:38 +0000

Alex Trebek, known in some corners of the Internet as television’s smuggest bastard, sure puts on an air of omniscience when he hosts Jeopardy–like he somehow doesn’t need cue cards to know the answer to every trivia question ever devised. But Eddie Scarry over at our sister site FishbowlDC says things are a little different when you go to a Jeopardy taping in person. Scarry sat in the audience for the show’s “Teen Tournament” today and saw Trebek screw up badly–giving away the answer before any of the contestants had the chance to answer.

“Oh!” Trebek yelled when he realized he had given away the answer (Bethlehem). He joked that he hadn’t made a mistake like that in “a really long time.” Trebek stumbled to get back on track before the show’s producer stopped the recording. The “Jeopardy” crew took about 10 minutes figure out how to edit the flub out then picked back up.

You won’t see the mistake when the show airs later this summer…

We might not see it, but we sure will think about it next time Trebek put his smug bastard pants on.

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Alex Trebek on Physical Therapy, Playing Jeopardy!

Marcus Vanderberg — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:46:10 +0000

FishbowlLA had the chance to briefly chat with Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek Tuesday during a roundtable interview following the opening of the quiz show’s Hall of Fame.

Is there a favorite moment that stands out during your time as host of Jeopardy!?

I think it’s difficult for me to single out one moment, but one that stands out very prominently occurred in our first Teen Tournament when I interviewed a young girl named Dana Venator, who played the bagpipes. She was from near Atlanta and she used to go outside her house and into the woods to practice because she didn’t want to disturb the neighbors. I thought that was so sweet. We did a retrospective many years later and she was grown up, working, and doing well. It brought back such wonderful memories for me. When you think about a 13 or 14-year-old girl playing the bagpipes, that’s kind of neat.

What does the Hall of Fame say about Jeopardy! as a show?

Well, I think it says you’re looking at a successful television program. One that’s been successful for 27 years in its current incarnation and of course it was on for 10 years on the NBC television network in the ’60s and early ’70s. It’s a quality program and there are a lot of tours that come through the Sony Studios. This was a way of making it extra special for them.

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Jeopardy! Opens Hall of Fame at Sony Pictures

Marcus Vanderberg — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:15:29 +0000

Tuesday marked the grand opening of the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame, located inside Stage 10 at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City.

In attendance for the ribbon cutting ceremony included past Jeopardy! contestants, legendary announcer Johnny Gilbert and host Alex Trebek, who is still recovering from a ruptured achilles tendon suffered during a failed hotel robbery in July. (Find out more on Trebek’s health in our interview later today.)

Some of the standout items from the Hall of Fame include all 29 Daytime Emmys Jeopardy! has won throughout the years, Trebek’s flight suit from his 2007 visit to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and an actual contestant podium featuring the famous buzzer.

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Much Ado About a Variety Retweet

Richard Horgan — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:30:59 +0000

Here’s a great example of just how ridiculous it can get sometimes on Twitter.

It started Wednesday when Variety film reporter Jeff Sneider retweeted an Entertainment Weekly TCA article about Alex Trebek. Although the headline should have ideally spelled it “Lede,” the word was listed as “Lead:”

Within a matter of minutes, Movies.com contributor Scott Weinberg and Badass Digest reporter Devin Faraci were getting on Sneider’s case for spelling it “Lead.” Variety editor Chris Krewson jumped to his colleague’s defense and soon, the Twitter mini-brawl was on:

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Game Show Star Elaine Stewart Dies at 81

Matthew Fleischer — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:58:18 +0000

Longtime screen and game show actress Elaine Stewart died at her home in Beverly Hills Monday at the age of 81, reports the LA Times. Stewart appeared in more than a dozen films throughout the 50′s and early 60′s, including an uncredited role in Singin’ in the Rain. But she was best known as the card dealer on Gambit with Wink Martindale and Alex Trebek‘s co-hostess on High Rollers.

Game Show Network, people. Seriously. Check it out.

RIP.

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Jeopardy‘s Class of 2010

Richard Horgan — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:30:30 +0000

Once upon a time, FBLA auditioned for the fearsome game show Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek warned during a videotaped intro on the Sony lot that the test questions were harder than those of the show, and he was right. The opera queries alone pushed this thin guy to the singing point.

Beginning today, the more talented Jeopardy! class of 2010 will strut their on-air stuff as part of the show’s popular annual College Championship. From an LA PR point of view, the event translates into the kind of hometown media coverage “This Mayor Syncs Up with A/V” could normally only dream of.

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