He’s Treback, baby! And he’s doing standing push-ups! Alex Trebek, the beloved host of Jeopardy! and eighth most trusted man in America, is in good health and currently filming the game show’s 36th season, according to a video released Thursday on the official Jeopardy! YouTube channel.
In the video, between shots of Trebek warming up backstage and posing with a birthday cake that says “WHO IS 79?” (he’s a Cancer-Leo cusp!), he says: “I’ve gone through a lot of chemotherapy and thankfully that is now over. I’m on the mend, and that’s all I can hope for right now.” In March, Trebek publicly announced that he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, saying that he planned to “beat the low-survival-rate statistics for this disease.” In May, not long after being honored at the 2019 Daytime Emmys, Trebek updated fans to say the cancer was in “near remission.”
The video, which teases production of the follow-up season to the one that made James Holzhauer a household name, shows the crew and audience in good spirits, and features this gem from Trebek: “Who would I want to play me if they ever did a biographical film about me? Betty White.” So now that delightful image has been put out into the universe.
The new season couldn’t come at a better time, because according to the Jeopardy! Instagram, Trebek also just finished another major project: renovating his wife’s bathroom as a Valentine’s Day present! What a guy!
You’ll be able to shout along to new episodes of Jeopardy! on a local station near you starting September 9.
