Someday (hopefully, very far in the future), history will show that Jeopardy host, Alex Trebek, was one of the nicest human beings on the face of the planet. Back in March of 2019, the beloved host told the world that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
“Just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” Alex Trebek said as he announced his cancer diagnosis in a video. “Now, normally the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this and I’m going to keep working and with the love and support from my family and friend and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”
He is fighting cancer with the help of his friends: here are 14 of Alex’s closest friends.
14 Stephen King
Not everyone can say that they’re friends with horror novelist, Stephen King, but Alex can. The author took to Twitter to support his friend after his diagnosis was announced. “I’m actually not sure if it should be its or it’s, and in such a case pronouns don’t really matter, so let me put it this way: Alex, kick pancreatic cancer’s a**!”
13 Dr. Oz
TV doctor, Dr. Oz, was just as shocked as the rest of us were when Trebek announced his prognosis. As Alex went through chemotherapy, Dr. Oz was on standby, ready to give updates on his friend’s condition. Dr. Oz would go on shows and tell fans that Alex was an "incredible fighter".
12 Alex Jacob
Out of all the contestants on Jeopardy over the years, only a few can say that Alex Trebek considers them a friend. Fortunately for show contestant, Alex Jacob, he's on that exclusive list. Like the rest of the world, the Jeopardy champion was in shock when Trebek announced his cancer health issues, and he did his best to try to be there for the Jeopardy host.
11 Buzzy Cohen
It’s all in good fun, according to Trebek and some of his most famous Jeopardy contestants. Take contestant Buzzy Cohen, for instance. He won a lot of money over a two-month period on the show AND was known for yanking the host’s chain a bit. So much so that people actually believed the two hated each other - but that’s far from the truth.
10 Ruta Lee
Alex Trebek has so many famous friends that his interesting personal stories of glitz and glamor have really stacked up. Take his friendship with Ruta Lee - apparently, the two actually went gallivanting around Monaco on the hunt for…hot dogs! Apparently, they found some very “cold” but tasty hot dogs, which makes for a compelling story.
9 Vanna White
You may know that the Wheel of Fortune golden girl and Alex Trebek are close in real life. They’re so close that Trebek asked longtime friend, Vanna White, to fill in for him during his Jeopardy absence. She even gives updates on his health. “He’s doing good,” she said to US Weekly. “He really is. He looks good.”
8 Jesse Ventura
Not a lot of people know that these two are friends and may be surprised to learn that they're close. The former wrestler/politician and the Jeopardy host actually met when they guest-starred on an episode of The X-files back in 1996. The two even reminisce about their time on the set of that hit show.
7 Peter Marshall
Alex Trebek is known for running around in some famous Hollywood circles, especially Old Hollywood circles, though he would never really flaunt it or talk about it. One of his good friends is the Broadway actor, Peter Marshall, who enjoys hanging out with Alex whenever he can. Marshall was also a game show host himself - everyone remembers Hollywood Squares, right?
6 Debbie Reynolds
Along with Ruth Lee, another one of Alex’s famous friends who palled around with both of them was the late and great, Debbie Reynolds. Apparently, the three of them went on wild adventures together (she was with Alex during that whole hot dog hunt) and were extremely close. They could even be spotted on Hollywood red carpets together.
5 Alan Thicke
Not a lot of people know that it was Growing Pains actor, the late Alan Thicke, who actually helped Alex get his start in the game show world. Alan asked Alex to get involved in a show called Wizard of Odds. This actually launched the game show host’s career in the showbiz world. The two remained close friends until Thicke’s death.
4 Chris Harrison
It’s true: hosts all stick together, regardless of which shows they’re hosting. Okay, it’s not really true that we know of, but we do know that fellow host Chris Harrison (of The Bachelor fame) and Trebek are friends in real life. When Alex broke his cancer news, Harrison posted a heart-warming message about the Jeopardy host on Twitter, praising Trebek and his fight.
3 Ike Barinholtz
Chances are you’ve seen Ike Barinholtz’s face on your television set before. Ike was a primary character on The Mindy Project and has been in multiple movies as well. But what you probably didn’t know was that Ike idolizes Trebek and was affected by the Jeopardy host’s cancer announcement. Like a lot of Alex’s friends, Ike expressed his sorrow on Twitter.
2 Pat Sajak
Shocker right? The Wheel of Fortune host and the Jeopardy host are actually good friends in real life. In fact, the two have been friends for YEARS. Their families are even extremely close. It should also be known that there was never any sort of competition between the two and they even pushed each other to do their best in the game show world.
1 Jean Trebek
Did you know that Alex and his wife, Jean, have been married for almost 30 years? Not a lot is known about Jean Trebek because she prefers to stay under the radar. Since his diagnosis, however, she’s been more vocal - she is speaking out about her husband’s illness and his battle. He’s really lucky to have her by his side.