Posted on 11/16/2016 10:38:52 PM PST by nickcarraway
As the game show turns 50, the 73-year-old, Canada-born host — who has spent 30 years grilling contestants about everything from radioactive isotopes to the War of 1812 — answers THR's questions. A version of this story first appeared in the May 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
What's your health regimen like?
I was counting up my various surgeries the other day and I think it's close to 20 now — different parts of my body — and people often ask, they say, "You appear to be in good shape, do you work out?" I say, "No." "Do you diet?" "No." "Do you eat well?" "Well, sort of," but my breakfast of champions for years was a Snickers and a Diet Pepsi, and this past year I ran into a nutritionist who said, "Oh, Alex that's terrible! You've got to be eating better than that at the start of the day." So I changed. I stopped eating Snickers and Diet Pepsi and I replaced them with Milky Ways and Diet Cokes, so you're not going to catch me eating properly in the mornings. I do have a good solid dinner every evening, but I find that there must be some kind of camel blood in me because if I'm working outside — and I love working around the house — if I'm doing physical labor I never think of food; I don't get hungry, I don't get thirsty, and as a result my body cramps up like mad in the evenings, and I just go crazy complaining. And so I should drink more water, but I don't have a regimen, a good-health type regimen.
Did the heart attack do anything to change your regimen?
No, and the second heart attack didn't do anything either, so I'm good. PHOTOS: 'Jeopardy!' at 50: Through the Years
Congratulations on your Guinness record as the person who has hosted the most TV game shows. Have you had any communication with Bob Barker, whose record you broke?
No, we haven't had any communication about this. I had lunch with Bob a few months ago, and we've been meaning to get back together for another lunch, but no. You know, it's funny, when you're hosting a program like Jeopardy! for this long, you don't necessarily think about records. If you pay attention to some of the athletes competing now, Albert Pujols for the Los Angeles Angels is about to set a record past a certain mile point — I think it's 400 home runs, something like that — and there are other players out there who are about to pass milestones, but they don't really think about it that much in advance. Derek Jeter for the Yankees passed — what was it? — 3,000 hits or something for the Yankees this past year, and you just do your job. Are you happy doing your job? Yeah. I'm not standing here saying, 'Boy, if I could just last another year I could set a record and be in the Guinness Record Book.' It doesn't operate that way. I'm just enjoying what I'm doing, I'm happy to have a job. I like the show, I like the contestants and it pays well.
Mentioning another year, you talked a lot about longevity today in answering questions from the audience and in a conversation with Ken Jennings. Yet exec producer Harry Friedman has said repeatedly the job is yours as long as you want it.
That's good to know. That's a great feeling to have. I told audiences and interviewers in the past that I will stick with it as long as I'm having a good time and as long as I feel my skills haven't diminished too much. They have diminished somewhat; I'm slower than I used to be. There are times when I have what I call senior moments, little skips in the brain process, and I understand that. But hopefully the audience is going to continue to be very forgiving of those kinds of mistakes, and I can see myself going on. I made the mistake a couple of years ago of, in response to a question that was asked, "Do you ever think about retirement?" And I said, "Yeah." Well, all of a sudden it got blown out of proportion and I was retiring, but that wasn't the case and I'm happy doing what I'm doing and I'll keep doing it for awhile — I don't know how long.
You're not insecure about keeping this job?
I don't worry about it at all. When it happens it will probably happen the same way it happened when I shaved my moustache in 2001: It will happen on a whim. I will decide at that moment, "This is it. Leave me an extra 30 seconds at the end of the program so I can say goodbye."
Do you feel confident the show will go on beyond you?
Oh yes. It's a good show; it will survive. I mean, someone like Brad Rutter, who was a contestant in our Battle of the Decades tournament. He's got a good sense of humor and certainly broad-based knowledge that will help him immensely. And he has the credentials — he's won two of our big tournaments: 1 million and 2 million dollars. So somebody like Brad. It could be a young broadcaster in another part of the country, it could be someone who follows in the footsteps — someone like Pat Sajak, starting out as a weatherman. Weathermen, interestingly enough, as I travel the country, I discovered that so many of the local stations, when they have their news crew doing their early-evening news, the ones on staff who do best — because they play, they watch Jeopardy! while it's airing — the ones who do best are the weathermen, the weather people, men and women. It's interesting.
Always have liked Alex Trebek. He’s a rare combination of humble intellect and magnetic charm, who also isn’t afraid to laugh at himself at times.
Speculation - I wonder if that could be because weathermen have to take actual academic subjects to get degrees in Meteorology, whereas the rest of the broadcast staff are Journalism and Communications Majors who just learn *The Party Line* and the best place to get their teeth capped.
It seems to me that if he wants the show to go on he should pass it along while he’s still capable.
Trump's triumphant win has really thrown a wrench in so many ways....
That’sh not what your mother said lasht night, Trebek!”
Well, if you ask me, he certainly doesn’t have a difficult job. Staff does all the work for him and he just reads off cards. Kinda’ like our current politicians.
I’ve worked many difficult jobs, Jeopardy host ain’t one.
I’ll take “Jap anUS Relations” for $200, Trebek.
Also note that he does not read the cards during the show. Contestants pick a category and a recording of Trebek previously reading the answer is then played. Alex has to do very little during the taping of the show.
But he does it well.
Or, anal bum covers....
the ones who do best are the weathermen, the weather people, men and women. It’s interesting.”
Shibumi, you are on the money. I am a former TV Meteorologist with plenty of anecdotal evidence to back that up. The ‘news’ anchors most generally had glazed eyes when I would try to explain an upper air process that was causing our weather. This was in the days before the use of digital graphics so if they couldn’t ‘see’ it they had to think about it and that was just too much for them to do.
Alex probably has the easiest job in all of TV really.
I’ll take President Donald Trump for a 1000 Alex.
One of the best bleeping episodes, ever.
:D
He can’t retire. I just registered for the next test!!!!
Easier than Vanna White? Nothing is easier that her job.
One summer in college I worked on a tour boat that ran a 90 minute beach tour several times a day. My job was to clean the boat in the morning, show customers where to park their cars, cast off the boat, go for a boat ride and tie the boat to the dock.
I knew a guy who was a lifeguard. We used to argue about who had the easier job
Trebek is a leftist.
A Canadian leftist, the worst kind.
Shouldn’t the title read: (A&Q)?
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