Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy! since 1984, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on November 8, 2020. The world lost one of the most recognizable TV hosts, a good man, and a philanthropist. These Alex Trebek quotes teach us more about what he thought about life and his career.
Alex is a Canadian-American who did a lot of good in this world. He always appeared so poised, smart, and funny. I don’t know if anyone else on this earth could have made Jeopardy! the success that it was.
Alex’s last episode of Jeopardy! will air on Christmas Day and feature a goodbye message from Alex at the end. ‘What is the reason I have tears streaming down my face?’ for $1000, Alex.
Don’t forget to also check out these humorous Dick Gregory quotes that still raise awareness.
Alex Trebek quotes about learning and Jeopardy!
1. “I think what makes ‘Jeopardy!’ special is that among all the quiz and game shows out there, ours tends to encourage learning.” — Alex Trebek
2. “I’m curious about everything. Even subjects that don’t interest me.” — Alex Trebek
3. “Learning something new is fun.” — Alex Trebek
4. “My life has been a quest for knowledge and understanding, and I am nowhere near having achieved that. And it doesn’t bother me in the least. I will die without having come up with the answers to many things in life.” — Alex Trebek
5. “I believe the ‘Jeopardy!’ test is more difficult than being a contestant on the program.” — Alex Trebek
6. “When I finish as the host of ‘Jeopardy!’ I’m going to go up to Taft in central California. They have a small college there that teaches you about oil drilling.” — Alex Trebek
7. “My job is to provide the atmosphere and assistance to the contestants to get them to perform at their very best. And if I’m successful doing that, I will be perceived as a nice guy, and the audience will think of me as being a bit of a star.” — Alex Trebek
8. “People ask me, How would you do as a contestant on the show? And I tell them I would do fairly well among senior citizens, but against a good thirty-year-old, I would have trouble because I cannot recall information as quickly as I used to. You used to say something and I would go, boom, right away, very sharp. Now it’s like, Oh, yes, but wait a minute, uh, uh… “— Alex Trebek
9. “Merv Griffin, who developed Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, had a great line once. I used to personally answer all the mail that came in to Jeopardy! whether it was favorable or unfavorable, and Merv said, You know how I handle the nasty mail? I said no. He just grabbed it and folded it up and crunched it up and threw it in the wastebasket. He said, I don’t bother with it.” — Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek quotes about age and the course of his life
10. “Sex? Unfortunately, as you get older – and I shouldn’t admit this – there are other things that become more important in your daily life.” — Alex Trebek
11. “My musical development stopped when Frank Sinatra died.” — Alex Trebek
12. “People say, ‘You look to be in great shape for your age,’ and I guess I am.” — Alex Trebek
13. “When you’re in your 30s and actively pursuing a career and a home life, a wife and children, you’re busy doing as opposed to busy thinking. As you get older, even as you don’t have as much time, I think you tend to think more and reflect more on what is happening in your own life.” — Alex Trebek
14. “I’m pretty satisfied with my life, but my wife Jean and I have been together almost 29 years, and I was thinking about President [George H. W.] Bush when he died, and all the comments about his life about what a nice guy he is, and how he and his wife had been together 73 years. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, if I’d just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together.’” — Alex Trebek
15. “I want to thank myself. Forty-five years ago, I graduated from the University of Ottawa and had a few career opportunities available, but I chose television and I’ve never, ever regretted that decision.” — Alex Trebek
16. “I did everything – I did newscasts; I did sports; I did dramas.” — Alex Trebek
17. “‘Music Hop’ in 1963 was my first hosting job of a variety program.” — Alex Trebek
18. “Originally, I think, I wanted to be an actor. But I got into broadcasting by accident, if you will, because I needed money to pay for my college education. I applied for a summer announcing job at a couple of radio stations.” — Alex Trebek
19. “My dad drank pretty heavily, and he never missed a day of work in his life. So I never looked at drinking as a serious problem, but drugs to me are a serious problem. I think it’s a generational thing. I think older people don’t feel as uncomfortable around drinkers as they do around dopers.” — Alex Trebek
Life advice from Alex Trebek
20. “Take your job seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.” — Alex Trebek
21. “It’s very important in life to know when to shut up. You should not be afraid of silence.” — Alex Trebek
22. “I don’t gamble, because winning a hundred dollars doesn’t give me great pleasure. But losing a hundred dollars pisses me off.” — Alex Trebek
23. “You should never wear a baseball cap when working in close quarters in the attic: You never see that beam above you!” — Alex Trebek
24. “My heart seems to heal, so that speaks well for my future.” — Alex Trebek
25. “I don’t spend any time whatsoever thinking about what might have been.” — Alex Trebek
26. “Please phrase your answer in the form of a question.” — Alex Trebek
27. “I leave home about 7 in the morning.” — Alex Trebek
28. “They’re operating under a misconception and have been for many years. As long as they’re polite in their critique, we are polite in our response. But if they’re mean and rude, I tell them that.” — Alex Trebek
Funny Alex Trebek quotes
29. “The only reason I got into broadcasting was, I needed money to pay for my junior and senior years at college, and they hired me, those fools!” — Alex Trebek
30. “I have an Apple computer, which I use to play Spider Solitaire and do research on the Internet.” — Alex Trebek
31. “Maybe I’ll take a little better care of myself, but I wouldn’t count on it.” — Alex Trebek
32. “I had only been a citizen for two weeks when I received a summons to appear for jury duty!” — Alex Trebek
33. “Hey, way to go. I bet our writers that no one would get that.” — Alex Trebek
34. “I would have loved to have a role in the HBO series ‘Deadwood.’ It was Shakespeare in the Old West.” — Alex Trebek
35. “I go through these cycles where I read a lot and then watch TV a lot.” — Alex Trebek
36. “Viewers know that I have a weird sense of humor, but that I’m serious about the game.” — Alex Trebek
37. “I tried to do my best impression of The Jonas Brothers, but no matter how hard I tried, I ended up looking cool!” — Alex Trebek
38. “What goes 0-300 in less than 2 seconds? Your mother on a scale.” — Alex Trebek
Most profound Alex Trebek quotes
39. “If you can’t be in awe of Mother Nature, there’s something wrong with you.” — Alex Trebek
40. “Don’t tell me what you believe in. I’ll observe how you behave and I will make my own determination.” — Alex Trebek
41. “We are all experts in our own little niches.” — Alex Trebek
42. “Don’t minimize the importance of luck in determining life’s course.” — Alex Trebek
43. “My life is what it is, and I can’t change it. I can change the future, but I can’t do anything about the past.” — Alex Trebek
44. “Be kinder to each other. I see America in a crisis situation right now in so many ways. And I want people to open up their hearts, and open up their hands, and open up their wallets to help each other. Because if ever there was a time when we needed to do that, that time is now.” — Alex Trebek
45. “The secret to happiness, of course, is not getting what you want; it’s wanting what you get.” — Alex Trebek
46. “Saying that I’ve THOUGHT about it doesn’t mean that I’m DOING it.” — Alex Trebek
47. “Have you ever met a successful person who wasn’t restless- who was satisfied with where he or she was in life? They want new challenges. They want to get up and go… and that’s one of the reasons they’re successful.” — Alex Trebek
48. “There was one day a few weeks ago when Jeanie asked me in the morning, ‘How do you feel?’ And I said, ‘I feel like I wanna die.’ It was that bad. I apologize to her and explain that it has nothing to do with my love for her or my feelings for her. It just has to do with the fact that I feel like I’m a terrible burden to her. And that bothers me tremendously.” — Alex Trebek
Which of these Alex Trebek quotes is your favorite?
My grandparents raised me, and we had a nightly routine. We would eat dinner, then my sister and I would wash the dishes while my grandpa cleared the table and put away leftovers.
Afterward, we would sit on the couch, spread out on the giant sectional; my grandparents in their reclining sections, and watch Wheel of Fortune followed by Jeopardy! I spent my entire childhood listening to Alex Trebek quotes.
Alex Trebek inspired me to learn, and as I got older, I loved answering the questions before the contestants. I swear, half of what I know today, I first learned on Jeopardy!
Two years ago, I signed up to take the test to be on the show, but I ended up being at work the night it was supposed to happen, and I didn’t take it. I am incredibly saddened that I will never make it on Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still learn a few things from the man with all the answers.
Which of these Alex Trebek quotes is your favorite? Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add? Let us know in the comment section below.