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Apr 30, 2024

‘Jeopardy’ Producers Recall Finding Alex Trebek Crying out in Pain on His Dressing Room Floor After Cancer Diagnosis

Members of Alex Trebek‘s family and longtime Jeopardy staffers looked back on the iconic game show host’s final few months on the show as he underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer. On a new episode

Members of Alex Trebek‘s family and longtime Jeopardy staffers looked back on the iconic game show host’s final few months on the show as he underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer.

On a new episode of the This Is Jeopardy! The Story of America’s Favorite Quiz Show podcast, they shared first-hand accounts of their time working with Trebek after he announced he was battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in 2019.

Producer Lisa Broffman recalled the moment Trebek called to share the news with the producers. “Alex, from the very beginning, said, ‘This is not gonna affect anything. I plan on fighting this. Let’s get back to work,'” she said.

And that’s just what they did.

Trebek continued working after he announced his diagnosis in March 2019, even as he underwent treatment. Producer Rocky Schmidt recalled checking in on him in his dressing room in between tapings, where he would sometimes find him on the floor in pain.

“When he was sick and he was taking medication, I mean, the pain the man had. You could watch him and it’s like, ‘He’s not gonna make it to the conference room table,'” Schmidt said. “Then he would leave and go to get made up and ready for the show, and everybody would look at each other and go, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to be taping today.’”

But, they did. The Jeopardy insiders explained how they adjusted behind the scenes to accommodate Trebek as he underwent treatment. Producer Harry Friedman recalled that Trebek “kept up a good face” right until they got wigs made when he began losing his hair from the treatments. Friedman said he would grumble and joke about having to wear wigs, saying, “Wait until I’m well and I don’t have to do it anymore.”

“He sort of joked about it and took it all in stride,” the producer said. “It was hard to watch, though.”

They eventually had to get the wigs remade after they no longer fit his scalp because he was losing weight.

His daughter, Emily Trebek, said that leaving the show to focus on his health was “never an option” for Trebek. “There was no possibility of him not working,” she explained.

The Jeopardy crew members on the podcast described how he continued attending the morning meetings with the writers, sitting through hair and makeup, and hosting the game show until Oct. 29, 2020, when he taped his last show.

His step-daughter, Nicky Trebek, recalled driving home with him after that final taping. Trebek was set to take a short break to undergo surgery. But when she asked if he was thought he was going to return to the show, he replied, “I don’t think so, Nick.”

Trebek died Nov. 8, 2020 at age 80.

“We would have done anything, we would have followed him anywhere,” Schmidt said of the iconic game show host.