Alex Trebek
- Style
- Chevron
- Peak Era
- 1990s
- Born
- 1940
- Fan Votes
- 0 legendary · 0 meh
About Alex Trebek
George Alexander Trebek (1940–2020) was born in Sudbury, Ontario, and began his career at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, hosting the high-school quiz show Reach for the Top in the 1960s. He moved to the United States in 1973 and hosted a string of game shows, including The Wizard of Odds, High Rollers, and Battlestars, before a revival of Jeopardy! came calling.
He hosted Jeopardy! from its 1984 syndicated debut until his death in 2020, more than 8,200 episodes, becoming the most recognizable quiz-show host in the world. He also hosted Classic Concentration (1987–1991), set a Guinness World Record for most game-show episodes hosted by the same presenter, and won multiple Daytime Emmys plus a Peabody Award.
And then there was the mustache. Trebek wore a neat, dark chevron for the first seventeen years of Jeopardy!, shaved it on a whim in 2001 (to genuine national commotion), and grew it back briefly in 2014 before letting viewers vote on its fate. He continued hosting through his cancer diagnosis and was, by the end, a figure of near-universal affection.
Why the Stach Became Iconic
Trebek's mustache was the mustache of authority. Precise, dark, and unflappable, it presided over three decades of "what is" and never once seemed surprised by an answer. When he shaved it in 2001, the reaction was the sort of thing usually reserved for a cast member leaving a hit sitcom.
It remains one of the few mustaches that had its return put to a public vote. That is how much people cared.
Appearances
- Reach for the Top (1966–1973)
- High Rollers (1974–1976, 1978–1980)
- Jeopardy! (1984–2020)
- Classic Concentration (1987–1991)
- Saturday Night Live, Celebrity Jeopardy! cameos (2002, 2015)
- Cheers, guest appearance (1990)
- He shaved his mustache in 2001 after 17 years on Jeopardy!, and the news made national headlines.
- He regrew it in 2014 and asked viewers to vote on whether it should stay; it did not.
- He hosted more than 8,200 episodes of Jeopardy! and held a Guinness World Record for most game-show episodes hosted by the same presenter.
- He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998 while keeping his Canadian citizenship.
- His memoir, The Answer Is...: Reflections on My Life, was published in 2020.
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