Alex Sajak
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak mourned the death of fellow game show host Alex Trebek on Sunday, calling Trebek's death a 'tremendous loss.' Trebek hosted Jeopardy! For 36 years, and for most of that time, the show aired right alongside Wheel of Fortune. Trebek died at age 80 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Pat Sajak will always respect and admire his late friend Alex Trebek. While appearing on a recent episode of PEOPLE (the TV Show!), the Wheel of Fortune star remembered the late Jeopardy! Alex Trebek and Pat Sajak had been game show royalty for decades. Trebek first took the podium on quiz show Jeopardy in 1984 (via USA Today), while Pat Sajak first spun the big wheel on Wheel of Fortune in 1981 (via History).
Two of the most highly successful game shows of all time on the air right now are Jeopardy!, hosted by Alex Trebek, and Wheel of Fortune, with Pat Sajak at the helm.
Both men have been at the front of their respective shows for nearly forty years, an astounding length of time.
So, are these contemporaries just industry colleagues, or good friends?
Both hosts had health issues in 2019
Sajak had emergency surgery for a blocked intestine in November 2019. The show issued a statement at that time via Twitter saying, “Our taping on Thursday was canceled because host Pat Sajak underwent successful emergency surgery to correct a blocked intestine. He is resting comfortably and looking forward to getting back to work.”
The 73-year-old Sajak returned to his post earlier this year.
A post shared by Jeopardy! (@jeopardy) on
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As for Alex Trebek, as is well known, the Jeopardy! host’s news of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in March 2019 shocked and saddened his fans and viewers. As of March 2020, Trebek’s doctors were thrilled to mark his one-year survival. The Canadian-born Trebek issued a statement thanking fans for their steadfast support.
“You know my oncologist tried to cheer me up the other day,” Trebek said. “He said, ‘Alex, even though the two-year survival rate is only 7%,’ he was certain that one year from now, the two of us would be sitting in his office celebrating my second anniversary of survival.”
Both have been hosts of their respective shows for almost 4 decades
Both Alex Trebek and Pat Sajak have, incredibly, been hosts of their programs for nearly forty years. Trebek began his hosting duties in 1984, while Sajak became host of Wheel of Fortune a few years earlier in 1981.
Sajak talked to the Television Academy Foundation in a 2007 interview about the appeal of his game show, co-hosted by Vanna White, which millions of viewers have made part of their daily ritual.
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“We became in this strange way part of people’s lives, almost their life cycle,” Sajak said. “It was dinner time, they played ‘Wheel’ – we just became part of the atmosphere. It’s kind of like the sunset: you might not go out and watch it every night, but it’s nice to know it’s out there.”
Are Pat Sajak and Alex Trebek friends?
As friendly as the two game show hosts are, according to The Week in a 2013 conversation with Sajak, the men aren’t particularly close.
In the interview, the Chicago-born Sajak briefly opened up about whether he and fellow television personality Alex Trebek are close.
In typical Sajak style, the Wheel host explained their relationship succinctly with a humorous twist.
“We get along fine,” Sajak said of the Jeopardy! icon, “but we’re not in the same bowling league.”
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July 29 (UPI) -- Sony Pictures Television told USA Today in a statement that Alex Trebek, 80, of Jeopardy! and Pat Sajak, 73, and Vanna White, 63, of Wheel of Fortune are returning to Los Angeles studios for new episodes.
'While some things may have changed behind the scenes and on the set to keep everyone safe, fans can expect to see the same Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! they have come to love when the season starts,' the statement said.
Both shows are slated to resume production this week and next, Deadline.com reported.
Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!suspended their audience tapings and then stopped filming new episodes all together around mid-March amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trebek had announced a year before the delay in the show's production that he was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. More recently, he said that his cancer treatment is going well and he's 'feeling great.'
Pat Sajak Cancer
The show recorded some classic episodes during the hiatus and Trebek said that he is eager to return.
'The productions have protocols in place in accordance with current government guidelines to protect contestants, staff, crew and talent from the spread of COVID-19,' a studio spokesperson told People.
Prevention measures due to COVID-19 at Wheel of Fortune include a redesigned wheel that allows contestants to stay six feet apart. At Jeopardy!, contestants will be spaced out further and away from Trebek at his lectern.
Along with social measures, other changes include: allowing only staff and crew on stage, providing everyone behind the scenes with personal protective equipment, testing contestants before they come on the show and testing staff and crew on a regular basis.