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Who is Alex Trebek?
That is the correct response to a new “Jeopardy!” clue – one that now appears on U.S. postage stamps in honor of the game show’s late host.
Trebek, who hosted “Jeopardy!” for decades and died of pancreatic cancer in 2020, is being honored with a Forever stamp, the U.S. Postal Service announced this week. The stamp was issued Monday, which would have been Trebek’s 84th birthday.
The stamp looks like a clue from the quiz show, with a blue background and white text: “This naturalized U.S. citizen hosted the quiz show ‘Jeopardy!’ for 37 seasons.” The correct response, “Who is Alex Trebek?” is printed underneath, upside-down.
The full sheet of stamps is designed to look like the show’s game board, with categories above each column of stamps: Entertainment, Game Show Hosts, Famous Alexes and Forever Stamps.
“It’s so appropriate that the stamp illustration commemorates Alex with a ‘JEOPARDY!’ clue,” Ken Jennings, the show’s current host, said in a statement released by the Postal Service. “He loved the game so much, and he always insisted the clues were the true star of the show.”
For more than three decades, Trebek helmed “Jeopardy!,” helping to make the intellectual program one of the most popular game shows in history, and one with remarkable staying power.
Born in Ontario, Trebek started his career in Canadian broadcasting. He hosted his first game show in the United States in 1973 and first appeared on “Jeopardy!” in 1984. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998.
Trebek was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in 2019 but continued hosting the show even as he underwent treatment. He taped new episodes until days before his death Nov. 8, 2020, at 80.
“Millions of Americans invited Alex Trebek into their living rooms each weeknight,” Michael Elston, secretary of the Postal Service’s board of governors, said. “After thousands of shows over 37 seasons, he was someone we trusted and felt like we knew.”
Trebek’s family was surprised by the Postal Service’s honor, said Jean Trebek, his widow.
“Alex would be over the moon about this distinctive honor and he’d feel very humbled,” she said in the Postal Service’s statement.
Forever stamps – whose price went up to 73 cents on July 14 – are available at post offices and on the Postal Service’s website. The Trebek stamps are sold in sheets of 20.