Monday, November 09, 2020

Remembering Alex Trebek; Decades Changes Schedule in December with The Odd Couple and The Love Boat Added

Alex Trebek

Canadian-American television personality and game show host Alex Trebek, who was best known as the longtime host of Jeopardy!, has died. He died at his home in Los Angeles on November 8 after a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Mr. Trebek was 80.

Trebek's television career began in 1961 in his native Canada where he worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). His first hosting job was on a music program called Music Hop in 1963. He hosted the Toronto version of the high school quiz show Reach for the Top from 1966 to 1973. In 1969, he hosted the game show Strategy. He hosted the short film series Pick and Choose in 1971. He hosted I'm Here Til 9, the local morning drive radio show on CBC Toronto, from 1971 to 1972.

High Rollers - Alex Trebek

He moved to the United States in 1973. He hosted the 1973-1974 NBC daytime game show The Wizard of Odds. A year later he began hosting NBC's High Rollers from 1974 to 1976. It was brought back from 1978 until 1980. Between his stints on High Rollers, he hosted the short-lived CBS game show Double Dare from 1976 to 1977, which was produced by Mark Goodson—Bill Todman Productions. He hosted the second season of the syndicated game show The $128,000 Question from 1977 to 1978. He hosted the syndicated Pitfall from 1981 to 1982. After High Rollers was cancelled in 1980, he moved to NBC where he hosted Battlestars (1981-1982) and later The New Battlestars (1983).

Jeopardy - Alex Trebek

Trebek began hosting the syndicated game show Jeopardy! when it was revived in 1984. He hosted the series for 36 years and over 8,000 episodes from 1984 until his death. His last day filming in the studio was on October 29. His final broadcast will air on Christmas Day on December 25. Trebek received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host seven times (1989, 1990, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2019, and 2020) for his work on Jeopardy!. The series has won a record 39 Daytime Emmy Awards as well as a Peabody Award. He hosed Super Jeopardy! in 1990. In January 2020, he hosted ABC's primetime tournament Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time.

Classic Concentration - Alex Trebek

He hosted the NBC daytime game show Classic Concentration from 1987 to 1991. This was his second show for Mark Goodson. In 1991, he made broadcast history by becoming the first person to host three American game shows at the same time when he began hosting NBC's To Tell the Truth. He hosted the show from February to March 1991.

Mama's Family - Alex Trebek and Vicki Lawrence as Mama

Trebek also made appearances in numerous television series, in which he usually played himself. Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Mama's Family, Cheers, Pacific Station, The Golden Girls, The Larry Sanders Show, Dave's World, The Nanny, Blossom, Seinfeld, Ned and Stacey, Ladies Man, How I Met Your Mother and Hot in Cleveland. His voice credits included Rugrats, The Simpsons, Arthur and Family Guy. Some of his other television guest appearances included Vega$ (as Arthur Martin, credited as Alex Trebeck), Beverly Hills 90210, The X-Files, Baywatch and Orange Is the New Black.

He was interviewed for The Interviews: An Oral History of Television on August 22, 2007.

Mr. Trebek was a true game show host legend. It will be hard to imagine Jeopardy! without him. He made learning trivia fun and cool. We thank him for the many hours of entertainment he brought us during his long career. He will be greatly missed.

20/20: Alex Trebek Remembered

ABC aired a 20/20: Alex Trebek Remembered special last night (November 8). It's available on their website and on demand.

Share your memories on our Game Shows message board. View photos in our galleries.


The Odd Couple and The Love Boat

Decades is making some schedule changes beginning Monday, Nov. 30. Since The Jeffersons is moving to Antenna TV this January, it will be off the lineup on Decades. The Odd Couple will be joining the lineup and will air weekdays at 5pm & 5:30pm. Then at 6pm, The Love Boat will be airing every weeknight, followed by The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show at 7pm, which will also air from 7-8am in the morning, too. Only other schedule change is 6-7am with back-to-back airings of The Millionaire. The weekdays 9am-5pm "Television Across the Decades" sitcom line-up from the '50s to the '80s will remain as is (The Lucy Show, The Donna Reed Show, Family Affair, Petticoat Junction, I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show/Newhart). The late fringe sitcoms will also remain as is from 10pm-5am and you can still see Decades Weekend Binges all weekend long. The Jeffersons will get one final Weekend Binge Dec. 5-6. View the full Decades schedule that begins Nov. 30.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, September 23

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 21)

Wednesday, September 23

  • Cara Delevingne (Only Murders in the Building) - Watch Cara on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Caroline Rhea (Sydney to the Max/Sabrina, the Teenage Witch/Pride & Joy) and Tommy Davidson (The Varnell Hill Show/The Proud Family/Malcolm & Eddie/Between Brothers) - Caroline and Tommy will be on Funny You Should Ask at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Andy Cohen interviews Blair on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
  • Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell/Alexa & Katie/Good Morning, Miami/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Tiffani and Devon Sawa talk about Coven Academy on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea swings by the studio to talk about the High and Mighty Tour on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Jon Hamm (Grimsburg/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Jon talks about American Hostage on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - NBC's Today catches up with Sebastian in the 9am hour.
  • Sabrina Impacciatore (The Paper) - NBC's Today catches up with Sabrina in the 9am hour.
  • The original and new cast of A Different World) - The original and new cast of A Different World will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie stops by the Drew's News desk on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Matthew McConaughey (Brothers) and Woody Harrelson (Brothers/Cheers) - Matthew and Woody tell Drew about their new show Brothers on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD) The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray) The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray) Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/20/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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