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Featured J!Buzz

08.18.2015

Alex Trebek – the Man Behind the Mustache

You know the name. You know the face. You know the parodies about him – the ongoing saga between him and a set of surly and incompetent celebrity contestants on "Saturday Night Live" and the "Conan" rumor that he’s gone completely insane. Recently, you saw him glide off into the sunset accompanying Stephen Colbert on his last hurrah. Over the last 30+ years, Alex Trebek has been a staple of American television, but most only know the Alex they see on screen.

That’s where we come in. Here at Jeopardy!, we get a healthy dose of Trebek both on and off-screen and as a result, we’ve learned some pretty interesting things about the guy. Some of the best tidbits come out at tapings when Alex answers questions from the audience. Often, his replies are as clever as the clues on the show.

When asked if he is on Twitter: “I’m an analog man in a digital world. But I make up for it by drinking.”

When asked if he ever finds himself answering in the form of a question: “Never. I don’t bring my work home with me.”

When asked what he’d be doing if he weren’t hosting Jeopardy!, Alex responded, with his signature dry wit: “I think I’d enjoy being a cardinal because I like the outfits. And they seem to have a pretty nice life. Now being pope, that’d be okay too because I look great in white.”

Alex one-liners are never in short supply, so stay tuned for more Trebekisms.

If you attend a taping you may also learn of Alex’s passion for home improvement. And no, we’re not talking about the 1990s TV show. His idea of a day in paradise involves re-wiring the electricity in his home and topping off the afternoon by spackling the garage. We can only hope he’s not wearing white while he does it all.

Alex Trebek is full of surprises.