Ken Jennings’ sweet three-word tribute to the late Alex Trebek on major milestone

Ken Jennings wished the late Alex Trebek a happy birthday on Tuesday’s episode of Jeopardy! that aired on July 22. The late and former Jeopardy! host would have been 85

Ken Jennings was a former contestant of Jeopardy! when Alex Trebek was host(Image: Getty Images)

Ken Jennings remembered the late Alex Trebek on his birthday.

On Tuesday’s episode of Jeopardy!, 13-day champion Scott Riccardi, an engineer from Somerville, New Jersey faced off against Paul Ryan, a print marketing general manager from Weymouth, Massachusetts and Adriene Holland, a risk control manager from Powder Springs, Georgia.

The episode aired on the day of the late and former Jeopardy! host’s birthday, which is July 22. Near the end of the episode, after Scott cinched his 14th victory, Ken gave a sweet and simple message: “Happy Birthday, Alex.” Jeopardy! fans also expressed their birthday wishes to Alex and one noted how happy they were that Ken acknowledged the day on the ABC trivia game show.

The fan said: “Love how Ken paid tribute Alex Trebek.” Alex would have be 85 years old today.

Alex passed away in November 2020 at age 80(Image: Getty Images)

Alex tragically passed away in November 2020 at 80 years old after battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer for 20 months. The Canadian game show host initially announced diagnosis in March 2019.

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At the time, he wrote: “Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working. With the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”

Alex continued to host Jeopardy! until his death. HIs last episode aired on January 8, 2021. He hosted the show for 36 years which comprised of 37 seasons. He become the host of Jeopardy’s revival in 1984. Ken is the current host of Jeopardy! and has officially taken over the role since Alex’s passing.

Last year for Alex’s birthday, the United States Postal Service also paid tribute to him. They released their Forever stamps honoring the former Jeopardy! host on his birthday.

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The USPS made stamps in honor of Alex’s 84th birthday(Image: USPS)

At the time, the USPS had written on social media on Alex’s birthday, “84 years ago, a legend was born. We are thrilled to celebrate the dedication of the @uspostalservice‘s Forever stamp honoring Alex Trebek today.” The official Jeopardy! social media pages also posted the same message.

Alex’s Forever stamps came with 20 identical stamps arranged in a grid to resemble the Jeopardy! game board with category headers and a clue. The clue read, “This Naturalized U.S. Citizen hosted The Quiz Show ‘Jeopardy!’ for 37 Seasons.”