Born: July 22, 1940
Died: November 8, 2020
Attention, Mrs. Housewife: A tall, dark and handsome stranger is about to enter your home. He’s a bachelor to boot. Don’t leave your front door unlocked – just close the drapes and turn on your television set.
The wavy-haired, mustachioed stranger is a newcomer to American television. His name is Alex Trebek, and he’s host of a new audience-participation game show, “Wizard of Odds,” that will air each Monday to Friday morning on NBC (10 to 10:30, Channel 4), starting this week. Press-Telegram, Long Beach, California, July 15, 1973
Trekek, 33 when this story was written, was about to make his mark on American television. He was already a household name in Canada, so let’s go back, a little more than a decade and see how he got his start.
At Carleton, the negative team of Ken Rae and Ben Greenhouse won over Ottawa’s U’s affirmative team of Alex Trebek and Glen Kealey, by the same score [2-1]. The Ottawa Citizen, Canada, January 27, 1960
At Ottawa University, Trebek was a member of the debate team and the Drama Guild, appearing in multiple productions, including Othello. He began working for the local television station in 1961 while still a student at the University of Ottawa and was eventually hired fulltime by the Canadian Broadcasting Company. At the CBC, Trebek was a jack-of-all-trades, appearing in numerous shows the next few years in a variety of different roles. He would much later say: “I did everything, at one time replacing every announcer in every possible job.”
6:00 – New Show. Show from our CBC-Ottawa Studios with Helen Wilson and Alex Trebek as co-hosts. Viewers will enjoy quests, skits and interviews along with information about Ottawa and coming events in the Capital. The Ottawa Journal, April 6, 1962
7:30 – Mobile – CBC Ottawa’s television Mobile crew visits Ottawa Valley Town of Perth and looks at her past, present and future. Norah Frood and Alex Trebek are co-hosts of the program. The Ottawa Journal, August 2, 1962
Trebek began to attract a following. And fans. One wrote to the newspaper …
Don’t print my name, but would you please print some information about Alex Trebek … I’m sure I speak for many in saying he’s one of the finest announcers in the business …
Dear Interested: CBOT says Mr. Trebek is unmarried, was born in Sudbury, came to study at the University of Ottawa and stayed on in the city to brighten viewers’ days at their behest. He’s 22 years old. The Ottawa Journal, February 27, 1963
Trebek’s first big break came when he was named host of Music Hop, the Canadian version of American Bandstand. It premiered in October 1963.
He’s ditched his tweed jacket for a cardigan and seems able to keep things swinging but his natural presence comes through so any parent watching could come away feeling the future of the world isn’t that bleak after all. The Ottawa Citizen, October 18, 1963
If nothing else, Trebek was full of confidence and knew what he wanted to do …
Alex Trebek, the host of CBC-TV’s “Music Hop,” thinks it’s just a matter of time until he grabs the pot at the end of the rainbow. He aims to be:
*A bullfighter
*A movie star
*The prime minister of Canada. In that order.
At 24, nothing seems impossible, at least to Trebek. “If I’m not a big-name entertainer by the time I’m 27, I’ll be very worried. The Toronto Daily Star, October 24, 1964
The Daily Star story continued with some biographical information on Trebek …
Born in Sudbury of a Russian father and French mother, he went to French schools, graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1961 with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree. After working summer relief and after-school nights as announcer with station CBO in Ottawa, bilingual Trebek was hired as permanent announcer on graduation. He moved to Toronto last year as relief CBC spieler … he auditioned for “Music Hop” when it began last fall – and got the job.
“It’s sort of teen-age Ed Sullivan show,” Trebek explains. He’s Sullivan. Trebek doesn’t smoke, drinks little (it upsets his stomach) has no plans for marriage soon. “I’m afraid of being held back in my career by a wide and seven kids,” he says.
From Music Hop, Trebek next hosted Young Man’s Fancy on CBC-FM radio. It was described as a mix of “loud and lusty Broadway music, and continues with a pot pourri of jazz, folk songs, comedy and lush orchestral music.” He then hosted Reach for the Top, a quiz show that pitted local high school students from one school against another. He also hosted beauty pageants.
Trebek is another one of the CBC’s exceptional announcers, equally at ease with ballet commentary and sports broadcasts. He hosts the CBS radio show After Noon, delivers Championship Series sports broadcasting and perfectly bi-lingual, introduces the Sunday morning French programming. The Toronto Daily Star, June 7, 1969
Trebek was a star in Canada but he wanted more. And knew a move to the United States was something he had to do in order to accomplish his goals. Trebek made the move in 1973, landing the gig as host of the new Wizard of Odds game show, a show in which audience members tried to answer questions asked by the host.
Trebek has now come to California in search of greater fame and greater fortune in American television … He will be more than satisfied if he makes as big a splash on American television as such other Canadian wetbacks as Raymond Burr, Lorne Greene, Leslie Nielsen and Monty Hall, to name a few.
Trebek has “all the qualities necessary to make him a major star in this country.” At least, that’s the view of Lawrence R. White, vice president, programs, for NBC-TV, who calls the “Wizard of Odds” program “one of the most exciting daytime projects we’ve seen in many years.” The modest Trebek isn’t all that sure, himself, that he’s going to make it big here. With only a 13-week contract sewed up, he hasn’t seen fit to ship his collection of books and records and records and other possessions from Toronto to Southern California yet. Press-Telegram, Long Beach, California, July 15, 1973
The Wizard of Odds only lasted about a year before it was cancelled. But Trebek had what it took to be a successful game-show host. Over the next decade, he hosted a series of semi-successful game shows, including High Rollers, Double Dare, The $128,000 Question, and Battlestars. He found a home at Jeopardy in 1984.
Trebek, a transplanted Canadian, is making a fortune from “Jeopardy,” but like almost all game show ringmasters, he is mildly restless … “Once a game show host, always a game show host,” Trebek said with good-natured irritation. “We’re trapped by our own success while making tons of money. Rarely does anyone is show business take us seriously as actors, hosts of other shows or even as comedians. People look down their noses even though we do well in a difficult job. We have to show impartiality to the contestants while encouraging them to do their best and to keep the game and conversational ball rolling for the amusement of the studio audience and viewers at home.” The Buffalo News, New York, November 11, 1984
That was a perfect description of the job of a good/great game-show host, and are all skills that Trebek mastered. It seems as though he was able to find career satisfaction hosting Jeopardy – at least I hope so.
If you found this story interesting, you might like to read my From Unknown to Famous stories about Ernest Hemingway, Marilyn Monroe, Amelia Earhart, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Elvis. Please subscribe to this blog and get alerts every time I post a new one (lots more are coming).
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