Over a year after he was first diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in March 2019, the longtime Jeopardy! host has died. He was 80.
"Jeopardy is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends. Thank you, Alex," the show announced via Twitter on Nov. 8.
Born in Ontario, Trebek began his career at the Canadian Broadcasting Company in 1961. He hosted a few other game shows before taking on the role of Jeopardy! host in 1984, becoming a household name over the nearly 40 years that he starred on the series.
He battled several other health issues throughout his time on the show, including two heart attacks, a full knee replacement, surgery to remove blood clots on his brain and a torn Achilles tendon.
Trebek is survived by his wife Jean and their two children: son Matthew, 29, and daughter Emily, 27.
He also has an older daughter Nicky, 53, whom he adopted when he was married to Nicky’s mom, his first wife Elaine Callei.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.