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Alex Trebek's last Jeopardy episode will air on Christmas day

Legendary game-show host worked up until Oct. 29.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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Gael Cooper
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Jeopardy host Alex Trebek will continue to be seen on already filmed episodes through Dec. 25.

Jeopardy/Twitter

Alex Trebek's final episode of Jeopardy, the game show he hosted since 1984, will air on Dec. 25, Christmas day. Trebek, 80, died Sunday morning. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 and continued filming the show through Oct. 29, 2020. Since the news of his death was announced, regular fans and famous ones have lauded the host with tributes and celebrations.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has not yet said how many unseen Jeopardy episodes remain. Actor Ryan Reynolds tweeted that despite his cancer diagnosis, Trebek filmed a cameo appearance for his upcoming movie, Free Guy. And on Sunday night, ABC aired Alex Trebek Remembered: A 20/20 Special.

Jeopardy executive producer Mike Richards told the Today Show that Trebek was able to spend his final day as he had wanted, sitting with wife Jean on a backyard swing he himself rebuilt.

Tributes and honors continued to come on on Monday. Dr. Jill Biden, wife of President-elect Joe Biden, posted a photo with Trebek on Twitter, writing, "Rest in peace, Alex."

And humor site The Onion highlighted Trebek's famous patience with contestants, leading its News in Brief section with an article about Trebek, in heaven, politely listening to a random anecdote from the Archangel Michael.

Trebek won seven Daytime Emmy Awards in the outstanding game show host category, as well as a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and a Peabody Award. He landed a place in the Guinness Book of World Records in the category of most game-show episodes hosted by the same presenter.

There is no announcement yet on what will happen to Jeopardy after the Dec. 25 episode airs.