The 'Jeopardy!' host has been put on a brief hiatus to recuperate from surgery he needed after taking a nasty fall a few months ago.
- Jan 5, 2018
AceShowbiz - Alex Trebek is taking a break from "Jeopardy!". The 77-year-old, who has been hosting the game show since 1984, revealed on Thursday, January 4 that he's taking a brief medical leave to recuperate from a surgery he underwent last month.
Trebek was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. on December 15 after experiencing complications from hitting his head in a fall in October. He was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma, or blood clot on the brain, and underwent surgery to remove it on December 16. He was released from the hospital two days later.
Giving an update on his condition, the TV host said in a video posted on the show's YouTube channel, "The prognosis is excellent and I expect to be back in the studio taping more 'Jeopardy!' programs very, very soon." He added, "And I wanna thank all of you for your concern."
Trebek is expected to resume taping "Jeopardy!" in mid-January. Because the show is filmed months in advance, his brief hiatus won't affect the broadcast schedule except for the upcoming College Championship, which was supposed to tape now, will film in March and air in April.
This is not the first time Trebek had a medical issue. In December 2007, he suffered a minor heart attack in his home, but returned to work as scheduled in January. He injured an Achilles tendon while chasing a burglar who entered his San Francisco hotel room in July 2011, requiring six weeks in a cast. He suffered a second mild heart attack in June 2012 and returned to work in July.
Trebek, who was tapped as the host of the syndicated game show when it was revived in 1984, re-upped his deal in May, locking him as the host of the show until 2020.
