During this coronavirus pandemic, a lot of people have used their lockdown or sheltering-in-place as an extended vacation. Others have started businesses, continued life as usual, or made other big (and small) changes in their lives.
And then there are the creative, tireless people who have written books, made movies and started movements. Take beloved gameshow host, 80-year-old Alex Trebek, for example. He reportedly penned a new book, a personal memoir.
Trebek’s new book is said to feature some of his own personal anecdotes along with his thoughts on a variety of topics, including things like marriage and family, success, and spirituality, among others.
For decades, he put off writing a book about his life—until all that goodwill changed his mind. And the COVID-19 lockdown provided him with all the time he needed.
Today, on his 80th birthday, Trebek says he is “not afraid of dying,” yet he will head back to the show as soon as coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
The book combines personal anecdotes with Trebek’s thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy (his charitable giving has benefitted World Vision, the USO, United Negro College Fund, National Geographic Society, and Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission).
It uses a fun structure inspired by Jeopardy, with each chapter title presented in the form of a question, “What Is…”
The book, which dropped in bookstores yesterday, features dozens of never-before-seen candid photos of Trebek over the years—and the 7-time Emmy winner from Canada also answers the questions Jeopardy fans ask most, such as what prompted him to shave his signature mustache, and his opinion of Will Ferrell’s Saturday Night Live impersonation.
You might laugh at this video, a comedic look a day in the life of Alex behind the cameras.