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It’s a bittersweet week for Danger! fans while the final five episodes of Alex Trebek will air starting Monday. The host passed away two months ago, and according to the show’s executive producer, Trebek’s last days on set were “amazing.”
Mike Richards joined the Today Monday to reflect on Trebek’s final work, including a touching speech he gave about the solidarity that gave the crew “chills”.
“He was an absolute warrior,” Richards told Savannah Guthrie. “And what he was able to do by going to the set, to record these last episodes… we didn’t know that these would be his last episodes and neither did he. But it was Herculean. He was in great pain.
Trebek died of pancreatic cancer on November 8. He was on the set just ten days before his death.
“You won’t feel any of that in any of these episodes,” Richards continued. “He’s strong, he looks awesome, he’s funny and he’s amazing.
“What do you think it meant for him to do that?” Why do you think he wanted to show up in those last days when he could easily have said, “You know what? I think I’ve had enough, ”Guthrie asked.
“I think a normal person would have said I won’t show up a year and a half before these last few episodes,” Richards replied. “I mean, he was getting chemotherapy once a week. So I think there was a level of professionalism. I think he really understood the importance of the show and what it meant to people, and to do what I’ve always said he did to be smart and cool. So, you know, I think it was all of those things for him. And I think it comes down to, you know, he wrote an autobiography that describes his childhood, and that kind of hard worker, blue collar worker, I’m going to go to work. And that’s what he did.
Trebek, with his sense of humor intact, was in the hospital the week before recording his final episodes.
“This man was amazing,” Richards said. “He calls me and says, ‘Mike, I’m fine. I’ll be on tape. I was able to eat Jello today! And I said, ‘Alex, that’s awesome, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to be ready to host five episodes of a game show,’ which is a huge effort. And he said, “Don’t cancel. I will be there.'”
Not only did Trebek introduce himself, he left an impression. According to Richards, what Trebek does on tonight’s show “is just a great testament to him.
“He is leaving. He usually said something about what was going on in the news or about the game going on. And in this very special and amazing final week he comes out and gives a speech about the importance of solidarity and cohesion and that the world is struggling, but we have to go through it together. And we got chills, ”Richards explained.
“And, you know, there are specific moments in Danger! when you clap and then there are times when you are calm, ”he continued. “And usually in his monologue he would go out and make a statement and they would go into categories. Well, there aren’t many people in the studio due to COVID. And we all erupted into applause. And you don’t see him on camera but as he goes into categories he sees us start to clap and he kind of looks at us, what are you guys doing? And we were so moved that we had to applaud.
When asked if Trebek had ever mentioned who he thought his successor should be, Richards played a little shy.
“He mentioned a few names, but he wanted to stay out of that,” he said. “And he knew that we would do a good job of finding people and that we would find someone – no one would replace him, and he knew it. As humble as he was, he knew there was no way that was going to happen. He is someone intelligent and credible who loves the series. This is what he wanted.
Danger! Champion and consulting producer Ken Jennings appears to be the favorite at the concert, despite some controversy. Jennings, who holds the longest winning streak in the show’s history, is the first in a series of guest hosts, with those episodes starting Jan. 11.
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