“Jeopardy!” alum James Holzhauer made it a point to recognize Alex Trebek when he posted a series of tweets regarding Trebek’s cancer announcement.
In the heartfelt tweets, Holzhauer began by telling his followers exactly where he was when he found out the quiz show host was battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer. According to Holzhauer, coincidentally, he was in the “Jeopardy!” green rook preparing to go on stage as a contestant.
Holzhauer was on top of the world as he had an incredible winning streak while on the game show. During his run, Trebek was even getting excited about his winning streak that never seemed to end. “It’s exciting, I watch it every night,” Trebek said in 2019. “He has no weaknesses … he has a strategy. He’s a gambler.”
However, all that excitement came crashing down when one of the show’s producers announced the devastating news about Trebek’s diagnosis.
“My first thought: ‘How the hell am I supposed to get excited to play Jeopardy after hearing that diagnosis?’ My next thought, which should have been my first: ‘How the hell is Alex supposed to get excited to host Jeopardy after hearing that diagnosis?” Holzhauer tweeted out in response to the two-anniversary of the announcement.
Of course, as Holzhauer later reveals, the same day he received the diagnosis, Trebek, as usual, performed flawlessly on that night’s episode.
“Alex’s performance hosting that game was flawless as always. In our postgame chat, I made him promise me he’d fight this thing every step of the way. He powered through 310 more episodes, more than making good on his vow.”
“Jeopardy!” All-Star James Holzhauer Uses Platform To Raise Money For Cancer Research
In addition to the story, Holzhauer also announced he’s raising money to help fight pancreatic cancer in honor of the late game show icon. Together with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Holzhauer has surpassed his initial goal of $8,244— which is one dollar for every episode Trebek hosted. He’s raised over $10,000 for the cause as of March 7— something we’re sure Trebek is very much proud of.
“I’m humbled by this incredible response, Holzhauer wrote to end his tweets. “Thanks to everyone who has given already, and keep the donations coming!”
If you’d like to donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, click here.
