Islander and former Jeopardy champion reflects on Alex Trebek's legacy

For Islander Jonathan Greenan, the news of Jeopardy host Alex Trebek's death made for a sad day.

Greenan, who hails from Summerside and lives in Charlottetown, appeared on two episodes of the popular game show in 2018. He carries fond memories of his time meeting Trebek, who died of pancreatic cancer on Sunday.

"Jeopardy is certainly a show that does that for people," Greenan said.

"It instills a love of knowledge and makes knowing things cool and certainly Alex Trebek himself was someone who saw the value of what the show did for people."

'Exactly like you would think'

Greenan said the contestants don't get to spend much time with the beloved host, but the time they do spend makes an impression.

"The only time that we see him is when he's on stage with us during our games. He comes over and does a photo op with us at one of the breaks. And then after the game is done, he comes over and he chats with the contestants for a while," he said.

"He's exactly like you would think he is, though. He does speak with the crowd in the audience between games."

It's almost like he is part of everyone's life and extended circles. Jonathan Greenan, Jeopardy champion

Greenan was there for two days of show tapings.

"I had a lot of chance to hear his stories and to see him interact with the crowd and certainly when he spoke with me, he was just quick and clever and funny and very much a pure professional about the whole thing," Greenan said.

"He'll be missed, certainly, and the show will go on, I'm sure, but the show won't be the same without him.

"He's been in our homes, in our living rooms, on our screens for 30-plus years so it's almost like he is part of everyone's life and extended circles."

For Greenan, who attended the University of Ottawa like Trebek, he said the long-time host also leaves behind a great legacy of what it means to be a Canadian.

"I think it shows that, you know,there are opportunities out there in the world. And I think clearly he's someone who worked hard at his craft," Greenan said.

"It's a sad day, but it's not, at the end of the day, something that we should be sad about. We should be able to celebrate his life."

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