Actor Ryan Reynolds has taken to Twitter with a tribute to Alex Trebek. The tweet comes after news of Trebek’s death was announced on Sunday morning and in it, the Deadpool star makes note of the beloved Jeopardy! host’s graciousness, humor and generosity – and the fact that they’re both Canadian.
Alex Trebek was kind enough to film a cameo for our film Free Guy last year despite his battle. He was gracious and funny. In addition to being curious, stalwart, generous, reassuring and of course, Canadian. We love you, Alex. And always will.
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) November 8, 2020
Interestingly, Reynolds also noted in the tweet that Trebek filmed a cameo for his upcoming action-comedy flick Free Guy. Of course, there’s no mention of whether he’ll be playing himself or a character, but it’s easy to assume the former is more likely. We’ll obviously know for sure when Free Guy eventually releases, though it’s worth remembering that Disney recently pulled the pic from this year’s schedule and has yet to issue a new date for it.
Trebek’s cause of death hasn’t been announced, but it’s assumed to be a result of his battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, which he revealed in March of 2019. He’s survived by his wife, Jean, and three children, Matthew, Emily and Nicky.
While he started his career working on a couple of game shows, there’s no doubt that he was best known as the host of 37 seasons of Jeopardy! His time on the immensely popular quiz series earned him five Daytime Emmy Awards and has touched the lives of millions upon millions of viewers since his first appearance in 1984. Even more impressive, he’s in the Guinness World Book of Records as the person who’s hosted the most game show episodes – more than 8,200 total.
With Trebek having accomplished so much, it’s no wonder that Ryan Reynolds has joined many others in paying tribute to his incredible television legacy, and there’s no denying that anyone who replaces him will have giant shoes to fill.