Apparently last week was Everybody But Me Gets To Interview Alex Trebek Week, because in addition to that THR article where he said he’s just gonna retire on a whim one day, he also granted the New Republic access for a lengthy, candid profile. It was illuminating. For example, did you know Alex Trebek likes to drink? Like, a lot? Because he does, apparently. The piece is littered with quotes/jokes like “I no longer drink when I drive. I pull over to the side of the road” and “Find out how much the brunch cost. I think it’s $350. I got my money’s worth, ‘cause I was the only one drinking at the table.” And that’s not all. He also, sometimes, drinks before heading to the studio to film Jeopardy.
It’s impersonations of Hollywood icons that Trebek really nails, though he doesn’t like to let on how much effort he puts into the routines. “I’ve noticed in the last few years, I don’t think I’m very good at them anymore,” he told the “Jeopardy!” audience during one time-out. “Probably a factor of too much alcohol.
“If I could learn to stop drinking the morning of taping, that would help a lot,” Trebek continued. “But you see, um, I have trouble sleeping. Yesterday, for instance, I woke up at two o’clock and was awake until 5:15 and then my alarm went off at 5:25. Today I woke up at 3:00 and was awake until 5:20. . . . I’m of the old school, which says, ‘It’s five o’clock somewhere, so why not now?!’ ”
And there’s this, where we learn that Alex enjoys quality television and used to be a freewheeling SoCal bachelor who liked to party, apparently.
Church friends comprise the core of the Trebeks’ social life, he says, a big shift from the bachelor years when he tooled around Holly-wood in a Bentley convertible. Mostly, he unwinds by watching television. “Breaking Bad” and “Deadwood” are recent favorites; the Lakers a constant.
Post-Time Machine Acquisition Priority List
- Tool around Hollywood in a Bentley convertible with bachelor Trebek.
- Kill Hitler.
But my favorite part of the profile was this quote about his decision to shave his mustache.
Fact: When Trebek shaved off his moustache in 2001, he did it in the middle of the day, himself, without warning the “Jeopardy!” producers. Renee was alarmed to come in and find him mid-shearing. He just felt like it, he says now. “And it got so much press, I couldn’t believe it. The wars with Iraq or whatever at that time, and people are all in a stew over my moustache. I have one response: Get a life.”
Updated Post-Time Machine Acquisition Priority List
- Tool around Hollywood in a Bentley convertible with bachelor Trebek.
- Kill Hitler.
- Go back in time and make “People are all in a stew over my moustache. I have one response: Get a life” my high school yearbook quote
We have learned so much about Alex Trebek today.
