Alex Trebek Gets Real About Those Rumors He’s Retiring From ‘Jeopardy’

After 35 years of hosting Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek has won America’s heart as one of the most beloved game show hosts to ever grace the small screen. Though he’s loved helping contestants win thousands of dollars over the years, Alex admitted in a new interview with Vulture that he does sometimes think about leaving TV and retiring for good.

As for how he’ll one day end his final show, Alex said, “I will tell the director, ‘Time the show so that I have 30 seconds at the end.’ Because when Ken Jennings lost after 74 wins in a row, I had a tear in my eye and no time for a good-bye. So all I want on my last show is 30 seconds, and I’ll do what Johnny Carson did: ‘Hey, folks, thank you. Been a good run and all good things must come to an end.’ Then I’ll move on.”

Alex also shared that when he rewatches old episodes of Jeopardy!, he sees why America has come to love him so much. “I look at the show and think, ‘I’m pretty good,’” he said and jokingly added, “So either our director is saving my a– through judicious editing or I’m not as bad as I sometimes think I am.”

Though the TV star recently signed on for a few more years hosting of Jeopardy!, rumors have recently swirled that he’d be leaving the show. “[There’s a] 50/50 [chance] and a little less,” he admitted on Fox’s OBJECTified, sending fans into a frenzy over his retirement. He later clarified that he just “wanted to do other things” and actually isn’t ready to leave the game show just yet. 

While speaking with Vulture, Alex also revealed that he was recently tested for early onset Alzheimer’s after experiencing memory lapses. “I love doing crossword puzzles, and recently I’d be looking at a clue, it’d be 23 across, and I’d be trying to fit the answer into 26 across. I was always off. Because of that, I went to be tested for early Alzheimer’s,” he explained. “The first time they tested me they said, ‘It doesn’t look good.’ Then we did more testing and they said, ‘You’re okay. No need to worry.’”