After a week of hosting “Jeopardy!” Katie Couric paid tribute to the man who did the job so effortlessly for 36 years.
“This has been an extraordinary experience for me, and on a personal note, it has made me respect Alex Trebek even more than I already did,” Couric said at the start of Monday’s game. “Hosting this show is hard. And the fact that he did this while he was fighting pancreatic cancer, well that was downright Herculean. I am so proud to help carry on his legacy and raise money for pancreatic cancer research.”
During Couric’s stint as host, “Jeopardy!” is matching the total earnings of the contestants for each game, donating the money to Stand Up To Cancer. Couric — who lost her husband and older sister from cancer — founded the organization in 2008, according to the Deseret News.
Couric began hosting “Jeopardy!” on March 8 and continues in her role as the first female guest host through March 19, the Deseret News reported. Previously, “Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time” champion Ken Jennings had a six-week run as host, and “Jeopardy!” Executive Producer Mike Richards hosted for two weeks, according to the Deseret News.
According to the “Jeopardy!” website, the upcoming guest host schedule is as followed:
- Dr. Mehmet Oz — March 22-April 2
- Aaron Rodgers — April 5-16
- Anderson Cooper — April 19-30
Other future guest hosts include Savannah Guthrie, who is a host for “Today,”; CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta; “Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik; and “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, the Deseret News reported.
Although “Jeopardy!” is considering some of these guest hosts to replace Trebek, the show is not rushing to name a replacement for Trebek at this time, Richards recently told USA Today.
”Let’s make sure we get someone we are going to feel even better about in a decade than we do this year,” Richards said, adding that a new host may not be announced until the new “Jeopardy!” season starts in September.