Alex Trebek celebrates his birthday in the most 'Jeopardy!' way possible: 'Who is 79?'
Alex Trebek rang in a new year with family, friends and some good, old-fashioned "Jeopardy!" humor.
The longtime game show host turned 79 Monday and the official "Jeopardy!" Instagram account came prepared to celebrate. The account shared photos from Trebek's birthday bash this year: surrounded by loved ones, Trebek posed in a ballroom decked out with balloons and flowers.
Fans were also invited to share birthday wishes. The comments section has since been flooded with well-wishes.
"Alex!! You are an institution!" one fan wrote. "I’ve been watching you host Jeopardy since I was a toddler. Many happy returns, thank you for enriching all of our lives."
"You are like a life long friend," another user commented.
"I wish nothing but health and happiness for you Mr Trebek," another added. "Thank you for all of the love you give us through your fascinating show. Lots of love and happy birthday!"
Today is Alex's birthday! 🎉 Send him your wishes in the comments below!
A post shared by Jeopardy! (@jeopardy) on Jul 22, 2019 at 10:53am PDT
The show's account later shared a photo of Trebek on set, standing behind a "Jeopardy!"-themed cake reading "Who is 79?" with a "Jeopardy!" logo on the bottom and a large question mark on top.
Trebek, standing behind the cake, pointed at himself. We'll take "Legends Only" for 200, Alex.
Alright, who wants a slice?! #HappyBirthdayAlexTrebek
A post shared by Jeopardy! (@jeopardy) on Jul 22, 2019 at 5:26pm PDT
Trebek revealed earlier this year he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. But in May, he announced doctors said he was in "near remission."
“It’s kind of mind-boggling,” Trebek told People. "The doctors said they hadn’t seen this kind of positive result in their memory … some of the tumors have already shrunk by more than 50%.”
He also credited his health improvements to fans' support: “I’ve got a couple million people out there who have expressed their good thoughts, their positive energy directed towards me and their prayers. I told the doctors, this has to be more than just the chemo, and they agreed it could very well be an important part of this. I’ve got a lot of love out there headed in my direction and a lot of prayers, and I will never ever minimize the value of that.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Jeopardy!' honors Alex Trebek on his 79th birthday
