TORONTO -- When Alex Trebek appears for the last time on a new episode of Jeopardy! on Christmas Day it will mark the end of a remarkable era in television and the final time viewers will hear from the beloved host.

Movie critic and host of “Pop Life” on CTV, Richard Crouse, said Trebek was a fixture in people’s homes five nights a week for decades and the consistency of his presence was “reassuring.”

“It’s a shock to know that after Christmas Day there will be no new Jeopardy! episodes with him,” he said in an interview with CTVNews.ca.

Trebek died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 80 after a year and a half of battling pancreatic cancer.

Trebek, who joined Jeopardy! as host in 1984, announced his cancer diagnosis during an episode that aired March 6, 2019. In the months that followed, he said he would not continue to host the show if his skills diminished. In October 2019 he said that he felt that was starting to happen. But he soldiered on.

As Trebek grew visibly weaker and frailer, Crouse says he admired his steadfastness and “show-must-go-on kind of mentality.”

That had him taping three shows a day up until Oct. 29 – just 10 days before his death. Crouse says he’s been told that Trebek’s final appearance includes a plea for inclusivity and unity that will be both timely and emotional for viewers.

Trebek, who grew up in Sudbury, Ont., was a rare breed in that he was a true host, says Crouse. He wasn’t a comedian, singer or actor who turned to hosting a game show as is the norm today during what Crouse calls a “renaissance of game shows.”

Instead, he trained as an announcer and host, learning his trade from the ground up at the CBC where he did everything from calling curling events to reading farm reports to hosting music programs and game shows such as Reach for the Top.

Trebek perfected his skills on Jeopardy!, says Crouse, which he helmed for more than 8,200 episodes, more than any other game show host in history.

“He knew how to use the inflection of his voice to create excitement or to calm a situation,” said Crouse.

“It wasn’t a performance as much as a skill and he made it look so easy.”

Viewers were particularly moved when he announced his stage four cancer diagnosis on air, acknowledging his prognosis was poor, but vowing to fight the disease. Then in November of last year, contestant Dhruv Gaur wagered $1,995 of his $2,000 in his Tournament of Champions Final Jeopardy round on his response: “What is, ‘We love you, Alex!”

Trebek was endearingly choked up. “Oh, that’s very kind,” he said in a wavering voice.

The hashtag #weloveyoualex was soon trending on Twitter. Gaur shared on the social media platform that Trebek had told the contestants he was about to enter another round of chemotherapy treatment.

“When Final Jeopardy came up, I could’ve tried to puzzle it together, but really, just kept thinking about Alex, and thought he should know. I’m just very grateful I got the opportunity to say what I know everyone was thinking. Sending all the love.”

The next big question is who will step into the host’s role. Crouse says he wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Jeopardy’s biggest winner Ken Jennings, who was recently brought on as a consulting producer to the show and who has spent his time since his record run of 74 wins in 2004 promoting literacy and learning.

“He is familiar to the audience and he’s part of Jeopardy lore … He would be a perfect fit.”

Claire McNear, author of Jeopardy! insiders guide “Answers in the Form of Questions,” told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday that Trebek himself didn’t want to be part of choosing his successor and wanted whoever it was to be able to make the show their own.

While he did joke that he hoped it would be Betty White, McNear says Trebek also thought it might be time for someone other than a white man to hold the role.

McNear, who interviewed Trebek several times, says he was exactly in person who he seemed to be on TV: smart, funny and self-deprecating.

And he loved trivia.

“He really, really cared about all these silly, obscure, academic facts and thought that knowing them was sincerely important.”

He admired the players, the 400 or so a year who made the show out of more than 100,000 who take the contestant test every year. Many try for decades to get on, she says.

“He knew how hard people worked and what it meant to them to be on the show,” said McNear. She shares in her book that Trebek refused to be called the star of the show, saying that honour went to the contestants.

Trebek and Jeopardy! created “a half hour where smart was cool,” tweeted John Moore, a morning host on radio station Newstalk 1010, after he learned of the host’s death. Moore was a contestant on an episode that aired in January 2005.

Moore says he was “famously horrible” on the program, failing to make it into the final round. Though he knew 42 of the 50 questions asked, timing the clicker to chime in with an answer was his downfall, he said in an interview with CTVNews.ca.

Since then, when Moore and Trebek crossed paths at charitable events, Trebek ribbed him about his performance.

“He said, ‘John, I don’t know how you ever got on the show.’ He was wry and inscrutable on the show; like a tennis judge, he was above reproach. But every once in a while, he would raise an eyebrow as if to say, ‘I can’t believe you missed that question.’”

Trebek never forgot his Canadian roots, either. He required one question on every show to have a Canadian connection and he would routinely travel to his birth country to support charitable causes, including Famous People Players and World Vision Canada.

He also supported a speakers and lecture series, a leadership award and contributed to the founding of the Alex Trebek Alumni Hall at his alma mater, the University of Ottawa.

There, he played basketball for the Gee-Gees and graduated with a degree in classical philosophy in 1961.

The university has set up a memorial page where fans can leave a message.

Trebek’s accolades include seven Emmys for outstanding game show host, a 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award, a Peabody Award for encouraging, celebrating and rewarding knowledge, and stars on both the Toronto and Hollywood Walks of Fame.

He was also awarded the keys to the city of Ottawa and appointed Officer to the Order of Canada.

In 2020 Trebek received the Academy Icon Award from the Canadian Screen Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Television Critics Association.

“He assured the precision and exactitude of each response, all the while engaging contestants with an affable charm that put them at ease, soothing their shortcomings and championing their successes,” University of Ottawa president Jacques Frémont said in a statement.

“His sincerity and civility were a model to us all.”