Alex Trebek Quotations

I think what makes 'Jeopardy!' special is that, among all the quiz and game shows out there, ours tends to encourage learning.

Don't tell me what you believe in. I'll observe how you behave and I will make my own determination.

If you can't be in awe of Mother Nature, there's something wrong with you.

My life has been a quest for knowledge and understanding, and I am nowhere near having achieved that. And it doesn't bother me in the least. I will die without having come up with the answers to many things in life.

My life is what it is, and I can't change it. I can change the future, but I can't do anything about the past.

My job is to provide the atmosphere and assistance to the contestants to get them to perform at their very best. And if I'm successful doing that, I will be perceived as a nice guy, and the audience will think of me as being a bit of a star.

I'm curious about everything. Even subjects that don't interest me.

When I finish as the host of 'Jeopardy!' I'm going to go up to Taft in central California. They have a small college there that teaches you about oil drilling.

Take your job seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously.

It's very important in life to know when to shut up. You should not be afraid of silence.

Don't minimize the importance of luck in determining life's course.

You should never wear a baseball cap when working in close quarters in the attic: You never see that beam above you!

I have an Apple computer, which I use to play Spider Solitaire and do research on the Internet.

We are all experts in our own little niches.

Originally, I think, I wanted to be an actor. But I got into broadcasting by accident, if you will, because I needed money to pay for my college education. I applied for a summer announcing job at a couple of radio stations.

I believe the 'Jeopardy!' test is more difficult than being a contestant on the program.

I don't gamble, because winning a hundred dollars doesn't give me great pleasure. But losing a hundred dollars pisses me off.

I don't spend any time whatsoever thinking about what might have been.

My musical development stopped when Frank Sinatra died.

The only reason I got into broadcasting was, I needed money to pay for my junior and senior years at college, and they hired me, those fools!

When you're in your 30s and actively pursuing a career and a home life, a wife and children, you're busy doing as opposed to busy thinking. As you get older, even as you don't have as much time, I think you tend to think more and reflect more on what is happening in your own life.

My heart seems to heal, so that speaks well for my future.

Sex? Unfortunately, as you get older - and I shouldn't admit this - there are other things that become more important in your daily life.

I did everything - I did newscasts, I did sports, I did dramas.

I go through these cycles where I read a lot and then watch TV a lot.

Maybe I'll take a little better care of myself, but I wouldn't count on it.

I would have loved to have a role in the HBO series 'Deadwood.' It was Shakespeare in the Old West.

'Music Hop' in 1963 was my first hosting job of a variety program.

People say, 'You look to be in great shape for your age,' and I guess I am.

I want to thank myself. Forty-five years ago, I graduated from the University of Ottawa and had a few career opportunities available, but I chose television and I've never, ever regretted that decision.

Please phrase your answer in the form of a question.

Saying that I've THOUGHT about it doesn't mean that I'm DOING it.

What goes 0-300 in less than 2 seconds? Your mother on a scale.

I had only been a citizen for two weeks when I received a summons to appear for jury duty!

My dad drank pretty heavily, and he never missed a day of work in his life. So I never looked at drinking as a serious problem, but drugs to me are a serious problem. I think it's a generational thing. I think older people don't feel as uncomfortable around drinkers as they do around dopers.

People ask me, How would you do as a contestant on the show? And I tell them I would do fairly well among senior citizens, but against a good thirty-year-old I would have trouble because I cannot recall information as quickly as I used to. You used to say something and I would go, boom, right away, very sharp. Now it's like, Oh, yes, but wait a minute, uh, uh...

Have you ever met a successful person who wasn't restless- who was satisfied with where he or she was in life? They want new challenges. They want to get up and go...and that's one of the reasons they're successful.

Learning something new is fun,

I tried to do my best impression of The Jonas Brothers, but no matter how hard I tried I ended up looking cool!

Jim Cummings, Whoopie Goldberg & Cheech Marin make up this famous Disney threesome.

Merv Griffin, who developed Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, had a great line once. I used to personally answer all the mail that came in to Jeopardy! whether it was favorable or unfavorable, and Merv said, You know how I handle the nasty mail? I said no. He just grabbed it and folded it up and crunched it up and threw it in the wastebasket. He said, I don't bother with it.

I'm curious about everything--even things that don't interest me.

The secret to happiness, of course, is not getting what you want; it’s wanting what you get,

Viewers know that I have a weird sense of humor, but that I'm serious about the game,

They're operating under a misconception and have been for many years. As long as they're polite in their critique, we are polite in our response. But if they're mean and rude, I tell them that.

I leave home about 7 in the morning,

Hey, way to go. I bet our writers that no one would get that.