Alex Trebek received a standing ovation as he accepted the Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show host on Sunday night.
And the beloved Jeopardy! host, who is known for his cheeky sense of humor, immediately put the audience at ease as he joked about his own cancer diagnosis.
Trebek, 78, who announced in March he has Stage 4 advanced pancreatic cancer, told the crowed he had been worried that sympathy, rather than merit, might snare him the trophy for best game show host.
But then Trebek remembered what happened last year, after he underwent surgery to remove life-threatening blood clots on his brain.
Alex Trebek received a standing ovation as he accepted the Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show host on Sunday night
Trebek, 78, who announced in March he has Stage 4 advanced pancreatic cancer, told the crowed he had been worried that sympathy, rather than merit, might snare him the trophy for best game show host
‘You think that would have elicited a certain amount of sympathy. But I didn’t win!’ he said, drawing roars from the audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.
Instead, Trebek said, he realized that maybe he’d been worrying about the wrong thing and instead should emulate Oscar-winning actress Sally Field.
‘You guys like me, and you value my work. I tell you if that’s the case, I can live with that,’ Trebek said. His voice was thick with emotion, but he was poised and dapper in his tuxedo.
At the 1985 Academy Awards, Field had famously declared, ‘You like me, you really like me,’ as she accepted the Best Actress trophy.
But Trebek said he then remembered that he lost last year, even after he underwent surgery to remove life-threatening blood clots on his brain
This is the sixth time Trebek has won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host. He previously won the award in 2008, 2006, 2003, 1990, and 1989
This is the sixth time Trebek has won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host.
He previously won the award in 2008, 2006, 2003, 1990, and 1989.
Trebek arrived at the awards on Sunday night hand in hand with his wife Jean.
The host looked dapper in a black tuxedo while Jean, 55, stunned in a dark sleeveless navy dress with a plunging neckline.
Trebek arrived at the awards on Sunday night hand in hand with his wife Jean on Sunday night
Trebek’s win comes just days after he opened up about his ongoing cancer battle.
‘My oncologist tells me I’m doing well, even though I don’t always feel it,’ he told Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts on Wednesday.
‘I’ve had kidney stones, I’ve had ruptured disks, so I’m used to dealing with pain, But what I’m not used to dealing with is the surges that come on suddenly of deep, deep sadness, and it brings tears to my eyes.’
‘I’ve discovered in this whole episode, ladies and gentleman, that I’m a bit of a wuss,’ he continued with his famous good-natured humor. ‘But I’m fighting through it.’
Trebek revealed that his weight and blood count are steady and that his cancer indicators are down.
The host looked dapper in a black tuxedo while Jean, 55, stunned in a dark sleeveless navy dress with a plunging neckline
Trebek’s win comes just days after he opened up about the highs and lows of his ongoing cancer battle
‘I’ve got another chemo next week and then we’ll do a review to find out where things stand,’ he added.
‘Hopefully everything is going to turn out well and I’ll be back on the air with original programming this September.’
The beloved host joked that he got ‘lucky’ because his diagnosis came at the end of the Jeopardy! season.
‘We wrapped up the season and now I have the summer months to recuperate and get strong again,’ he continued. ‘I just have to get strong because, as you know, the chemo takes it out of you. I mean, I feel so weak all the time and that’s not a good place to be.’
Wink Martindale, 85, was spotted catching up with fellow game show host Alex at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards
‘Chemo affects people in different ways and people have to understand that,’ he added. ‘There’s nothing wrong with saying, “Hey, I’m really depressed today and I have no idea why, why am I crying today?’
Trebek announced his devastating diagnosis in a YouTube video to Jeopardy! fans in March, joking that he had to beat the cancer because he was contracted to host the show for the next three years.
‘I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working,’ he bravely declared. ‘Keep the faith, and we’ll win, we’ll get it done.’
As Roberts praised Trebek with disclosing something so personal to the entire world, the host revealed it was his fans who were helping lift him up through such a hard time.
‘People all over America have been sharing their good thoughts, their advice, their prayers, and I feel it is making a difference in my well-being,’ he said.
‘I’ve had so many contacts from people who have survived cancer for 10 years, 12 years, 14 years. I am now a 30-day cancer survivor, I’m going to catch up to those people! But they have been an inspiration for me.’
