I was really bummed to read that this morning, too. It's hard to imagine the world without him! Still, he seems to have lived a good life and at 80 he had a pretty good run. He still passed before his time due to cancer, and that sucks. RIP, Mr Trebek!
Back in the '60s, he was the host of a Canadian kids game show called Reach for the Top - with High Schoolers playing off in 2 teams representing their school in a knowledge-based contest; a precursor to today's Jeopardy, if you will. Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was even a contestant on the show.