Alex Trebek was named outstanding game show host Sunday night at the Daytime Emmy Awards, but the Jeopardy! frontman admitted he had reservations after first learning he’d been nominated.
“I was concerned that sympathy might play a big role,” he stated. “I’m not a fan of sympathy votes, because I believe you should be judged on the merits of your work.”
Trebek, who revealed his Stge 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis in March, went on to say: “However, I started thinking back to last year. I had just had major surgery to remove two life-threatening blood clots on my brain. I think that would have earned me a certain amount of sympathy, but I didn’t win. So maybe I’ve been worrying about the wrong thing.”
Trebek then mentioned Sally Field’s famous speech at the 1985 Academy Awards, when she said, “I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!”
“I’ll do what Sally Field did when she won at a different venue many, many years ago, and this as a sign you like guys like me and value my work,” Trebek said. “I’ll tell you, if that’s the case, I can live with that. Thank you.”
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