Jeopardy! will bid farewell to the late Alex Trebek on Friday night (January 8) as his last episode of the long-running game show is set to air. However, it seems that there are still several Trebek moments in the vault waiting to be released.
On Thursday, the Canadian Academy released a never-before-seen video of the host accepting the Academy Icon Award as part of the canceled 2020 Canadian Screen Awards, which was set to take place on March 29, 2020. "You host a popular show for 36 years, you get to be known, you get to be liked. Maybe people think you’re a nice guy. They know you’re Canadian — ergo Canadians are nice people and the country must be a special place,” Trebek said in the two-minute pre-recorded speech. “Well, it is! And not just because we’re nice."
Trebek, who died in November following a battle with pancreatic cancer, went on to admit that Canada is "a country of accomplishments" that does it in two languages, before switching to French for a portion of the speech.
"For more than 50 years, I have tried to convey the message that francophone culture is something very important, very special — not only for the province of Quebec but for our entire country,” he continued in a translation provided by the CBC. "This culture has won us great success on the international stage. Think of Xavier Dolan, Félix Leclerc, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Louis Hémon and the Montreal Canadiens with 24 Stanley Cup championships."
"[Canada] has expanded that welcome to go beyond the level of tolerance to one that I believe is even better. I think the essence of Canada now is acceptance. And long may it continue," he explained.
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