“Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Richards called Alex Trebek a “warrior” as he talked about taping the late host’s final episodes.
“In the last few weeks, he [Trebek] had an intestinal surgery, and he was out for a little bit,” Richards told Entertainment Weekly in a piece published Tuesday.
“I talked to him seven days before what would end up being his final taping session, and I said, ‘Alex, you’re barely up and around. We have a long way to go before you’re gonna be back in the studio taping,'” he added.
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“He [Trebek] got very firm, which I loved, and he goes, ‘I’ll be there. Don’t you cancel anything,'” Richards continued. “And sure as heck, he was. He was a warrior.”
At one point, the producer revealed what those last few days of taping with the famed “Jeopardy!” host was like. (RELATED: Alex Trebek Announces He Was Diagnosed With Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer)
“I had chills throughout the first taping on that Monday, because I was watching him, going, ‘How is he doing this?'” Richards shared. “He came in at a higher level than normal, and his normal was excellent.
“On that first episode, he walked out, and you’ll see it when it airs, he gives this amazing speech about the holidays and coming together and being strong and taking care of each other,” he added, noting that no one even knew he was going to do that.
The producer said they ended up taping Trebek’s final five episodes in two days, and he said fans will watch them and think that Alex is as “healthy as could be.”
“He had that much willpower,” Richards said. “And we knew how much he was fighting, and that’s what made the performance even more impressive.”
“And then one last thing I’ll share with you: On the second day of taping, what would end up being his final taping and the final time he was in the studio, I went to the door where [he exited] and said, ‘Hey, that was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen,'” he added.
“But I had to say it, because it was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen,” Richards concluded. “And he was exhausted, obviously, and he looks up and he goes, ‘Thank you.’ He knew what he had done and appreciated the fact that we all knew what he had done. ”
As previously reported, the famed host lost his battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in November. He was 80 years old.
Trebek’s final episodes will air next Jan. 4 to Jan. 8, per the “Today” show.