Alex Trebek Loved ‘Jeopardy!’ Bits on ‘SNL’, But Contended Another Actor Did Best Impersonation

Alex Trebek was a huge fan of the Saturday Night Live sketches that poked fun at Jeopardy!, but he said there was another actor besides Will Ferrell who did his favorite impersonation.

The iconic and beloved game show host died Sunday. He was 80.

In an interview Trebek gave years ago, he said it was actually his native Canadian countryman Eugene Levy who he felt really nailed Trebek.

“Eugene Levy to this day I maintain did the best Alex Trebek ever, better than Will Ferrell,” he said then. “He looked more the part, too. He had the dark hair and he had the black mustache.”

Levy played a character by the name of  Alex Trebel on the classic Canadian sketch series Second City Television (SCTV). “He was introduced at first as Alex Trebel, but I guess they figured ‘let’s forget about this charade and let’s just call you Alex Trebek,'” said Trebek.

Still, that is not to say Trebek disliked the SNL sketches, which were among the most popular during Ferrell’s tenure on the show.

“I loved them,” Trebek said. “It means you’ve arrived. If you do a take-off of somebody, it is a sign that you believe your audience will immediately recognize who you’re poking fun at. And if that’s the case, that means there must be a lot of people who have watched your show over the years or are watching now. So, they know immediately what the reference is. You’re popular not only because of your own show, but the take-offs and mentions on other shows.”

Watch the full segment below.

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