Born George Alexander Trebek, the Canadian icon became synonymous with the beloved game show Jeopardy! throughout his nearly four decades as the man behind the lectern. His life was celebrated and his death mourned by countless around the world. With such a towering reputation, it's easy to imagine Alex Trebek standing head and shoulders above the crowd—but how tall was he really?
Well, it kind of depends who you ask. Some list Trebek at a clean six feet tall (183 cm), while others have him at just 5'8" (173 cm).
His successor, Ken Jennings, is listed at 5'10" (178 cm) but the new Jeopardy! host stands just below Alex Trebek's height, as you can clearly see in photos of the pair together. Meanwhile, Conan O'Brien is a whopping 6'4" (193 cm), and a good deal taller than the late game show host.
With all that in mind, it's safe to guess that Alex Trebek was around 5'11" tall (180 cm).
You Can Be Too Tall for Jeopardy!?
With over 60 years under its belt since its debut, Jeopardy! is nothing short of a well-oiled machine at this point. Yes, there are occasional on-screen blunders (which are quickly and sometimes savagely pointed out by the show's many diehard fans). For the most part, however, every T is neatly crossed and each I crisply dotted.
As such, it should come as no surprise that even seemingly irrelevant details like the contestants' heights are carefully studied for each episode.
While there's no rule on the books that says a contestant can't be taller than Alex Trebek or current host Ken Jennings, contestants do need to be of similar height to each other. According to Jennings, at least.
In a 2020 episode of Ken Jennings and John Roderick's podcast Omnibus, Jennings explained that his 6'8" friend passed the test to be a contestant but wasn't chosen for the show, and his height might have been to blame.
"We both passed the test," Jennings said. "I think he feels he was too tall for the show. Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] has been on Jeopardy!, but typically they try to make everybody be the same height. They want the pan across the three contestants at the end not to be [sloping noise]."
Obviously, there have been (extremely) tall people on Jeopardy!. Kareem Abdul-Jabaar is 7'2" (218 cm), after all. But Jennings says this situation is typically strictly avoided. For logistical purposes, of course. The game show has nothing against tall people.
When the camera pans to the three contestants, it's a much smoother, more aesthetically pleasing shot if it's a straight line rather than a slope to accommodate a much larger person at one of the podiums.
Somewhat hilariously, there used to be a workaround for this problem, but it was a bit of a safety hazard.
"Usually they put the others [shorter people] on boxes," Jennings explained. "Originally, they had trap doors where they could lower people, but people kept falling down. You don’t want to play a game show in a hole. Now, the nice short lady can fall off her box. It’s a tough situation."
