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Alex Trebek, bilingual quizmaster
Broadcast Date: July 7, 1978
Long before he became quizmaster for the legendary game show Jeopardy, Alex Trebek cut his teeth on CBC Radio and Television programs. Foremost among them was Reach for the Top, the remarkable question and answer program featuring Canada's brightest high school students. In this excerpt from the show's 1978 national finals, Trebek asks difficult questions in both official languages as the Reach for the Top champs face their francophone opponents from the Quebec version of the show, Genies en Herbes (Budding Geniuses).
Reach for the Top aired from 1966 to 1985. This episode was produced in Charlottetown in July 1978. (The students from Genies en Herbes would eventually win the game with a score of 280 to 270.)
Alex Trebek, bilingual quizmaster
• Dick St. John created Reach For The Top in 1961. The show made its debut in Vancouver.
• In 1966, Sandy Stewart, the show's executive producer, created a national television show, with regional CBC stations producing their own version of the game featuring local schools. Regional winners from Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Regina, Saskatoon and Toronto met in round-robin games in Montreal to determine a national champion.
• The first quizmaster was Terry Garner. Alex Trebek was the weekly quizmaster from 1966 to 1973 in Toronto. Other quizmasters included Bill Guest, Sharon Dunn and Jan Tennant.
• Trebek went on to host a game show called High Rollers, which aired on NBC from 1975 to 1979. He often returned to Canada to act as quizmaster on the Reach for the Top national finals. In 1984 Trebek became host of Jeopardy, one of the most successful game shows in the history of television.
• In 2008, Reach For The Top could still be seen on The Knowledge Network, Access Television, Canadian Learning Television and TVOntario.
Alex Trebek, bilingual quizmaster
Medium: Television
Program: Reach for the Top
Production Date: July 7, 1978
Guest(s): Rheal Cenerini, Denis Lévesque, Charlie Lew, Peter Matthews, Isabelle Narayana, Alan Patola, Robert Picard, Raymond Thibeault
Resource: Alex Trebek
Duration: 5:00
Recorded on July 7, 1978. Exact broadcast date unknown. Writer: Paul Russell
Last updated:
May 28, 2008
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Wow, Trebek's command of French is astounding. No wonder the Americans wanted him; he's pretty smart.
Submitted by: Erich, Archives staff
I want to point out that Alex Trebek's first game show in the USA was "The Wizard of Odds". It was on NBC in the early 1970's. Just before he did "High Rollers". I'm impressed by "Reach For The Top". It must be the Canadian edition of "College Bowl".
Submitted by: John Busseno