Arts & Entertainment

2 Berkeley Heights Locals Who Appeared On 'Jeopardy!'

Alex Trebek is battling pancreatic cancer. Here are two Berkeley Heights locals who had a chance to compete with the iconic host.

Alex Trebek speaks during a rehearsal before a taping of Jeopardy! Power Players Week. He is battling Stage 4 cancer.
Alex Trebek speaks during a rehearsal before a taping of Jeopardy! Power Players Week. He is battling Stage 4 cancer. (Kris Connor/Getty Images)

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ — Alex Trebek announced Wednesday that he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Trebek has hosted Jeopardy! since 1984, reciting countless clues for trivia buffs.

In that time, two Berkeley Heights locals have appeared on Jeopardy!:

  1. Graham Doskoch, a 12-year-old from Berkeley Heights.
  2. Mary Leland, a computer scientist from Berkeley Heights. Season 5 player (1988-10-26)

For some more Garden State fun, the game show has a fan-created archive of each time Jeopardy! clues have involved New Jersey. Press the dollar amount or put your cursor over it to see the correct question to each clue.

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Trebek, 78, said on a video announcement that he plans to beat cancer and continue hosting.

"With the love and support of my family and friends, and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease," Trebek said.

Find out what's happening in New Providence-Berkeley Heightsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The iconic host ended the video on a lighter note. Trebek said he has to beat cancer because his contract runs for three more years.

Watch the video below:

— Reporting by Josh Bakan

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