Alex Trebek’s legacy will remain an enormous part of the Jeopardy! universe long after the show picks a full-time replacement host. And now we know that the wardrobe he wore on camera will have a much bigger and immediate impact on many more people.
Earlier in the month word broke that Trebek’s family intended to donate Trebek’s substantial Jeopardy! wardrobe, and on Thursday the New York Times reported that they had done exactly just that. The collection of clothes, starting with 14 suits, 58 dress shirts, 300 neckties, will go to the Doe Fund, a charity that helps formerly homeless and incarcerated men in New York.
So it was that Mr. Trebek’s “Jeopardy!” wardrobe — which also included 25 polo shirts, 14 sweaters, 9 sport coats, 9 pairs of dress shoes, 15 belts, 2 parkas, and 3 pairs of dress slacks — arrived about two weeks ago at the Doe Fund, a New York City nonprofit that provides services, housing and job opportunities to men who have been in prison or homeless.
“The Doe Fund made perfect sense since these are guys who are going on job interviews and need second chances,” said Matthew Trebek, 30, a New York restaurateur who co-owns Lucille’s and Oso, both in Harlem. “It would be an honor to the type of work that my Dad did throughout his life.”
The story has some great details about the charity and the process of finding it after the death of Trebek, who passed away in late 2020 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The Doe Fund certainly fits into Trebek’s hopes of building a better, more forgiving world, and everyone receiving Trebek’s suits seems to really appreciate that they were part of TV history.