“Danger!” suffers another tragic loss after the death of beloved host Alex Trebek.
Brayden Smith, a champion on the final episodes of Trebek who he filmed before losing his battle with pancreatic cancer, died at the age of 24.
He died unexpectedly last Friday in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada.
“The ‘Jeopardy!’ family is heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brayden Smith, ”de show said in a statement“He was nice, funny and absolutely brilliant. Our deepest condolences go out to the van Brayden family. He will be missed. “
“We are heartbroken to report that our dear Brayden Smith passed away unexpectedly recently,” says Smith’s mother Debbie wrote on Twitter“We are so grateful that Brayden was able to make his dream come true on @jeopardy.”
The cause of death is unknown, TMZ reported.
Smith won five games in a row and more than $ 115,000 during his week on the show, which was filmed in October.
According to his obituary, Smith “achieved a lifelong dream” when he participated in “Jeopardy!” and was hailed on social media as ‘Alex’s Last Great Champion’. Trebek nicknamed him “Billy Buzzsaw” during his run and said, “Very impressive, I don’t know what to say,” during his gameplay.
“He was looking forward to taking part in the show’s Tournament of Champions,” for which he had qualified, according to his obituary from the Dignity Memorial funeral home.
[Trebek] I think really loved Brayden, ”executive producer Mike Richards told EW. “I could tell he really enjoyed that young man, and it was nice to see. I think that gave him energy. “
“The best thing for me was spending time with [Trebek], ”Said Smith in an interview after his winning streak. “Doing the questions and answers is almost incidental, I think, to spend time with someone I had cherished for so long in my life … I think back to it all the time and really enjoy every moment I have with him. “
“Every moment since I was last in the studio was a moment I wanted to get back there,” he said.
Smith graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2020 with a degree in economics and hoped to study law to become an attorney for the federal government. Most recently, he worked as an intern for the Cato Institute in Washington, DC, where he helped investigate criminal justice reform cases.
Before college, Smith attended Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada, where he was a National Merit Scholar semi-finalist. His love for “Jeopardy!” was promoted as a young adult when he led his school’s Quiz Bowl team to finish second back-to-back.
The “Jeopardy!” Champ was not only a bookworm, but also in love with culture. His family noted that he was an avid sports fan, loved all genres of music and passionate about film, switching easily between Oscar winners and slapstick comedies.
Smith leaves behind his parents Scott and Deborah (Rudy) Smith, and three brothers: Bryce, 26, Reno, Nevada, Brock, 18, and Brody, 15, both from Las Vegas.
Donations in Smith’s memory may be made to the Brayden Smith Memorial Fund.
Trebek, who has hosted the show since 1984, died on November 8 at the age of 80.
