From 1967 to 1970, he was a host for the CBC, introducing classical music programs including performances by Glenn Gould. In 1966, he hosted a high school quiz show called Reach for the Top. Trebek's first hosting job was on a Canadian music program called Music Hop in 1963. According to Trebek, 'I went to school in the mornings and worked at nights I did everything, at one time replacing every announcer in every possible job.' He would eventually read the CBC national radio news and cover a wide range of special events for CBC Radio and CBC Television, including curling and horse racing. Broadcasting career CBC īefore completing his degree, Trebek began his career in 1961 working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. At the time, he was interested in a broadcast news career. While a university student, he was a member of the English Debating Society. Trebek graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in philosophy in 1961. Trebek attended Sudbury High School (now Sudbury Secondary School) and then attended the University of Ottawa. Trebek's first job at age 13 was as a bellhop at the hotel where his father worked as a chef.

Shortly after he attended military college but dropped out when he was asked to cut his hair. Trebek almost got expelled from the boarding school his parents sent him to.

He grew up in a bilingual French- English household. Trebek had roots in Renfrew County, Ontario, where his maternal grandmother was born in Mount St. Trebek was born on July 22, 1940, in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, the son of George Edward Trebek ( born Terebeychuk), a chef who had emigrated from Ukraine as a child, and Lucille Marie Lagacé (Ap– 2016), a Franco-Ontarian.

Utility bellhop