LOS ANGELES -- News of Alex Trebek's retirement has been greatly exaggerated. It's natural for "Jeopardy!" fans to assume the 79-year-old host may be planning his exit after his disclosure that he is being treated for pancreatic cancer.
But Trebek made it clear Wednesday that he has no immediate plans to retire.
"I don't foresee that ... moment coming up in the near future," he said during an appearance at the TV Critics Association tour. "As long as I feel my skills have not diminished too much and as long as I'm enjoying spending time with bright people...then I'll continue doing it."
But Trebek admitted he's not always at his best these days. He was critical of his performance during the tapings of episodes for "Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time," currently running on ABC.
In watching those prime-time specials, he felt he was a little slow in the ad-lib portions.
"So some weeks are good, and some weeks are bad," he said. "But hey, it comes with the territory."
Trebek was joined by the championship contestants Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer, all of whom wore pancreatic cancer purple ribbons in support of their friend.
"This guy, no matter what he's going through over the years, just keeps getting better and better," Rutter said. "Ken and I were in the audience a couple months ago, and we were just blown away. How does he keep getting better? It doesn't make any sense. But he does. And it's just the most impressive thing I've ever seen."
