ET spoke with the 31-year-old via Zoom on Wednesday.
Alex Trebek's 31-year-old son, Matthew, is revealing the one clothing item he kept to remember his late father. While speaking to ET's Denny Directo via Zoom on Wednesday, Matthew opened up about some of the special items worn by his dad, who died in November after a battle with cancer.
"I kept a tie that my mom had given my dad. As far as clothing goes, that was probably the most important item," Matthew said. "Almost everything from Jeopardy! went to The Doe Fund, and now we just have his closet at home here. We'll still sort through those [items], but for right now, those are kind of staying put."
"I grew up watching him on TV and seeing him dressed up. That was one way that I obviously viewed him," he continued. "And then being with him around the house, he was very casual, dressed down a lot. He did a lot of work around the house, so most of his [clothes], it would be jeans and a T-shirt. A lot of the jeans and T-shirts had holes in them. Completely different than how he was on TV."
Following his father's death, Matthew has been donating Alex's Jeopardy! suits to The Doe Fund, an organization that works to break the cycles of homelessness, incarceration and recidivism. He opened up about how the donation came to be, and why he specifically chose this nonprofit organization.
"Rocky Schmidt, who was one of the producers on Jeopardy! and one of my dad's very best friends asked, 'Where should we donate them to?'" Matthew recalled. "I knew The Doe Fund [from] working in Harlem at a restaurant. They have another location that's not too far away. I think that the work they do, and the people that work for The Doe Fund, are really great, amazing people. So it kind of all made sense."
"I think giving second chances, and helping guys who had a bit of a rough past get back on their feet, I think that's a great mission. And something that me and my family all support," he continued, adding that he thinks his dad "would feel pretty good about it."
Irvin Gidron, who received one of Alex’s suits through The Doe Fund, joined Matthew on the Zoom call. "I was shocked that me and Alex was the same size, because he's a larger than life figure," he said. "I was like, 'Wait a minute, he looks bigger than me.'"
Irvin added, "So it felt kind of good. I mean, very impressive."
He also went on to reveal that he recently wore Alex's suit to an in-person job interview. "I was complimented going in, and coming out from the interview, and it was great," he shared. "I feel smarter [wearing it]. This is the Alex Trebek edition."
"Matt, thank you for the donation. The Doe Fund really appreciates it," he added. "The guys feel very blessed and special that y'all would take time out and even donate ... it's very appreciated."
Matthew chimed in, saying that it feels "great" to see men like Irvin now wearing his dad's suits. "The way that Irvin has summed it up I think is perfect, and exactly what everyone would have hoped for," he said. "It's really meaningful, and it's really heartwarming."
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