'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek addresses retirement rumors

Alex Trebek isn't going anywhere.

The television personality has been hosting "Jeopardy!" for 35 years now, and he'll remain in the gig through at least 2022, which is when his contract expires.

In a wide-ranging new interview with People magazine, Trebek, 78, addressed the retirement rumors that have plagued him for years now.

"People have been wondering if I was going to retire for years, but if I wanted to really try something new, it would be acting," he said. "Do I want to be in that kind of grind? Obviously, I don't since I haven't done anything about it. I have a simple philosophy about things like this: If you really wanted it, you would have done something about trying to get it."

Trebek also opened up about the level of stardom that he has achieved during his decades in show business, which sees him broadcast into households nationwide five nights a week.

See photos of Alex Trebek through the years:

"I've always referred to myself as a second- or third-tier celebrity," he said, rather surprisingly. "I'm not George Clooney."

"I'm considered more of an extended family member because you get used to seeing me in your home every night," he went on. "So when people pass me on the street, it's more like, 'Hi, how are you?' and not like, 'Oh my God, can I get your autograph?'"

Not only that but he also has his fair share of admirers: "I also have a lot of women in their 70s and 80s who tell me, 'You're hot!'"

Much to his fans chagrin, though, Trebek is firmly off the market and has been for quite some time: The host has been with wife Jean Currivan for 29 years. If Trebek had had his way, though, that number would be way higher.

"My wife Jean and I have been together almost 29 years, and I was thinking about President Bush when he died, and all the comments about his life about what a nice guy he is, and how he and his wife had been together 73 years," he told People. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, if I'd just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together."

"I guess if I'd met her when I was in my 20s she wouldn't have been born yet," he jokingly added. "But, hey, 29 years is pretty good!"

See photos of Alex Trebek and Jean Currivan together: