{alltv} 'Old' Cdn. voices still strong

LOS ANGELES -- If it's hip to be "old" in Tinseltown, then it's hippest of all to be an "old" Canadian.

Two of today's most popular worldwide TV performers in the over-70 crowd are, hands down, Alex Trebek and William Shatner.

There's a simple reason these Canadians have not retired into selling denture cream or male sexual enhancement aids: They have nice, wise voices that have gotten stronger and surer with age.

When Trebek, 70, and Shatner, 79, speak in their crisp, clear cadence of Canadian eloquence, rapt audiences listen for any pearls of wisdom that might come out of their mouths.

"He had the answers. He always has the answers," Karla Spak, a contestant on Jeopardy! and long-time Trebek fan, wrote gushingly after appearing on the game show 10 days ago.

(Sure Trebek has the answers, he sees them before the show. But who else can deliver those answers in a stoic, CBC broadcast-trained wise way? Trebek's pronunciation of his native-learned French and other foreign words add to his aura).

While waiting for her turn to play, Spak noted Trebek's energy as he taped four shows at the Sony Studios in Culver City.

In between takes, "Trebek talked about his love of carpentry, his Canadian hometown (Sudbury, Ont.) and the former moustache. At one point, he did a little tap dance."

With 26 years at the helm of Jeopardy! -- considered by many to be one of the best TV game shows ever -- the Emmy-winning Trebek still has about three years left on his contract.

This, at an age when most people have already long been pushed out the door and into retirement.But without Trebek asking tough questions and providing the answers in his measured tone, could Jeopardy! even survive?

As for Montreal-born Shatner, the way he read former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's tweets on the Jimmy Kimmel show last year -- taking an inane twitter by the former Alaskan governor and doing an interpretive reading of it as lyrical poetry -- made Americans go wild for more.

When CBS producers were looking for a comedy show based on a real twitter feed by Justin Halpern, a man who would tweet the salty, grumpy, but true things his father said, Shatner's name was the only one brought up to play the wizened elder.

While the show, $#*! My Dad Says, isn't exactly garnering rave reviews, Shatner's Midas mouth is ratings gold on his other shows, Weird or What?, Aftermath and Raw Nerve. Not to mention the massive amount of business he drums up for the travel website, Priceline, every time he utters something new and quirky ... And he'll soon be 80 years old!

There would have been a third Canadian wise man, if he were still around. Toronto-born journalist Peter Jennings was the go-to anchor at ABC News who could be trusted to deliver honest, unbiased news in a calm, assured manner.

Jennings, who died of cancer five years ago, would have turned 72 in July.

I can't help but believe American news shows would not have deteriorated into the current mess of opinion-based rantings if he were still at the helm.

Here's to strong Canadian voices that make people respect their elders.