Five recent times Danger! Winner Brayden Smith died last week at the age of 24. Fans were shocked by the development and left clamoring for details about his death, which a Las Vegas CBS station reports was caused by complications from a surgery that he went through an undisclosed condition days before his death.
The KLAS news station reported that the competitor nicknamed “Billy Buzzsaw” by Trebek spent time in a southern Nevada hospital before his death, citing family sources. The outlet did not specify the nature of the disease or the surgery. Smith’s mother, Debbie, announced the death of her son on Friday, thanking people for their support. “The display of love for Brayden is overwhelming”, Debbie tweeted. “We cannot express how much your beautiful comments are comforting us during this painfully sad moment. Thank you.”
THE Las Vegas Review-Journal, who published Smith’s obituary, did not report a cause of death for the young man Danger! champion at the time of his death. The Nevada native graduated in economics in 2020 from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and intended to study law to become a lawyer for the federal government.
Brayden Smith is considered Trebek’s “Last Great Champion”. He won over $ 100,000 in his five appearances on the program. According to his obituary, Smith was looking forward to competing in the next Tournament of Champions. “The Tournament of Champions is my favorite tournament every year since I was a kid,” said Smith. “These people are kind of my trivial idols and knowing that I will be on the same metaphorical and literal stage that they were on is really something special.”
The program released a statement after Smith’s death, offering condolences to his family. “THE DANGER! family is heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brayden Smith. He was kind, funny and absolutely brilliant. Our deepest condolences go out to the Brayden family. He will be missed, “said the statement.
Before his death, Smith conducted an interview with Danger! correspondent Sarah Whitcomb Foss. He talked about his time at the show and called it a whirlwind. “I just wanted to stay there as long as possible. It really feels great to be on the set – to be around smart, cool and warm people, ”said Smith.
Smith leaves three brothers and parents, Scott and Deborah Smith, as well as his maternal grandparents and paternal grandmother and aunts, uncles and cousins. Preparations for the funeral are pending, but in the meantime, the family is asking that Smith’s memorial donations be made to the Brayden Smith Memorial Fund, “dedicated to promoting the educational aspirations of students in southern Nevada.”