Long ago, I Lost On Jeopardy!

But Not Until I Made It To The Finals of the first Teen Tournament

During my senior year in high school, I appeared on the first ever Jeopardy! Teen Tournament. I made it through the quarterfinals as a wildcard and won my semi-final match. The attached video is the first day of the two-day final, where I once again faced Michael Galvin (who had defeated me in the quarter finals).

Spoiler alert: Michael Galvin beat me in Day 1. He also won the overall Finals. I ended up winning $13,800 - which I used to buy the car that I drove through college, law school and a year in Bangor, Maine.

Some thoughts:

1. Alex Trebek was exceedingly kind to me and my fellow teenage contestants. After the final show was taped, he confided to us that he had taken a big risk in pushing for a teen tournament. Some of the producers thought that kids would freeze under the lights. Others thought that they should “dumb down” the questions, so that we would get some right. Alex told us that he was confident that we could handle the “real” questions. Rest in peace, Alex Trebek.

2. Michael Galvin was better than me. If we had played ten games, I might have won one or two of them. As I told the New York Times back then, ''I always thought out there is someone who will score 1500 on his S.A.T.'s, get into Harvard on early admission - I happened to meet him on 'Jeopardy,' ''

3. Dana Venator, our third finalist, was a superstar. She made it into Alex Trebek’s memoir, because she was so appealingly earnest.

4. I had a pretty noticeable Long Island accent. Once I got to college, I realized that other people did not sound like me, and I worked hard to lose that accent. After 30 years of living in Manhattan, I’m still loyal to Long Island — best beaches, bagels and pizza anywhere.

5. I appeared on Jeopardy! just after I learned that I had been admitted to Dartmouth College. I spoke about Dartmouth during one of my chats with Alex Trebek. As a result, many of my fellow freshmen knew who I was when I arrived on campus.

6. For me, the pressure of being on Jeopardy! did not come from knowing that lots of people would watch it on TV. It came from taping in front of a studio audience of about 200 people.

7. Like most game shows, Jeopardy! tapes 5 episodes per day. Three get taped before a lunch break, then two get taped afterwards. I had to bring enough outfits to change between each show that I might be on. Between the two “days” of the Finals, each contestant was hustled to a dressing room back stage to change. I remember thinking that Diana Ross was much better at changing costumes than I ever would be.

8. Yes, I heard Weird Al’s I Lost On Jeopardy! many times over the next decade. I held my head high, knowing that I did my best and just came up short against someone who was better than me.

9. I actually received fan mail. My favorite letters were from elementary school classes on Long Island. A bunch of teachers decided that writing a letter to me would be part of the week for second graders.

10. As parting gifts, I received a phone, Rice-A-Roni, Lee Press-0n Nails, and a year’s supply of Charleston Chews. Some of my Dartmouth classmates made certain that the Charleston Chews did not last beyond the end of first term.

Final Thought: Although I have been in touch with some of the other participants in the first Teen Tournament, I have not been in touch with either Michael Galvin or Dana Venator. If anyone knows them, I would be quite happy to speak with them.