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Jeopardy! Auditions on Thursday

By Frank Parlato

Merv Griffin created Jeopardy! in 1964.

Art Fleming was the original host of Jeopardy!

Ken Jennings won more than $2 million on Jeopardy! which is not bad for two months and two weeks worth of work.

Alex Trebek with Brad Rutter who is smiling, possibly because he won more than $3 million as a contestant on Jeopardy!

This simple theme song, written by Merv Griffin, earned him an estimated $70 million in his lifetime.

It's possible to earn a modest sum for demonstrating your intellectual attainments and an ability to remember trivia. Above is host Alex Trebek with Roger Craig who just won $250,000.

Susie Eun, the beautiful publicist for Jeopardy! invited this writer to appear at the Niagara Falls audition for the show.

A television quiz show named Jeopardy! will be hosting a pre-qualified contestant search this Thursday at the Sheraton At The Falls Hotel in Niagara Falls.

The show as it is televised presents a contest where competitors vie to demonstrate superior knowledge in a variety of topics, earning money commensurate with their knowledge and speed in answering questions correctly.

In a twist of what is a question and answer format, contestants are given a clue on a certain topic, and are required to furnish the question.

According to Susie Eun, publicist for the television show, successful candidates in Niagara Falls will be asked to appear on the show at some future date.

The candidates who will appear Thursday at the Sheraton have previously passed a 50-clue online test and were selected to advance to the next round of auditions, which "includes another 50-clue test, practice game play, and a brief interview," according to the show's publicists.

The event is not open to the public.

Jeopardy! airs locally at 7:30 p.m. on Ch. 4 (CBS).

"The series is the #1-rated quiz show in syndication with 25 million viewers each week," said its senior publicist, Allison Shapiro.

Jeopardy! was created by businessman and entertainer Merv Griffin and first aired in 1964. Art Fleming and later Alex Trebek are the moderators of the show.

Winners can earn as Roger Craig did, in 2010, $77,000 on a single show. Once someone wins, he or she may appear on subsequent shows. Ken Jennings in 2004, won 74 straight matches and earned $2,520,700. Later, Brad Rutter won $3,455,102.

The well-known theme song, called Think!, which is also used for a 30-second period in the Final Jeopardy! Round when contestants write down their answers was composed by Merv Griffin who estimated that Think! earned him $70 million in royalties.

While the event is not open to the public, Jeopardy! publicist, Susie Eun, wrote to me personally, kindly inviting me to the audition.

She wrote, "Hi Frank, JEOPARDY! will be hosting a contestant search this Thursday,.. I was wondering if you ... may be interested in ... going through the audition process (?). The only thing I ask during the tryout is not to reveal any specific game material from the exam. You .. can go through the exact same audition and testing process to get a ... feel of what it takes to become a JEOPARDY! contestant. ... Please let me know as soon as you can."

 

 

 

Niagara Falls Reporter - Publisher Frank Parlato Jr. www.niagarafallsreporter.com

Apr23, 2013