Clear your calendar: Jeopardy! Ultimate this Friday, April 29
Your Uncle Swan makes his Round Two foray into the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions this Friday evening.
For those of you coming late to the party, I was a five-time undefeated champion on the world's favorite quiz show back in 1988. With career winnings of $62,098 and a gaggle of lovely parting gifts, I qualified for an invitation to the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions: 144 of the game's greatest champs vying for a shot at 74-game winner Ken Jennings and a $2 million top prize.
In the first game of the UTOC, I squeaked by with a victory over a former Tournament of Champions winner and the show's first-ever undefeated champ, bagging a total of $31,601. (You can read all of the details here.) A few weeks ago, I returned to Sony Pictures Studios to tape my Round Two match, the results of which you can witness in just two days' time (check your local listings for Bat-time and Bat-channel).
And no, I'm not going to tell you what happened. Watch for yourselves on Friday, then stop by here over the weekend and give me your perspectives.
In the words of the immortal Don Cornelius, you can bet your last money it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey.
6 insisted on sticking two cents in:
The sad part about the win is that it's concidered earn income and you have to pay the taxes on it, which in California, is a B. Even though I wound up winning less than three grand in prizes, I still had to pay the taxes on the stuff.
Just one question though, S.S. You can only do three game shows in your lifetime, according to rules. Would the U.T.O.C. be your, dare I say, swan song?
True that, Sam: Game shows winnings always sound huge to people who don't realize that you'll lose nearly half the total in taxes, between the IRS and (here, anyway) the state of California.
Regarding the game show appearances "rule": There isn't one, contrary to popular belief. (We had a lengthy discussion about this in the green room at one of my UTOC tapings.) Each show has its own policy on the matter -- most, J! included, simply require that your appearances be more than one year apart.
There are plenty of people who've been on multiple game shows. In the UTOC, for example, are several players who've also been contestants on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Win Ben Stein's Money, and/or the revival of Twenty-One. UTOC participant Bob Harris was a big winner on Greed a few years back. Barbara-Anne Eddy, who was in my TOC class back in 1988 and was also in the UTOC, has been on seven or eight game shows in her lifetime. If you're an interesting contestant, and the producers of a given show don't feel you've been overexposed, you can always get on another show.
I've never had much of an interest in doing another game show, though my wife would love for me to try out for Millionaire. But see, for me, it's the game. I don't really care (much) about the money. I'd play J! for free any time they asked me, if circumstances permitted. And I've never seen another game I would enjoy playing as much. (Well, maybe Win Ben Stein's Money would have been fun.) But I never say "never."
I am glad to hear your episode hadn't aired yet as I had been out of town - I am going to catch this one! I am hoping the outcome is totally in your favor.
Either way, Lynda, count on one phenomenal blog post. ;^)
This will be a most INTERESTING read. Can't wait!
i worked with swan shadow when he made his amazing run on jeopardy in 1988. the man knows EVERYTHING! he's also one of the most interesting people i've ever met to talk to about all sorts of subjects (especially movies). i will be rooting for him to take it all and beat ken jennings! GO SWAN SHADOW GO!
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