Ken Jennings

Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) holds the record for the longest winning streak on the syndicated game show Jeopardy!, as well as other records. Jennings won 74 games before he was defeated by Nancy Zerg on his 75th appearance. His total earnings on Jeopardy! are $3,022,700 ($2,520,700 in winnings and a $2,000 consolation during his original run, and $500,000 in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions). Jennings held the record for most winnings on any game show ever played until the end of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions (first aired on May 25, 2005), when he was displaced by Brad Rutter, who defeated Jennings in that tournament.

Biography

Born in Edmonds, Washington, Jennings grew up in Seoul, South Korea (1981–1992) and Singapore (1992–1996), where his father worked for an international law firm and then as Asia Pacific Division Counsel of Oracle Corporation. He watched Jeopardy! on American Forces Network television while growing up.

Jennings graduated with a degree in Computer Science and English at Brigham Young University, where he played on the school's quiz bowl team for three and a half years. He completed an International Baccalaureate diploma at Seoul Foreign School, and achieved honors at Brigham Young. Jennings attended the University of Washington during his freshman year.

Jennings is a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year mission in Madrid, Spain from 1993 to 1995.

Now residing in Murray, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City), Jennings identifies himself as an avid comic book and movie buff with a website listing his top 2,000 favorite movies. He also writes questions for, edits the literature and mythology categories of questions of, and is otherwise active in the National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT), a quiz bowl organization. He was a software engineer for CHG, a healthcare-placement firm.

He and his wife Mindy have a son, Dylan.

Streak on Jeopardy!

Before 2003, Jeopardy! contestants were limited to five consecutive games. At the beginning of the show's twentieth season (in 2003), the rules were changed to allow contestants to remain on the show as long as they continued to win. After this rule change, and until Jennings' run, the record winning streak was set by Tom Walsh, who won $186,900 ($184,900 in his winning episodes) in eight games in January 2004.

Jennings's run began with the episode aired on Monday, June 2, 2004, and spanned two seasons. Since he did not lose before the 2004 Tournament was taped (which then aired from September 20 through October 1), he had to wait until the 2005 season to compete in the Tournament of Champions. In theory, if Jennings had remained undefeated through the 2004-2005 season, there would not have been a Tournament of Champions for that season because Jennings would have been the sole champion.

On November 30, 2004, Jennings' long reign as Jeopardy! champion ended when he lost his seventy-fifth game to challenger Nancy Zerg. Heading into Final Jeopardy!, the third contestant, David Hankins, had a negative score and thus was not allowed to participate. Jennings proved to be his own worst enemy by 'missing' both Double Jeopardy! Daily Double questions (on which he had placed his usual high wagers) and the Final Jeopardy! question. The Final Jeopardy category was "Business and Industry," and the clue was: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year." The correct response was: "What is H&R Block?"; Jennings responded with "What is FedEx?". The July 10, 2006 episode of Jeopardy! made reference to the event in one of the game's clues.

Jennings's final total, along with his second-place money, was $2,522,700. Zerg answered correctly, and she and Jennings shook hands and hugged as the audience gave the two of them a standing ovation. Immediately after she won, Alex Trebek dubbed her a "giant-killer" for her accomplishment of finally beating the long-standing champ.

Jennings reported in an interview that the loss was "no fluke" and that Zerg was a formidable opponent. She was defeated the following day, finishing in third place with $2, while Jennings' running time period totaled 182 calendar days, including his first and last appearances.

Along the way, Jennings defeated at least three contestants who are current quiz bowl players; in fact, according to a Washington Post article, at least one fellow NAQT employee was selected to appear on the show during Jennings' run (but, as someone with more than a casual acquaintance with Jennings, could not compete against him because of standards and practices rules). Jeopardy implemented some backstage changes during Jennings' run. Normally players only get a short time of practice with the Buzzers; however, more rehearsal time was added so that the new players could get comfortable. Additionally, the person who managed the buzzer system was changed.

Interestingly, once he’d crossed the five-game threshold, players didn’t seem to be any more intimidated by him. “It didn’t make any difference whether you’d won 9 games or 49 games. Either way, you were something people hadn’t seen before. Before me, the only people to win more than five games were Sean Ryan and Tom Walsh. The extra games didn’t make much of a difference to how they saw me.”

On December 1, the show broke with tradition by having Jennings make a "guest appearance" at the start of the broadcast, during which host Alex Trebek acknowledged his success and enumerated the various game show records he'd broken.

Jennings's winning streak on Jeopardy! has made him something of a celebrity. Jeopardy! ratings went up 62 percent during his run on the show (11.1 million viewers was a ten-year high); for three weeks in July 2004 and for most of the latter part of Jennings's run, it surpassed traditional leader Wheel of Fortune to become television's highest-rated syndicated program.

Other media appearances

Jennings has received a good deal of American media coverage. After his 31st win on Jeopardy!, during the summer break between tapings, Jennings made a guest appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly. There Jennings revealed that he had failed to qualify for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, also hosted by Regis Philbin. During that guest appearance, Jennings said that, "Jeopardy! is a man's game ... it's not like Millionaire."

Jennings appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to present Letterman's "Top Ten List." He appeared again on the program on the night his final show was televised, in addition to interview segments airing that night on local 11 p.m. news programming and on Nightline. Barbara Walters selected Jennings as one of the "Ten Most Fascinating People of 2004" for her twelfth annual ABC News special, which aired on December 8, 2004. While on his media tour following his final game, Jennings taped a segment for a future episode of Sesame Street. TV Guide featured a segment of "The Top Ten TV Moments of 2004," in which Ken Jennings' loss placed third.

A&E aired on December 1, 2004 an episode of the Biography television program on Jennings and other Jeopardy! notables, including Frank Spangenberg and Eddie Timanus.

After Jeopardy!

When asked what he intended to do with his winnings, Jennings said that he intends to tithe ten percent to his church, donate to public television and National Public Radio, go on a trip to Europe, and invest the rest for his family. Jeopardy! contestants typically receive their winnings approximately 120 days after their last game airs in the form of a check. Taking advantage of its fame over the crucial clue, H&R Block offered Jennings free financial services for the rest of his life. H&R Block senior vice president David Byers estimated that Jennings would owe approximately $1.04 million in taxes on his winnings. Combined with a ten percent tithe, this would leave him approximately $1,230,430 to use for other purposes.

According to Variety.com (‘Trivia titan gets series’, May 23, 2005) Jennings and Michael Davies (Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Win Ben Stein's Money) are teaming up as executive producers on a new game show format for Comedy Central. According to Comedy Central execs, Jennings would co-host and participate. The series was planned to air in late 2005 or the first quarter of 2006, but as of April 2006, development had stalled, and its future remains uncertain. Ken Jennings explained on his website that "Stephen Colbert's show was doing so well in its post-Daily Show spot that Central decided they weren't in the market for a quiz show anymore." However he is still shopping for a network for a potential game show "modestly titled, Ken Jennings vs. the Rest of the World."

Ultimate Tournament of Champions

On December 28, 2004, Sony sent out a press release announcing their 15-week, 75-show, Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions. It featured Tournament of Champions Champions, College Championship, and Teen Tournament winners from the show's 21-year run, as well as over 100 undefeated five-time champions.

This equaled a total of 145 players, including Jennings, who unlike the other competitors, was automatically placed in the finals. The Ultimate Tournament of Champions offered a substantial purse, with a grand prize of $2,000,000 to the winner, $500,000 for second, and $250,000 for third. Guaranteed prize money was offered to all contestants. The tournament was taped in early 2005 and the tournament began airing on February 9. The three-day finals concluded the event on May 23, May 24 and May 25.

Harry Friedman, Executive Producer of the show, said in the release, "The 2003 rule change, which allows Jeopardy! players to keep playing until they're defeated, raised the question about how other five-time champions might have played under this rule. This tournament is an opportunity to give those past champions another chance to shine." On May 25, Ken Jennings finished second in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, winning half a million dollars but has been replaced as the number one overall winner of money on a gameshow by Brad Rutter, the two million dollar winner of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. Even though he finished in second place, Jennings claims that he is still happy with his finish.

Trivia and trademarks

Ken's childhood nickname was "Captain Clip-on" due to his preference for clip-on ties.
During one game, Jennings was given the answer "This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker." Without missing a beat, Jennings replied, "What's a ho(e)?" Trebek replied "No", caught the audience's laughter, and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, they teach you that in school in Utah, huh?" (The actual question was "What is a rake?") "What's a Ho?" video
Former Tic Tac Dough contestant Thom McKee appeared on ESPN's Cold Pizza, wishing Ken luck, and challenging him to a game of Trivial Pursuit.
In 2006, Jennings competed in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament; he finished 37th out of almost 500 contestants, winning both the overall C Division and Top Rookie.
On ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, Jennings was often noted by panelists Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon as "Ken Jeopardy," and his success was noted on the show at milestone points, such as when he reached 50 straight wins and $1 million.

During his Jeopardy! appearances, Jennings became known for several quirky behaviors:

Each day he wrote his name in a different way, with styles ranging from simple (such as cursive script or block letters) to artistic (such as dots or a bas relief outline) and downright whimsical (such as Scrabble tiles).
He kept a plush "Totoro" toy, from the movie My Neighbor Totoro in his pocket, as a good luck charm.
During his college speaking tour, he admitted that the strangest fan gift he ever received was "Popo," a stuffed pillow.
He often pronounced foreign words, phrases, or locations with an accent.
He frequently would give answers in clever ways. Examples include "What are the munchies, man?" when given a clue about midnight food cravings, and "What be ebonics?" On his final episode, his response to "A Category about Nothing" in Spanish was, "¿Qué es nada?"
On Final Jeopardy and the Daily Doubles he almost always wagered an amount that could bring his total to an even multiple of $1,000. Host Alex Trebek commented on this several times, and he even occasionally guessed what wager Jennings would make.
Prior to his 30th game, Jennings did not want to beat the $52,000 single-day record of former five-day champion Brian Weikle just "for the sake of beating it" (from the Jeopardy! forums). Jennings intentionally tied Weikle's record three times. However, in his 38th game, Jennings entered Final Jeopardy with a total only $600 shy of the record (and, in fact, had exceeded the record in the Double Jeopardy round before missing a question at the end), and beat it with a final total of $75,000. On his 71st game, he surpassed the former record a second time with a win of $55,099. Jennings only made three other attempts to surpass Weikle's $52,000 amount (in his 30th, 39th, and 65th games), but incorrect Final Jeopardy! responses prevented him from succeeding.
He often shook his head in disbelief when his total cash winnings were announced at the start of each episode/game.
When guessing, he would phrase his responses in such a way as to make it clear he was in doubt of the answer himself, and openly expressed surprise when he gave the correct response.

Records

During his streak, Jennings broke the following records:

US$102,597 (adjusted to $205,194) by Frank Spangenberg, January 9–15, 1990 (prior to increase in clue value)

US$34,000 (adjusted to $68,000) by Jerome Vered, May 21, 1992 (prior to 2001 increase in clue value)

US$102,597 (adjusted to $205,194) by Frank Spangenberg, January 9–15, 1990 (prior to increase in clue value)

Description	Current Record	Previous Record
Most consecutive appearances on Jeopardy!	75 episodes (74 wins, 1 loss)	8 episodes (7 wins, 1 loss) by Tom Walsh, January 5–14, 2004
Most consecutive appearances on a syndicated game show	75 episodes (74 wins, 1 loss)	46 episodes (43 wins, 44 ties, 1 loss - more than one game could be played on an episode, and some games were part of two episodes) by Thom McKee on Tic Tac Dough, 1980
Most total appearances on Jeopardy!, including tournaments	78 episodes (including Ultimate Tournament of Champions)	16 episodes by Bob Verini, 1986–2002 (regular season-5x, Tournament of Champions-4x, Super Jeopardy!-3x, Masters Tournament-4x)
Highest total winnings on Jeopardy! in non-tournament play*	US$2,520,700	US$184,900 by Tom Walsh, January 5–13, 2004
Highest total winnings in one game of Jeopardy!	US$75,000 (game 38)	US$52,000 by Brian Weikle, April 14, 2003 (Jennings tied this record three times before he broke it)
Highest 5-game total on Jeopardy!, consecutive	US$221,200 (games 34–38)	US$154,200 by Tom Walsh (games 3–7), January 7–13, 2004
Highest 5-game total on Jeopardy!, best 5 games	US$286,099 (games 28, 29, 37, 38, and 71)	US$154,200 by Tom Walsh (games 3–7), January 7–13, 2004
*Not included in these totals is a $2,000 consolation prize, Jennings and Walsh each received for finishing in second place at the end of their respective runs. Spangenberg only received $75,000 of his winnings due to an earnings cap in effect at the time; the balance went to charity.

He also tied the following records:

Description	Current Record
Most consecutive appearances on a game show	75 episodes by Ian Lygo on 100%, 1998*
Most opponents defeated on a game show	150 by Ian Lygo on 100%, 1998**

Four game show records remained that Jennings did not tie or break:

Description	Current Record
Most wins on a single game show	75 times by Ian Lygo on 100%, 1998*
Most consecutive wins on a game show	75 times by Ian Lygo on 100%, 1998*
Most opponents defeated consecutively on a game show	150 by Ian Lygo on 100%, 1998**
Most games played on a game show	89 by Thom McKee on Tic Tac Dough, 1980 (43 wins, 2 losses, 44 ties, includes Tournament of Champions appearance.)

* Lygo was forced to retire by producer RTL Group.

** In 100%, Lygo faced two opponents per game. Jennings bested 149 opponents during his tenure, and a 150th opponent -- Jerome Vered -- in tournament play.

The following records, having been set by Ken Jennings, have now been broken by others:

Description	Current Record	Previous Record
Highest total earnings on Jeopardy!	US$3,255,102 by Brad Rutter, May 25, 2005 (Does not include value of two 2000 Chevrolet Camaro coupes he won as a five-time champion.)	US$2,522,700 by Ken Jennings*
Highest total earnings on any game show		US$2,522,700 by Ken Jennings*
*Not included in Jennings's total is the $500,000 he earned at the same time as Rutter earned $2,000,000 in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions to set the new record

Jennings' current total of US$3,022,700 could be increased to US$3,272,700 if he wins the next Tournament of Champions for the season in which his streak ended, or more if he wins a future special tournament. However, he was not eligible for the 2006 tournament. By accepting a bye into the Ultimate Tournament of Champions,Jennings was guaranteed $250,000. This bye also required that he give up his right to play in the 2006 Tournament of Champions. Rutter's total of $3,255,102 includes $55,102 in his five days and $3,000,000 in special tournament play, but does not include his two Chevrolet Camaros he won on the game. (From 1997 until 2003, five-time winners won a car.) Should a car be added, Rutter's total could theoretically be around $3.3 million when the value of the two Camaros is added to total winnings.

Jennings also holds the record for the number of consecutive losses on Jeopardy. With three consecutive losses in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions in addition to the loss in his previous Jeopardy appearance, Jennings has now lost four episodes in a row. Jerome Vered has lost three consecutive matches, all in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions final, and could tie Jennings if he loses his next special tournament.

Game summaries

Comprehensive game summaries for each day of Ken Jennings' streak have been compiled here.

Jennings and previous Jeopardy! champions

Jennings won US$156,000 in his first five days on Jeopardy!, so if the five-day rule had not been eliminated, he would still be the all-time non-tournament winner in Jeopardy! history. Sean Ryan was the first to break the record, winning six games in October 2003. The previous record holder, Tom Walsh, won $184,900 in seven days, but only $118,100 of that came in the first five days. No other Jeopardy! contestant has won more than $150,000 in non-tournament play in the first five days.

If winnings are further adjusted to make them comparable to the seasons before the clue values were doubled, Jennings's adjusted total of $78,000 would place him 11th in the Trebek era of Jeopardy!, behind Frank Spangenberg ($102,597) and nine others.

Jennings now also holds most of the top spots in the list of highest single day winnings on Jeopardy!. Prior to Jennings's run, the $50,000 mark had only been reached twice before. Myron Meyer won $50,000 on September 5, 2002, and Brian Weikle won $52,000 on April 14, 2003. Jennings has reached the $50,000 mark eleven times, with wins of $75,000, $55,099, $52,000 (three times), and $50,000 (six times).

Jennings's top score of $75,000 is the highest ever, even if it is adjusted for the seasons before the clue values were doubled. Four contestants finished with scores of $30,000 or higher in the pre-doubling era, led by Jerome Vered's score of $34,000. Jennings' adjusted total of $37,500 puts him ahead of that mark.

Loss on Jeopardy! and final statistics

In a rumor disclosed on Wednesday, September 8, 2004, two sources who were at the taping on September 7, 2004 reported that Jennings had lost on his 75th episode, taped the day before, with total winnings at around $2.5 million. (Jeopardy! tapes five shows per day.) This incident was reported by TV Week and the Associated Press, appearing in hundreds of newspapers across the United States. A few days later, another rumor spread giving out an incorrect first name of the contestant that had beat him. Despite this, Jeopardy! refused to comment.

Later on, it was determined that Ken Jennings did indeed lose as initially reported with the failing episode shown in most cities across North America on Tuesday, November 30, 2004. In an interesting turn of events, the 75th episode was aired early in the Macon, Georgia area (on WMAZ-TV) on Friday, November 26, 2004. The reasoning behind the early airing was reportedly due to a technician running the wrong tape.

To make it more difficult for viewers to keep track of Ken's progress towards his final episode, in early September 2004 the show's announcer, Johnny Gilbert, ceased mentioning the number of games that Jennings had won, as had been the show's custom. However, some people in the studio audience reported that he was still announcing them, possibly meaning those parts had been edited out of the airing. Oddly, however, during the 74th game, which aired on Monday, November 29, Gilbert resumed announcing the number of games.

Jennings broke almost every game show record in his run. Ian Lygo appeared on the British game show 100% 75 consecutive times and won every game until he was forced to retire by the show's producers. After Jennings' 75th show, he tied Lygo's record of 75 consecutive appearances and, with 74 wins, he almost reached Lygo's record of 75 consecutive game show wins.

In the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, Jennings had a chance to break Lygo's record of defeating 150 opponents. During his original run, Jennings defeated 149 opponents. If Jennings won the three-day final, he would have broken Lygo's record. In the final, Jennings faced off against Jerome Vered and Brad Rutter in a three day tournament for $2 million ($500,000 for second place and $250,000 for third place). After the three days, Ken Jennings finished in second place with a tally of $34,599. Jerome Vered finished with a total of $20,600 for third place. The winner of the tournament and $2 million prize was Brad Rutter, with a total of $62,000 earned over the three days. By finishing second ahead of Vered, Jennings not only tied Lygo's 150 opponents defeated record, but joined Rutter as the only two American game show contestants to top $3 million (US) in total winnings.

Endorsements

Jennings’ success has resulted in him being a popular individual amongst corporations looking for public endorsers.

H&R Block, the firm named in the answer he missed, announced in a press release that they were offering him a deal for free tax preparation and financial services for the rest of his life. According to H&R Block, Jennings could pay over $1.045 million alone in taxes, more than any quiz show contestant. H&R Block reported that they had offered similar services to other individuals in the past.

Jennings has also agreed to a deal with Microsoft to promote their Encarta encyclopedia software, and has signed a deal with Random House for a book about trivia culture to be published in September 2006. The book is titled Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs.

He is also engaged in speaking deals through the Massachusetts-based speakers agency, American Program Bureau.

University Games has produced a Can you Beat Ken? board game, in which the players attempt to earn $2.6 Million before any of the other players or before Jennings. Each question in the game was asked to Jennings, and his incorrect answers are recorded on the cards.

The AT&T (then SBC Communications) and BellSouth joint venture Cingular Wireless LLC has signed Jennings to appear in commercials. The first of these commercials, portraying Jennings as having lots of "friends & family" (coming out of the woodwork, because he is now "stinking rich") started airing in February, 2005.

Ken Jennings also is appearing on commercials for Allstate Insurance. Also starring Dennis Haysbert, the advertisements parody a typical Final Jeopardy! situation, and parody Ken's usual style of guessing at answers by having him answer the question in a humorous, over-the-top inquisitive fashion.

Comedy Central has announced that they have inked a deal for Ken to host a new game show on their network, likely to begin sometime in 2006. Its format is unknown, but it is already said it will be far different from the network's most notable game show offering, Win Ben Stein's Money.

References

External links

News

"Jeopardy! Whiz Jennings Loses", Fox News
"'Jeopardy!' to hold 'Super Tournament'", Fox News