19 Penn Alumni you should know about: Vol. 8

[ssba]
GAMESHOWS:

Jeff Wachs (C’97) appeared as a contestant this week on Jeopardy (video coming).  He is yet another Penn alum gameshow contestant!

While he didn’t win, Jeff provided us with some insider info:

“Here’s how it works: Alex reads the clue, and then a guy at a table off-camera flips a switch that turns on some lights on the board that the TV audience doesn’t see. If the contestant buzzes in before that switch has been thrown, he or she is locked out for a couple of a fractions of a second. So, the trick is buzzing in AFTER the invisible man flips the switch but BEFORE the lights come on.

Japinga [contestant] was on his fourth game in a row and had gotten really comfortable with that rhythm, as evidenced (for one example) by his sweep of a category about the Supreme effing Court. The guy was fast, and he had the edge, but ultimately I blame myself — I should have seen “Red Baron” in “Rotte Whatever,” but I was focused on and perplexed by the publishing year of 1917 in the clue, since WWI didn’t end until 1918 (and so I didn’t think famous WWI figures would be writing bios during the war). That mistake cost me, and from there on out I was only going to win if Japinga missed Final Jeopardy, which was a sugar pill. When I saw Japinga go for the pen as quickly as I did, I knew it was over.”

Roy Bank (C’94) just debuted the premiere of his newest hidden camera comedy game show DEAL WITH IT, starring Howie Mandel (Wednesdays, 10:30 pm)

More Penn alumni on TV HERE

More Penn alumni working together HERE

[adsense]

• ayska
• gameshow
• Gameshow Contestant