Ken Jennings

For more people named Ken Jennings, see the Ken Jennings (disambiguation) page.

Ken Jennings on Jeopardy!

"It's boring to have the same guy win. I'm actively rooting against myself." -- TV Guide 14-Nov-2004 Jennings' streak ended on November 30th, 2004. He won $2,522,700 in 75 appearances (74 wins).

Kenneth William Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) holds the records for the longest winning streak (74 consecutive episodes) and the most money won (over US$2.5 million) on the syndicated game show Jeopardy!, as well as other various game show related records.

Biography

Born at Stevens Memorial Hospital 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 Armed Forces Television while growing up.

Jennings graduated in Computer Science and English at Brigham Young University where he played on the school's quizbowl team for three years. He completed an International Baccalaureate diploma at Seoul Foreign School, and achieved "honors" at both the University of Washington and BYU.

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

Now resident in Murray, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City), Jennings identifies himself as an avid comic book and movie buff with a web site listing his top 2000 favorite movies. He also writes questions and edits the literature and mythology categories for NAQT, a quizbowl organization. He is a software engineer for CHG, a healthcare-placement firm.

He and his wife Mindy have a son named Dylan. Her parents, who prefer to be anonymous despite Jennings's fame, live in Ottawa, Ontario. Jennings claims to have learned a Canadian accent by watching The Kids of Degrassi Street.

Ken Jennings's streak on Jeopardy!

Jennings's long run began with the episode aired on Monday, June 2, 2004. The episode that aired July 23, 2004 was the 20th-season finale; all of Jennings's episodes from then were taped in February and March. Jennings returned on the first show of the 21st season, which was taped in late April, and aired on September 6, 2004. Two weeks of the 21st season were taped before the summer hiatus. Since he did not lose before the 2004 Tournament was taped (which then aired from September 20 through October 1), he will have to wait until the 2005-06 season to compete in the Tournament of Champions. The first Tournament of Champions challenger to Mr. Jennings will be Kermin Fleming, the 2004-05 season's College Tournament champion, an at-large invitation.

In 2003, at the start of the syndicated show's 20th season, Jeopardy! changed its rules, allowing a contestant to remain on the show for as long as he or she continued to win. Previously, contestants could not return after winning five consecutive games. After the rule change, and until Jennings's run, the record winning streak was set by Tom Walsh, who won $184,900 in seven games in January 2004.

On Tuesday, November 30, 2004, Jennings' long reign as Jeopardy! champion finally came to an end when he lost his 75th game to fellow challenger Nancy Zerg, who was neither particularly knowledgable nor especially adept at working the ring-in buzzer. 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! 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?". Amazingly, Jennings - who often answered correctly based on logical deduction rather than actual knowledge - responded with "What is FedEx?" insead of "H & R Block." His final total was US$ 2,522,700. His running time period totaled 182 calendar days, including his first and last.

Jennings's winning streak on Jeopardy! has made him somewhat of a celebrity; he has received a good deal of American media coverage and appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to present Letterman's "Top 10 List". He is scheduled to appear again on the program on the night his final show was televised, 30th November, in addition to interview segments airing that night on local 11 o'clock news programs. Jennings also was selected as one of the Ten Most Fascinating People of 2004 by Barbara Walters for her annual ABC special airing on December 8.

A&E will air an episode in December 2004 of their popular program, Biography, dedicated to Jennings's life and the lives of former Jeopardy! notables, including Frank Spangenberg and Eddie Timanus. Jeopardy! ratings have gone up 62 percent during Jennings's 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' run, it surpassed traditional leader Wheel of Fortune to become television's highest-rated syndicated program. By day 11 of Jennings's streak, the jokes had already begun. Patricia Davis, a co-contestant, wrote "same as Ken's answer" for her Final Jeopardy! response.

When asked what he intended to do with his winnings, Jennings said that he intended to tithe 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.

Along the way, Jennings defeated at least three contestants who are current quizbowl 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 of Jennings, could not compete against Jennings because of standards and practices rules).

Ken appeared on Nightline and the Late Show on the night of his Jeopardy! loss.

Trademarks

Jennings has become known for his quirky behaviors:

He writes his name in a different way each day, with styles ranging from simple (such as cursive script or block letters) to artistic (such as dots or a bas-relief outline).
The good luck charm in his pocket is a plush "Totoro" toy, from the movie My Neighbor Totoro.
He will often attempt to pronounce foreign words, phrases, or locations with an accent.
On Final Jeopardy! and the Daily Doubles he almost always wagers an amount that could bring his total to a multiple of $5,000, or at the least a multiple of $1,000. Host Alex Trebek has commented on this several times, and he even occasionally "guesses" what wager Jennings will make.
Prior to his 38th 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). He intentionally tied his 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 broke the record a second time with a win of $55,099. Jennings has only made two other attempts to break Weikle's $52,000 record (in his 30th and 65th games), but incorrect Final Jeopardy! responses prevented him from succeeding.
He used to shake his head in disbelief when his total cash winnings were announced at the start of each game, although he has recently stopped doing this.
Dislikes country music according to his Letterman appearance.

Records

During his streak, Jennings broke the following records:

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 total appearances on Jeopardy!, including tournaments		16 episodes by Bob Verini, 1986–2002 (regular season-5x, Tournament of Champions-4x, Super Jeopardy!-3x, Masters Tournament-4x)
Most consecutive appearances on a syndicated game show		46 episodes (43 wins) by Thom McKee on Tic Tac Dough, 1980
Highest total winnings on Jeopardy! in non-tournament play	US$2,522,700	US$184,900 by Tom Walsh, January 5–13, 2004 US$102,597 (adjusted to $205,194) by Frank Spangenberg, January 9–15, 1990 (prior to increase in clue value)
Highest total winnings on Jeopardy! including tournaments		US$1,155,102 by Brad Rutter, 2001–2002
Highest total winnings on a syndicated game show		US$1,155,102 by Brad Rutter on Jeopardy!, 2001–2002
Highest total winnings on a game show		US$2,180,000 by Kevin Olmstead on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, 2001
Highest total winnings in one day on 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) US$34,000 (adjusted to $68,000) by Jerome Vered, May 21, 1992 (prior to increase in clue value)
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 US$102,597 (adjusted to $205,194) by Frank Spangenberg, January 9–15, 1990 (prior to increase in clue value)
Highest 5-game total on Jeopardy!, best 5 games	US$286,099 (games 28, 29, 37, 38, and 71)

He tied the following record:

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

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

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

* Lygo was forced to retire by producers RTL Group. In 100%, Lygo faced two opponents per game. Jennings defeated 149 opponents during his win streak.

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. 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's adjusted total of $37,500 puts him ahead of that mark.

Game summaries

Game	Day	Air Date	Winnings	Running Total	Opponents***
4558	Day 1	Wednesday, June 2, 2004	$37,201	$37,201	Jerry Harvey, Julia Lazarus
4559	Day 2	Thursday, June 3	$22,000	$59,201	Chad Kaihe, Carrie Youngblood
4560	Day 3	Friday, June 4	$37,000	$96,201	Neil Thom, Dane Petersen
4561	Day 4	Monday, June 7	$30,000	$126,201	Josh Hornik, Clinton Wieden
4562	Day 5	Tuesday, June 8	$29,799	$156,000	Corey Halgren, Paula Filson
4563	Day 6	Wednesday, June 9	$25,000	$181,000	Kevin Stanley, Anne Fritz
4564	Day 7	Thursday, June 10	$50,000	$231,000	Laura Adomunas, (Susan Gress)
4565	Day 8	Friday, June 11	$35,158	$266,158	Al Arsenault, Ethan Culbreth
4566	Day 9	Monday, June 14	$25,000	$291,158	Joe Riley, Carla DenHartog
4567	Day 10	Tuesday, June 15	$50,000	$341,158	David Steinhardt, Karen Gasperino
4568	Day 11	Wednesday, June 16	$35,000	$376,158	Josh Thorpe, Patricia Davis
4569	Day 12	Thursday, June 17	$34,000	$410,158	Steve DiGiulio, Dierdre Basile
4570	Day 13	Friday, June 18	$30,000	$440,158	Bret Bradigan, Ellen Cook
4571	Day 14	Monday, June 21	$31,601	$471,759	Matt Ottinger, (Scheri Mullins)
4572	Day 15	Tuesday, June 22	$15,200	$486,959	Rick Faulkner, Kelly Parker
4573	Day 16	Wednesday, June 23	$26,000	$512,959	Sarah Jane Woodall, Cathy Weber
4574	Day 17	Thursday, June 24	$40,000	$552,959	Bryan Givens, Miriam Bamberger
4575	Day 18	Friday, June 25	$48,801	$601,760	Michael Cudahy, Chris Edwards
4576	Day 19	Monday, June 28	$21,000	$622,760	Michael Magdalena, Lori Fountain
4577	Day 20	Tuesday, June 29	$40,000	$662,760	Alan Paul, Laura Leslie
4578	Day 21	Wednesday, June 30	$35,000	$697,760	Ryan McClarren, Sue Richman
4579	Day 22	Thursday, July 1	$40,000	$737,760	Chris Mason, Vicki Reynolds
4580	Day 23	Friday, July 2	$17,600	$755,360	Mary Ann Eitler, (Judy MacLeod Reardon)
4581	Day 24	Monday, July 5	$19,600	$774,960	(Nick Aretakis), Lucinda Sabino
4582	Day 25	Tuesday, July 6	$14,000	$788,960	Tom Aquino, (Jenny Miller)
4583	Day 26	Wednesday, July 7	$40,000	$828,960	Michael Vance, Vanessa Osborne
4584	Day 27	Thursday, July 8	$40,000	$868,960	Leonard Koss, Oliver Mellet
4585	Day 28	Friday, July 9	$52,000	$920,960	Darcy Vernier, Kate Carlyle
4586	Day 29	Monday, July 12	$52,000	$972,960	Rich Carrol, Jennifer Lajewski
4587	Day 30	Tuesday, July 13	$32,000	$1,004,960	Max Corrick, Irene Lawrence
4588	Day 31	Wednesday, July 14	$17,500	$1,022,460	Darcy Smith, Greg Narver
4589	Day 32	Thursday, July 15	$28,000	$1,050,460	Tom Vanderloo, Lou Ascatigno
4590	Day 33	Friday, July 16	$50,000	$1,100,460	Frank McNeil, Mary McCarthy
4591	Day 34	Monday, July 19	$35,000	$1,135,460	Tim Crockett, Beverly Herter
4592	Day 35	Tuesday, July 20	$29,200	$1,164,660**	Christopher Mensel, Susan Keller
4593	Day 36	Wednesday, July 21	$30,000	$1,194,660	Art Borgemenke, (Liese Tamburrino)
4594	Day 37	Thursday, July 22	$52,000	$1,246,660	Michael Jaeger, Denele Hamada
4595	Day 38	Friday, July 23	$75,000*	$1,321,660	Kristine O'Connell-McCoy, Sarah Mulloy
Various		Monday, July 26 to Friday, September 3	Summer Hiatus, Season 20 Reruns
4596	Day 39	Monday, September 6	$10,001	$1,331,661	J.D. Smith, Betsey Casman
4597	Day 40	Tuesday, September 7	$21,800	$1,353,461	Rich Hartz, Bob Watts
4598	Day 41	Wednesday, September 8	$27,200	$1,380,661	Laura Gustafson, Adam Meyer
4599	Day 42	Thursday, September 9	$21,800	$1,402,461	Todd Perkins, Amy Helmes
4600	Day 43	Friday, September 10	$30,000	$1,432,461	Bill Scheller, Kollin Min
4601	Day 44	Monday, September 13	$45,000	$1,477,461	Dana Doland, (Bruce England)
4602	Day 45	Tuesday, September 14	$40,000	$1,517,461	Robert Quinn, Kate Duffy
4603	Day 46	Wednesday, September 15	$37,600	$1,555,061	David Fishbach, Cara Butler
4604	Day 47	Thursday, September 16	$30,000	$1,585,061	Elaine Skopelja, John Cook
4605	Day 48	Friday, September 17	$50,000	$1,635,061	Greg Taylor, Marilyn Werner
4606-4615		Monday, September 20 to Friday, October 1	Tournament of Champions
4616	Day 49	Monday, October 4	$29,601	$1,664,662	Jeff Suchard, (Beth Salkind)
4617	Day 50	Tuesday, October 5	$35,038	$1,699,700	Jay Wolman, Pat Greene
4618	Day 51	Wednesday, October 6	$38,400	$1,738,100	Bill Carter, Kathryn Dorminey
4619	Day 52	Thursday, October 7	$40,000	$1,778,100	Jennifer Lord, Steve Kornya
4620	Day 53	Friday, October 8	$30,000	$1,808,100	Al Lindke, Aimee Watson
4621	Day 54	Monday, October 11	$35,000	$1,843,100	Tristan Mabry, Sunny Schomaker
4622	Day 55	Tuesday, October 12	$35,000	$1,878,100	Marcy Palino, Matt Kleinmaier
4623	Day 56	Wednesday, October 13	$28,300	$1,906,400	Larry Bellinger, Marielle Poss
4624	Day 57	Thursday, October 14	$29,900	$1,936,300	Graham House, K.C. Backer
4625	Day 58	Friday, October 15	$40,000	$1,976,300	Josh Rosenfeld, Jose Ruiz Jr.
4626-4630		Monday, October 18 to Friday, October 22	Kids Week
4631	Day 59	Monday, October 25	$30,000	$2,006,300	Nathan Gordon, Jennifer Harriss
4632	Day 60	Tuesday, October 26	$25,000	$2,031,300	(Mary Carpenter), Jeff Matthews
4633	Day 61	Wednesday, October 27	$34,001	$2,065,301	Merritt Hamilton Allen, Adam Villani
4634	Day 62	Thursday, October 28	$30,000	$2,095,301	Bob Joseph, Lori Ann Tennant
4635	Day 63	Friday, October 29	$30,000	$2,125,301	Sandy Grimwade, Brian Shipley
4636	Day 64	Monday, November 1	$26,600	$2,151,901	Lisa Ellis, Ben Wiles
4000		Tuesday, November 2	4,000th Episode Special (widely pre-empted by election coverage)
4637+	Day 65	Wednesday, November 3	$45,099	$2,197,000****	Rob Perry, Denise Tanyol
4638+	Day 66	Thursday, November 4	$50,000	$2,247,000	(Jennifer Knapp), Jerry Taggart
4639+	Day 67	Friday, November 5	$25,600	$2,272,600	Elizabeth Costello, John Murray
4640+	Day 68	Saturday, November 6	$33,201	$2,305,801	Leo Wolpert, Ryan Cook
4641	Day 69	Monday, November 8	$19,200	$2,325,001	Jennifer Peebles, Robert Kirkpatrick
4642	Day 70	Tuesday, November 9	$30,000	$2,355,001	Dave Oosterhuis, Jeff Hoppes
4643-4652		Wednesday, November 10 to Tuesday, November 23	College Championship
4653	Day 71	Wednesday, November 24	$55,099	$2,410,100	Dan Ford, Lisa Buckhout
4654	Day 72	Thursday, November 25	$50,000	$2,460,100	Whitney Donaghy, Philip Graves
4655	Day 73	Friday, November 26	$31,600	$2,491,700	Sanda Kurtz, Andrew Smith
4656	Day 74	Monday, November 29	$29,000	$2,520,700	Kathi Fry, Rob Kimbro
4657	Day 75	Tuesday, November 30	$2,000#	$2,522,700	Nancy Zerg, (David Haskins)

Italicized episode numbers indicate games in which Ken was not a player.

* Largest Jeopardy! one-day winning total.
** Broken record of highest overall winnings ever won on Jeopardy!, including special tournaments.
*** An opponent's name in (parentheses) indicates that the opponent was ineligible to compete in Final Jeopardy! To be eligible for Final Jeopardy!, the contestant must have a positive score at the end of Double Jeopardy! (Since the current podiums were installed in 2002, a positive score is marked by the score appearing on a blue background, while a red background means the contestant has a negative score).
**** Broken record of total winnings on a game show.
+ Some markets air a Jeopardy! classic from the previous season on weekends, and syndicator King World in the U.S. (CBS/Paramount internationally) made up the pre-emption from Tuesday, November 2 by airing each of these games a day later. As a result, Jennings also appeared on Saturday, November 6.
# Although Jennings's total for the day was $8,799, the second-place prize is $2,000 regardless of the player's actual total for that game.

Average daily winnings: $33,636.00
Average daily winnings with final day's total ($8,799): $33,726.65

More detailed Ken Jennings statistics have been compiled by Andy Saunders.

The theoretical maximum win for a single game of Jeopardy! is $566,400, but this requires choosing all of the Daily Doubles last and that they're all placed behind the lowest valued clues, for which the odds are 3,288,600 to 1 (assuming they are randomly placed). Depending on placement and order of the Daily Doubles, a so-called "perfect game" (every question correct, always maximum wager when called to do so) can range from $208,000 to $566,400, with a mean of $374,400. [Since the values were doubled, no Daily Double has appeared in the top row ($200/$400), though they on occasion appear in the second row ($400/$800).]

Ken Jennings's loss on Jeopardy!

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.

Later on, it was determined that Ken Jennings did indeed lose. His failing episode was shown on Tuesday, November 30, 2004.

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.

Final Jeopardy! category: Business and Industry
Final Jeopardy! clue: Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year. (See here)

The correct question was: What is H&R Block? This was the answer given by Nancy Zerg. Jennings's other opponent, David Haskins, could not participate in Final Jeopardy!, as he did not have a positive score at the end of the Double Jeopardy! round. Ken Jennings's answer was: What is FedEx? Nancy wagered $4,401, which brought her total up to $14,401. Ken Jennings wagered $5,601, which caused him to lose with a total of $8,799.

Therefore, Jennings ties Ian Lygo's record of 75 appearances, but not Lygo's record of 75 wins (Lygo won his 75th game and was retired by the show's producers). Although Jennings will almost certainly return for the Tournament of Champions next year, he will not be able to beat the two remaining records, because they were for consecutive appearances and wins, and the Tournament wins are not consecutive, but overall wins. A win in a Tournament opening round would only tie, and a semifinal win would break, the record for most overall appearances and wins.

Another record Jennings will be able to attack will be Lygo's record of 150 opponents defeated during his run. The opponents he faces in the first round of the Tournament of Champions will be the 149th and 150th people to lose to him, if he is victorious.

As of this time, Kermin Fleming (2004 Jeopardy! College Championship winner) is the only known opponent for Mr. Jennings, but as other players start winning consecutive games, they will line up behind Fleming and Jennings for pecking order. Jennings is almost assured of being the #1 seed for the Tournament of Champions.

Order

1. Kermin Fleming (2004 College Champion) 2. Ken Jennings (74 wins)

3. 2005 College Champion.

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

The 12 players in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 season who have the most wins will participate in the next Tournament of Champions, which should be scheduled in the spring of 2006.

An audio recording of Final Jeopardy! for Ken Jennings's 75th appearance was posted online on the same weblog, Kottke.org, where the initial rumor appeared, but it was removed at the request of lawyers representing Sony.

Link to WFAA's clip of Ken losing. doesn't show Ken completely though.

External links