Ken Jennings

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File:KenJennings.jpg
Ken Jennings

Ken W. Jennings (born May 23, 1974) holds the records for the longest winning streak and the most money won on the syndicated game show Jeopardy!.

Biography

From Salt Lake City, Utah, Jennings is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (and therefore a teetotaler) and a graduate in Computer Science and English of Brigham Young University, where he played on the school's quizbowl team for three years. Jennings was born at Stevens Memorial Hospital in Edmonds, Washington and turned 30 years of age in May 2004. He also identifies himself as an avid comic book and movie buff with a web site listing his top 2000 favorite movies. He completed an IB (International Baccalaureate) diploma at Seoul Foreign School and achieved "honors" at both University of Washington and Brigham Young University. He currently writes questions, and edits literature and mythology, for NAQT, a quizbowl organization. He is now a software engineer for CHG, a healthcare-placement firm.

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 served a two year LDS mission in Madrid, Spain from 1993 to 1995.

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Ken Jennings' streak on Jeopardy!

Including shows aired through October 4, 2004, Jennings had won US $1,664,662 through 49 episodes. Jeopardy! contestants typically receive their winnings approximately 120 days after their last game airs.

In addition to his daily winnings, Jennings will certainly return for the "Tournament of Champions", where he will likely be the odds-on favorite to win an additional $250,000. The episode aired July 23, 2004 was the 20th-season finale; all of Jennings' 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, he will have to wait until the 2005-06 season to compete in the Tournament of Champions. [The ToCs have aired at different times over the year, and have had different cut-off dates; it is certain, though, that he will compete in the next ToC after he loses.]

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.

Jennings's winning streak on Jeopardy! has made him something of a celebrity; he has received a good deal of national media coverage and appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to present Letterman's "Top 10 List". 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, it surpassed traditional leader Wheel of Fortune to become television's highest-rated syndicated program.

When asked what he intends to do with his winnings, Jennings said that he intended to tithe ten percent to his church, donate to public television and NPR, go on a trip to Europe, and invest the rest for his family.

Trademarks

Jennings has become known for his quirky behaviors:

  • He writes his name in a different way each day, with styles ranging from cursive script to block letters to dots.
  • Every time his total winnings are announced at the beginning of the show, he shakes his head in disbelief.
  • 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. Trebek has commented on this several times, and he even occasionally "guesses" what wager Jennings will make.
  • He 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 this record three times. However, on the episode aired July 23, the final episode of the Jeopardy! season and Jennings' 38th win, he 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. (He would have broken the record with $60,000 in his 30th win, but missed the Final Jeopardy! question and finished that game with $32,000).

Records

Jennings has already broken or tied the following records:

Description Current Record Previous Record
Most consecutive appearances on Jeopardy! 49 episodes (49 wins) 8 episodes (7 wins, 1 loss) by Tom Walsh, January 514, 2004
Most total appearances on Jeopardy!, including tournaments 16 episodes by Bob Verini, 19862002 (regular season-5, Tournament of Champions-4, Super Jeopardy!-3, Masters Tournament-4)
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 $1,664,662 US $184,900 by Tom Walsh, January 5–13, 2004

US $102,597 (adjusted to $205,194) by Frank Spangenberg, January 915, 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 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 $281,000 (games 10, 28, 29, 37, and 38)

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek often mentions the other possible records that Jennings could break. Included in the records Jennings still has ahead of him (not all of which Trebek has mentioned):

Description Previous Record
Most consecutive appearances on a game show 75 days by Ian Lygo on 100%, 1998
Highest total winnings on a game show US $2,180,000 by Kevin Olmstead on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, 2001

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.

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

See also

As Jennings has captured the imagination of pundits across the nation, he naturally invites comparisons to characters in pop culture

  • David Foster Wallace wrote a fictional short story called Little Expressionless Animals well before Jennings first appeared on Jeopardy! in which the main character is a woman who wins on the show every day for a year. She is eventually defeated by her autistic brother, who has a photographic memory about anything related to animals; knowing this, the producers purposely loaded the board with zoological questions to unseat the uncharismatic woman.
  • The movie Quiz Show chronicles the winning streak of Charles Van Doren, who captures the attention of the nation, and is later found out to be a fraud.

Daily winnings

Day Air Date Winnings Running Total Opponents
Day 1 Wednesday, June 2 $37,201 $37,201 Jerry Harvey, Julia Lazarus
Day 2 Thursday, June 3 $22,000 $59,201 Chad Kaihe, Carrie Youngblood
Day 3 Friday, June 4 $37,000 $96,201 Neil Thom, Dane Petersen
Day 4 Monday, June 7 $30,000 $126,201 Josh Hornik, Clinton Wieden
Day 5 Tuesday, June 8 $29,799 $156,000 Corey Halgren, Paula Filson
Day 6 Wednesday, June 9 $25,000 $181,000 Kevin Stanley, Anne Fritz
Day 7 Thursday, June 10 $50,000 $231,000 Laura Adomunas, (Susan Gress)***
Day 8 Friday, June 11 $35,158 $266,158 Al Arsenault, Ethan Culbreth
Day 9 Monday, June 14 $25,000 $291,158 Joe Riley, Carla DenHartog
Day 10 Tuesday, June 15 $50,000 $341,158 David Steinhardt, Karen Gasperino
Day 11 Wednesday, June 16 $35,000 $376,158 Josh Thorpe, Patricia Davis
Day 12 Thursday, June 17 $34,000 $410,158 Steve DiGiulio, Dierdre Basile
Day 13 Friday, June 18 $30,000 $440,158 Bret Bradigan, Ellen Cook
Day 14 Monday, June 21 $31,601 $471,759 Matt Ottinger, (Scheri Mullins)
Day 15 Tuesday, June 22 $15,200 $486,959 Rick Faulkner, Kelly Parker
Day 16 Wednesday, June 23 $26,000 $512,959 Sarah Jane Woodall, Cathy Weber
Day 17 Thursday, June 24 $40,000 $552,959 Bryan Givens, Miriam Bamberger
Day 18 Friday, June 25 $48,801 $601,760 Michael Cudahy, Chris Edwards
Day 19 Monday, June 28 $21,000 $622,760 Michael Magdalena, Lori Fountain
Day 20 Tuesday, June 29 $40,000 $662,760 Alan Paul, Laura Leslie
Day 21 Wednesday, June 30 $35,000 $697,760 Ryan McClarren, Sue Richman
Day 22 Thursday, July 1 $40,000 $737,760 Chris Mason, Vicki Reynolds
Day 23 Friday, July 2 $17,600 $755,360 Mary Ann Eitler, (Judy MacLeod Reardon)
Day 24 Monday, July 5 $19,600 $774,960 (Nick Aretakis), Lucinda Sabino
Day 25 Tuesday, July 6 $14,000 $788,960 Tom Aquino, (Jenny Miller)
Day 26 Wednesday, July 7 $40,000 $828,960 Michael Vance, Vanessa Osborne
Day 27 Thursday, July 8 $40,000 $868,960 Leonard Koss, Oliver Mellet
Day 28 Friday, July 9 $52,000 $920,960 Darcy Vernier, Kate Carlyle
Day 29 Monday, July 12 $52,000 $972,960 Rich Carrol, Jennifer Lajewski
Day 30 Tuesday, July 13 $32,000 $1,004,960 Max Corrick, Irene Lawrence
Day 31 Wednesday, July 14 $17,500 $1,022,460 Darcy Smith, Greg Narver
Day 32 Thursday, July 15 $28,000 $1,050,460 Tom Vanderloo, Lou Ascatigno
Day 33 Friday, July 16 $50,000 $1,100,460 Frank McNeil, Mary McCarthy
Day 34 Monday, July 19 $35,000 $1,135,460 Tim Crockett, Beverly Herter
Day 35 Tuesday, July 20 $29,200 $1,164,660** Christopher Mensel, Susan Keller
Day 36 Wednesday, July 21 $30,000 $1,194,660 Art Borgemenke, (Liese Tamburrino)
Day 37 Thursday, July 22 $52,000 $1,246,660 Michael Jaeger, Denele Hamada
Day 38 Friday, July 23 $75,000* $1,321,660 Kristine O'Connell-McCoy, Sarah Mulloy
Day 39 Monday, September 6 $10,001 $1,331,661 J.D. Smith, Betsey Casman
Day 40 Tuesday, September 7 $21,800 $1,353,461 Rich Hartz, Bob Watts
Day 41 Wednesday, September 8 $27,200 $1,380,661 Laura Gustafson, Adam Meyer
Day 42 Thursday, September 9 $21,800 $1,402,461 Todd Perkins, Amy Helmes
Day 43 Friday, September 10 $30,000 $1,432,461 Bill Scheller, Kollin Min
Day 44 Monday, September 13 $45,000 $1,477,461 Dana Doland, (Bruce England)
Day 45 Tuesday, September 14 $40,000 $1,517,461 Robert Quinn, Kate Duffy
Day 46 Wednesday, September 15 $37,600 $1,555,061 David Fishbach, Cara Butler
Day 47 Thursday, September 16 $30,000 $1,585,061 Elaine Skopelja, John Cook
Day 48 Friday, September 17 $50,000 $1,635,061 Greg Taylor, Marilyn Werner
Day 49 Monday, October 4 $29,601 $1,664,662 Jeff Suchard, (Beth Salkind)


* Largest Jeopardy! one-day winning total.
** Broken record of highest overall winnings ever won on Jeopardy!, including special tournaments
*** An opponent's name in (brackets) indicates that the opponent was unable to write Final Jeopardy!

Daily average: US $33,972.69

Note: Due to the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions (for which Ken is not eligible yet, because his streak is ongoing), Ken Jennings' next game, his 49th, will air October 4th (October 5th for some West Coast viewers).

The theoretical maximum win for a single day 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.

Rumors

Template:Spoiler Do NOT continue reading if you do not wish to know the possible results of future or unaired Jeopardy games.


In a rumor disclosed Wednesday, September 8 2004, two sources who were at the taping said that Jennings had lost on his 75th episode, taped the day before, with total winnings at around 2.5 million US dollars. [1] Since the shows are taped far in advance, the alleged failing episode will not be shown until sometime in the period between the end of October and beginning of December, 2004.

On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jennings commented, "Well, I think it was on the Internet and as you know, if there's something on the Internet, it's gotta be true."

Regardless, Jennings would tie Ian Lygo on his 75th appearance if he lasts. (Lygo won his 75th game and was retired by the show's producers.) Jennings missed the 2004 Tournament of Champions because he is the incumbent champion, and will likely be assigned to the next Tournament, in 2006 at the end of Season 22, when/if he loses.

External links