“Jeopardy!” Contestant from 1999 Tricks Show; Appeared Again on Monday

It’s not often we get fun stories like this.  Thanks to reader Andy Saunders for bringing this to my attention.  On Monday’s edition of Jeopardy! contestant Jeff Kirby didn’t do so well.  He ended with a score of $300 but collected the third place prize of $1,000.  Interestingly, though, he previously appeared.  Jeff Kirby was on the show on December 8, 1999, and came in third place then as well where he won a digital camera.  He had no explanation and there was no error on his previous show.  He just ended up on the show again and did just about as well on his second appearance.  So what happened?

Allegedly he essentially tricked the producers and casting directors and ended up passing the written test (again) and the auditions (again) to stand at the podium for a second time.  We now at least know they didn’t search for former contestant’s names up until this point.  Jeff Kirby just auditioned for Jeopardy! in 2009 and left off that little bit of information about him being on the show previously.  Either that or he had repressed memories from his first appearance and just decided to block it out.  He wore the same freaking tie in his second appearance!  Look at our picture!  We contacted Sony for a statement and they issued this (as well as posted it on Jeopardy‘s official message boards):

It has come to the Jeopardy! Producers’ attention that Jeff Kirby, who appeared on Jeopardy! on Monday, October 12, had previously appeared on the show.

As is stated in the eligibility requirements (listed at Jeopardy.com), “You are not eligible to be a contestant on Jeopardy! if you have appeared on any version of the show with Alex Trebek, except at the Jeopardy! Producers’ express invitation.” This is a long-standing rule, and it remains in place. Jeopardy! has a system to make sure that people who appear on the show have not previously done so. It has worked well for 26 seasons; however, clearly, that system failed to detect that Mr. Kirby had appeared on the show in 1999.

In our contestant booking and verification process, we relied on information provided to us by Mr. Kirby. He did not disclose that he had previously been on Jeopardy!. His having been on the show before made Mr. Kirby ineligible as a contestant and therefore ineligible to receive any prizes from the show.

Because Mr. Kirby came in third in the competition, this decision does not affect either of his opponents nor their winnings.

Thank you to our watchful viewers for bringing this to our attention.

The Jeopardy! Producers

So there we are. What would have been really interesting is if he won. I’d love to see how they’d explain the fact that they don’t have something as simple as a database of former contestant’s names. Websites like the J! Archive do it well.  The most amusing part of this is Jeff Kirby did an interview with the Santa Marina Times about his experience which becomes hysterical once you know he tried to pull one over the producer’s.  He talks about how he really wasn’t nervous during the audition, that being an alternate on the set and seeing five episodes tape before his was a valuable learning experience, and putting makeup on for the first time.  It’s priceless and you can read it here.

At last, the usually staid and, frankly, boring Jeopardy! gets something to talk about that doesn’t involve Ken Jennings.  Really, how dumb are you that you think, in this digital age, that you won’t be caught?  I’m just more amazed he lasted this long and it took the show’s hardcore fans to figure it out.

Photo courtesy of J! Archive.