December 12–19, 1996

hit and run

Game Shows for $200

Game Shows for $200

Yes, Curtis Scott'll have to pay federal and California state taxes on the week-long trip to Jamaica he won for taking second prize on a Jeopardy segment that aired last Wednesday. And no, Alex Trebek isn't as nice as he seems.

"I wouldn't say he was abusive to his staff, exactly, but he was the star, he wanted to be doted over," says Scott, an associate editor in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's publications department.

At least he didn't get the Broyhill furniture set, the second prize on another of the five segments taped Oct. 15, the day Scott flew out to LA on his own dime after trying out for the show the previous spring. He also won a slew of Centrum silver, a supply of Ginsana, a gadget that lets you turn on lights by clapping, a package of steam curlers and "every conceivable electronic version of the Jeopardy game."

If you watched the show, Scott's the one who answered "Who is Rajiv Gandhi" to the answer about the assassinated prime minister. He missed the qualifying word "Israeli" in his hurry to get to the buzzer first.

On the day of the taping, Scott says, contestants are asked to write down five interesting things about themselves, about which host Alex Trebek can ask them questions.

"So I wrote down that I was an art museum editor, and Alex asked me about that. He'd heard of the Czanne exhibition. He said, 'I understand that people came from as far away as New York!' They told us to keep our answers brief but he kept asking more questions. But when it aired they'd edited down into a brief snippet."

— Daisy Fried