My 8 seconds of fame

Last Thursday night on JEOPARDY my writing partner, David Isaacs and I were a clue! Needless to say, it was a thrill. Even more so when one of the contestant got the answer right. Remember a recent clue showed Tom Hanks and no one even rang in. Yikes.

But a mention on JEOPARDY is like we’ve somehow crossed into pop culture. Pretty cool for a couple of guys who spent long nights in a tiny apartment banging out spec scripts in hopes of someday somebody thinking we had talent besides our parents.

So my sincerest thanks to the researchers and writers of JEOPARDY for honoring us with the shout-out. And to Alex. He actually pronounced my name correctly. The last time a celebrity got the pronunciation right it was Tony Randall in 1977.

My only personal encounter with Alex was on CHEERS when we did the “Cliff goes on JEOPARDY” episode. Alex was so funny that we actually wrote him into a second scene. He was the one bar patron who everybody did know his name.

I also want to thank everyone who wrote, texted, liked on social media, and commented on the blog/Facebook/Twitter, etc. I was touched and overwhelmed by the reaction. Some people I hadn’t heard from in years checked in. Most were congratulatory. Only a few expressed utter shock and disbelief.

Again, it’s the power of television – and a pandemic that forces people to stay home.

But it was a definite career highlight. Also cool to be on the same episode as Geoffrey Chaucer.


from By Ken Levine