It’s literally because he has an answer for everything that Ken Jennings, a young Mormon software engineer, is now rich and famous, having broken world records in a game-show winning streak that has Americans holding their breath.
Jennings has won more than 65 games, bested more than 130 opponents — two per game — and correctly answered more than 2 000 questions, since his first appearance on June 2 on Jeopardy!, a quiz show broadcast on United States television for 40 years.
Last week, he broke the world record for game-show winnings, matching the $2,18-million won by Kevin Olmstead on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2001.
Games are recorded in advance, so viewers won’t find out how Jennings ultimately did until late November or December. Television writers have hinted that he had to quit after his 75th episode, having earned $2,5-million.
Other commentators have said he is now back in Utah, the western state where he lives, which suggests he finally lost.
Jeopardy!, created by Merv Griffin, came on air in 1964, but the rules have recently been changed, allowing winners to stay on until they lose, instead of limiting their appearances to five games.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1974, Jennings grew up in South Korea where his father worked for an international firm.
A Mormon, Jennings was a missionary for two years in Madrid for the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, the official name of the Mormon religious movement.
On screen, Jennings is equally comfortable with astronomy and economy as cinema and music. He is a whiz at history from ancient to contemporary times. On Wednesday, he won in the ”Royalty” category on a question about the history of France: ”This king was the great-grandfather of France’s King Louis XV.”
The answer: ”Who was Louis XIV?”
Passionate about movies, Jennings has a website listing his 2 000 favourite films going back to 1921.
Blond, smiling, his hair parted far to one side, typically wearing a tie, Jennings has become a cult figure to some, and fan sites have sprung up on the internet. He has been invited on talk shows and written up in the US press.
His winning streak has sent viewership of Jeopardy! soaring.
The young software engineer, who is married and the father of a little boy, has promised to give 10% of his winnings to the Mormon church.
”I wouldn’t be coming back just for the money. I think the reason I’m still on Jeopardy! is because I’m having a good time. It’s fun to compete and see exactly how good you are and what your limits are,” he said of his winning streak. — Sapa-AFP