Harvey Silikovitz first tried out for Jeopardy! in 2001 at the age of 30, but he didn't make the cut on the application test administered in New York City. As a story by Claire McNear at the Ringer explains, Silikovitz wasn't too upset because he didn't much like the show. The attorney got motivated, however, and tried out again three years later. This time, he passed the test but never got summoned for the show. "Thus began a cycle of disappointments and auditions that never went anywhere, no matter how confident Silikovitz was about his performance after the fact." Last October, however, after 24 years of trying, Silikovitz finally got the long-awaited email asking him to come in for taping. He did so, and fans who watched this week saw Silikovitz defeat the returning champ on Monday.
The story details how difficult it is to make the cut—roughly 65,000 people take the show's online test each year, and only 460 new contestants appear each season—and how the testing has evolved since Silikovitz first tried out. But McNear also reports on one last challenge for him: a diagnosis of Parkinson's in 2019. Silikovitz's symptoms were visible as he spoke to host Ken Jennings about the degenerative illness. (Watch the moment here.) "I am hoping that just the fact that someone with Parkinson's is on for the first time in the history of this show, it would be inspiring to them when they see me winning," he told Jennings. "Your life isn't over when you get this diagnosis." Read the full story for more on the journey of Silikivitz, who would lose the following night. (Or check out other longforms.)
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