The Answer Is… INGENUITY

Before I got off that phone call with Merv and Bob, I jokingly asked a very important question:

“Will you pay me?”

“Yes,” they said.

“Okay,” I said. “I’m your man.”

Then I found out what they were going to pay me. Like I said, Merv was stingy. So I asked if I could produce the show as well and receive extra payment as the producer, and they agreed. Even then, I made less than I had made in previous shows I’d only hosted.

In addition to hosting, I produced Jeopardy! for the first three years. I made one significant change after the first season, which we’ve kept up all these years. That first season, contestants could ring in immediately when they saw the clue. It caused a lot of confusion among viewers at home. They would be watching and they’d see a contestant’s light come on, but I would call on another contestant because their light had come on first and had gone off before the camera turned from the clue to the contestants. It drove the audience nuts. So I changed that. Now, a contestant cannot ring in until after I’ve read the clue in its entirety. An unintended benefit was that it gave viewers a better experience of playing along. A lot of people play at home with ballpoint pens or something similar as buzzers, and that change made it easier for them to read ahead and beat the on-air contestants. I’m often asked what’s the secret to ringing in first. It’s simple: Know as much as you can about the categories and clues. The more you know, the faster your thumb is.

September 10, 1984: the first time viewers saw me walk out to Johnny Gilbert’s introduction.

The first gameboard.

The first clue selected.

We had a very tight budget during those seasons I produced. This was before computers. The writers typed their questions on three-by-five index cards on IBM Selectrics. For a few years, the category cards at the top of the gameboard were printed. Someone would have to change them between rounds. It wasn’t as antiquated as when Art Fleming hosted the show in the sixties, and you’d sometimes see a hand coming into the camera frame and pulling the cards. But it was close. For our gameboard, I finally found an affordable used chyron machine from CBS Television, and we started using that to run it. So I had to use a lot of ingenuity. I enjoyed it for the same reason I enjoy fixing things around the house. I’m a problem solver.

Through the ensuing years, under new producers, especially Harry Friedman, who has just left the show after twenty years at the helm, Jeopardy! has made a conscious effort to stay ahead of the curve. We were the first game or quiz show to broadcast in high definition. With the hiring of the Clue Crew, we introduced a whole new way of presenting clues from locations all around the world. We started tournaments honoring teachers and students. Stars from the entertainment and political worlds, including two presidents, made appearances on the show, all in an attempt for us to stay fresh and relevant with the times.

But in the early years, putting the show together wasn’t the only challenge. We also struggled getting people to watch. Even though Jeopardy! was supposed to be packaged with Wheel, it wasn’t always. For example, initially Wheel was on at 7:00 p.m. in Los Angeles and Jeopardy! wouldn’t come on until midnight.

Handwriting on a computer screen was an innovative idea, but it took some time for the technology to catch up. (Those answers are supposed to read “What Is Texas?” and “What Is Martin Luther King Jr. Day?”)

King World, the show’s distributor, was very concerned. Michael King came to me after we’d been on the air for three or four weeks.

“The show’s too tough,” he said. “The material is too difficult. The audience can’t relate to it. That’s why the ratings are not taking off.”

“You sure?” I asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “You gotta trust me.”

“All right,” I said. “I’ll soften up all the material.”

Now keep in mind, we had already taped two months of programming. The next time I saw Michael, I said, “Did you notice that the material got a lot easier?”

“Yeah!” he said. “Thank you so much for doing that. It’s playing a lot better now.”

I hadn’t done a damn thing. The shows were already taped. They were in the bag. I just lied to him.