Published: April 17, 2008 10:55 am         

CV man realizes dream to appear on 'Jeopardy'

By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer

If ‘Jeopardy’ host Alex Trebek were to ask, ``Who will appear on the national broadcast of Jeopardy this Friday night, the correct answer would be, ``Who is National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Library researcher and Cherry Valley resident Gabriel Schechter?’’

The broadcast featuring Schechter will be aired at 7:30 p.m. Friday night on WKTV, the local NBC affiliate. Schechter said trying to become a contestant on ‘Jeopardy’ has been a life-long quest for him and he feels great about finally getting the opportunity. He said his mother was a contestant on the 1964 Art Fleming version of ‘Jeopardy’ — the first year of the show’s existence.

``She ran up against the first five-time champion and finished in second place,’’ said Schechter. ``It has taken me 44 years to get redemption for that.’’

Schechter said he remembers going with his mother to Rockefeller Center as a kid to watch the taping of the show, and ever since has strived to become a contestant himself. Schechter, who has been employed at the museum since 2002, cannot reveal many details of the actual taping until the show airs, but can recap on how he became a contestant.

Schechter said he tried to get on the show a couple of times in the early 90’s when he lived within walking distance of Los Angeles— before there were online tests. Schechter said he started taking the online test two years ago, and after taking one in the beginning of 2006 was invited for an audition in May of the same year in New York City at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. There were about 25 people competing for a spot on the show, according to Schechter. Schechter said he spent the afternoon (about 5 hours) taking another written test, being interviewed and playing a practice game.

Schechter said the tryouts in Los Angeles helped him work out some kinks before the actual taping. ``During the practice game I only buzzed in when I knew the answer,’’ said Schechter. ``However, I discovered being quickest with the buzzer is the key to the game.’’

Schechter said most of the people who are selected to try out for the show are incredibly smart and know most of the answers to the questions, so it was imperatives to be the first one to buzz in.

After the audition, Schechter was told he’d be in the contestant pool for up to a year and a half, and if he qualified for the show, he would be notified by phone. Late last year, Schechter received that phone call exactly one and a half years from the date of his audition, according to Schechter.

``I had almost given up,’’ said Schechter.

Schechter was scheduled to head to Los Angeles to tape the show on December 12, but there was a speed bump that slowed down Schechter’s journey.

The show’s host, Trebek, suffered a mild heart attack and Schechter’s shot at fame was postponed.

Schechter said the same group of people he auditioned with were also scheduled to go to Los Angeles the same day, but were less fortunate and got all the way there before finding out the bad news. Schechter said, ``I was lucky and happened to have a late flight.’’

Schechter said he found out in January that he would tape in early February, so he had two extra months to prepare. Schechter said he studied from an almanac, memorized random lists and crammed as much information into his brain as he could before the taping of the show. My wife thought I was Rainman, said Schechter.

Although Schechter crammed, he said being a constant viewer of the show helped him best prepare for the competition. He said seeing what others do in certain situations and learning from their mistakes was vital to becoming a contestant. Once on the show, only one question that I studied for came up, said Schechter. However, Schechter said he does not regret all the hard work because that one question can be the difference in the game.

Schechter almost did not make it to Los Angeles in time for the taping.

Schetchter stopped for gas in Sharon Springs on his way to the airport in Albany, and his two-year-old car would not start after re-fueling. He said a faulty computer chip disabled his vehicle and a frantic call to a co-worker who was headed to Albany later in the day for school resulted in just making it to the gate in time.

The bad luck did not stop there. Schechter said once arrived at the airport, he was told his flight was delayed by several hours, which would have resulted in missing the connecting flight to Los Angeles if not for some help from the airlines.

``I finally walked into my hotel room at 10 minutes to midnight and I had to be on the set for taping at 8 a.m.,’’ said Schechter. ``I did not sleep a whole lot, and it wasn’t a relaxing trip to say the least.’’

When Schechter showed up to tape the next morning, he learned the first episode to tape would air on April 14, his 57th birthday, and that baseball history would be a featured category in Double Jeopardy. Schechter was not chosen for the first taping however. He was chosen for taping five — to air April 18. Schechter, who is originally form New Jersey and who has lived most of his life in the west, said being a researcher at the Hall of Fame was beneficial to becoming a contestant on Jeopardy. He also said he has a master’s degree in English and felt most confident with questions dealing with literature and categories involving words.