‘Jeopardy!’ contestant cherished chance to meet a legend
Stanford researcher says Alex Trebek was a down-to-earth host
As Alex Trebek’s final episodes of “Jeopardy!” rolled out last week, a recent contestant from San Jose is recalling the late quiz show host as a down-to-earth “man of the people” and a “consumate professional who was the very best at what he did.”
Teja Chemudupati, a clinical researcher in the Stanford University School of Medicine, competed on the Dec. 17 edition of “Jeopardy!” The episode was taped Sept. 30 in Culver City.
Trebek died just weeks later, on Nov. 8, following a public battle with pancreatic cancer. The beloved host taped shows as late as Oct. 27.
Though Chemudupati’s “Jeopardy!” stint was brief — he lost to current champion Brayden Smith — he cherished the opportunity to appear on the show before the passing of a TV icon.
“The entire experience felt surreal,” said Chemudupati, 29. “… I’m so glad that I got to play with him.”
Trebek’s final “Jeopardy!” episodes aired last week. According to producers, the five-night run began Jan. 4 with a “powerful message about the season of giving” and concluded Jan. 8 with “a special tribute to the life and work of the man who captained America’s favorite quiz show with skill, style and sophistication for 36-plus years.”
Chemudupati, a graduate of Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, immigrated with his family from India when he was 6 years old. As he assimilated to a new life in the U.S., he immediately became fixated on a TV game show in which clues are presented in the form of answers to contestants, who must reply in the form of questions.
“As a kid, I thought all the smart and successful people go on ‘Jeopardy!’” he recalled. “It became a goal of mine.”
Chemudupati attempted to get on the high school and college tournaments of “Jeopardy!” to no avail. In 2013, he made it through the audition process and was put into the show’s contestant pool, but never got called to be on the air.
After Trebek announced his cancer diagnosis in March 2019, Chemudupati became even more determined to appear on the show.
“Alex handled his diagnosis with such grace and courage and I thought, ‘I just have to meet him,’” he said. “And I got lucky. I can’t tell you how excited I was when I got the call.”
While in production, “Jeopardy!” typically tapes five shows a day. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, episodes are currently being taped without a studio audience, but Trebek requested that contestants-in-waiting be seated in the audience (instead of holing up in the green room) so he had someone to play to. Chemudupati thus was able to watch Trebek in action for three shows before he, Smith and another Bay Area contestant — Pamela Lee — appeared on the fourth show of the day. (When contacted, Lee declined to discuss her “Jeopardy!” experience.)
“When I saw Alex for the first time, I thought, ‘Wow this is real! That’s not a body double,’” Chemudupati recalled.
Both Chemudupati and Lee were soundly defeated by Smith, who has been dominating his competition. Chemudupati respectfully called Smith a “monster” with an encyclopedic knowledge of trivia and expert handling of the buzzer.
“I’ve chatted briefly online with him and I’m rooting for him to go as far as he can go,” Chemudupati said. “Alex valued champions who could make deep runs. He would have liked to see someone like Brayden do well. If I had to lose to anyone, it might as well have been the guy Alex called ‘Billy Buzzsaw.’”
Despite the loss, Chemudupati was pleased to not only appear among Trebek’s final shows, but that the host lived up to his high expectations.
“I think people loved Alex because he was so knowledgeable and witty, yet so down-to-earth,” Chemudpait said. “He was distinguished without appearing to be above it all. I can confirm that’s what he was really like. … And, in my view at least, he hadn’t missed a step. It speaks volumes that he was still working just a few days before he passed.”
Looking back, Chemudupati is even pleased that he was “roasted” by Trebek after his appearance on “Jeopardy!” As the final credits rolled, Trebek strolled over to chat with the three contestants and Chemudupati remarked about how difficult it was to face Smith, who was lightning-quick on the buzzer.
“Alex looked at me, smiled, and said: ‘If you know the answers, I think you’ll find that you’ll be quick on the buzzer, too,’” Chemudpait said. “… Fortunately, my roasting came off-camera.”
In the Bay Area, “Jeopardy” airs at 7 p.m. weeknights on KGO-TV (ABC 7).