Toni Vitanza hanging out at the local Democratic Convention
Not Toni Vitanza — she landed a spot on the popular game show after her very first audition.
The Clemson resident’s friends had often encouraged Vitanza to try out for the show, she said.
“I’ve been watching since I was a little kid,” Vitanza said. “Art Fleming was the host then. I’m really familiar with the show.”
Last January, Vitanza decided to take the plunge — taking a virtual test on the show’s Web site.
Many Jeopardy contestants cram like crazy before appearing on the show or even auditioning.
Not Vitanza.
“I’ve never really been a student, in the sense that I never took notes in class,” she said. “I’ve never really studied for a class.”
Vitanza does recommend two things for aspiring “Jeopardy!” contestants — crossword puzzles and video games.
“I do the USA Today crossword everyday,” she said. “If I was counseling someone who wanted to be on the show, I’d tell them to do the hardest crossword puzzles they could find. That’s probably as helpful as anything else”
Jeopardy officials and former players counsel newbies to get some kind of buzzer practice.
Many people are unaware that the Jeopardy buzzers don’t activate until a split second after the question is read aloud — and players who buzz in early are locked out a moment or two.
That’s where the video games come in — to give players vital buzzer experience.
“If you did the crossword puzzles and played video game everyday, you’d be as prepared as anybody else,” Vitanza said.
Vitanza says that knowing how to work the buzzer and ring in at the right moment is even more important than knowing the right answer.
“If you’ve gotten a spot on Jeopardy, then you know the answers,” she said. “It’s all about ringing in. Once you’ve rung in, you’ve won.”
After taking the online audition, Vitanza forgot all about it — until a Jeopardy staffer called her.
She was invited to audition in a person, and flew to Dallas to join other “Jeopardy!” hopefuls.
“There are a lot more people than you’d think trying to get on the show,” Vitanza said. “Some people were auditioning for their third, fourth, or fifth time.”
After the Dallas audition, players weren’t told if they’d been selected or not — only that if they had been selected, their names would be placed in a contestant pool for the next 18 months.
Upon returning home, Vitanza put the game out of her mind — until she got the fateful call, a full year after her initial online audition.
“They called me and said they’d like me to come out to L.A. for a taping,” she said.
Vitanza’s episode of “Jeopardy!” aired Friday, May 1.
During her game, Vitanza almost achieved one of her goals — sweeping a category, getting every single answer in a single category correct.
She answered 9 out of 10 in the “Leonardo Da Vinci” category — losing out on the last question to one of the other contestants.
“I came closer to sweeping a category than anyone else that day,” Vitanza said.
One of the surprises Vitanza found is how much host Alex Trebek has to do with the running of the show.
“I thought was just the host, that he comes out in a nice suit, is affable, and does what he does,” she said. “He has a great deal to do with the tone of the show.
“He does seem to be a very well-mannered, cultured, slightly formal, very courteous person,” Vitanza said.
Vitanza finished in second place.
Now that Jeopardy is behind her, she’d love to tackle “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
“I think it’s a low-stress version of ‘Jeopardy’” she said. “There’s more money, the payout’s bigger and you don’t have opponents on either side of you.”
Now that her episode has aired, people are recognizing Vitanza from her game show appearance.
“It’s very heart-warming, when people say they were watching and cheering you on,” Vitanza said.
She encourages people to try out for the show if interested.
“What do you have to lose?” she said.
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