The first Jeopardy! contestant with Parkinson's disease won over legions of viewers during an emotional first interview with host Ken Jennings.
On the March 10 broadcast, Harvey Silikovitz, A&S '90, told Jennings, "After living with Parkinson's for five and a half years, it's no longer just about doing well for myself, but I'd like to give hope and inspiration for those living with chronic illnesses."
A fan favorite, Silikovitz delivered. He won the game and took home $23,600, the culmination of a two-decade journey to compete on one of the most popular TV quiz shows of all time.
When he was diagnosed with Parkinson's almost six years ago, at age 49, the New York attorney felt a crush of disappointment and frustration, but he was determined to maintain his quality of life.
"One of the things that I felt was important to me in dealing with this horrible disease was [having] as many sources of joy in my life as I could," he says. "I needed to continue to do the things I was passionate about, so I still did trivia contests with friends and practiced Jeopardy! games by playing old boards with other folks over Zoom."
In 2004, Silikovitz began taking the online Jeopardy! test that qualifies would-be contestants for the show. Given the show's popularity, it's a highly competitive process; he passed the test nine times before getting called by a producer to participate on the show in 2019.
But the voicemail sat in his phone, unheard, for weeks. Since he didn't recognize the number, he initially didn't call it back. When he finally did reply, it was too late—for that year, at least. But then the pandemic happened, forcing Jeopardy! to source only local contestants, so Silikovitz bided his time until life returned to normal. In the meantime, he kept taking and passing the online tests until the game show once again called him to participate. This time, he answered.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Silikovitz answered questions at lightning speed, his deep knowledge of history and geography giving him the momentum to soar ahead of the competition. Though he didn't win the subsequent game, the attention he's received since his win has been exciting. He's even had the Michael J. Fox Foundation reach out to interview him for its website.
"I didn't know how people would react to seeing someone with Parkinson's on Jeopardy!, and I'm glad I saw reactions after[ward] from people wanting to see more of me on the show," Silikovitz says.
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