A conversation with Fritz Holznagel, winner of
the 1995 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
During a trip to Boston a few weeks ago, I met up with Fritz Holznagel, the winner of the 1995 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. We spoke at length about his Jeopardy! experience, his buzzer research, and his career as a writer.
Here, I’m proud to present the finished product. (Click here if the embedded video doesn’t load.)
I’ve split our conversation into three videos:
- Part 1: on his various Jeopardy! experiences
- Part 2: on his buzzer research and strategy
- Part 3: on his career as a technical writer
If you haven’t seen the video in which Fritz demonstrates various buzzing techniques, be sure to check it out.
I should write about my tryout experiences. 7 tests, 5 auditions, going back to the late 80s
I remember taking the test in LA with 70 people and they called 4 (four) names – the rest of us just went home (I lived in Colorado, what a let down)
Lots of useful and entertaining information, thanks to both of you
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d love to hear about them, ldfahrni!
@ldfahrni, agreed: there was something cheerfully brutal about the in-person audition system. One of my tryouts was in LA and my flight was late and there was a huge rental car line and I ended up dashing across town to get there *just* in time… took the test and they didn’t call my name. Then you’re back out on the street, blinking in the California sunshine and wondering which questions you missed.