ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A man from St. Petersburg will soon be buzzing in on "America's Favorite Quiz Show, Jeopardy!"
Scott Perry will appear on Thursday's episode to compete against Mira Hayward, a writer from Portland, Oregon, and the winner from Wednesday's episode, Dan Whol. He's an associate professor of history at the University of South Florida's Sarasota-Manatee Campus and earned his Ph. D. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Florida's been home to Perry since 2007 when he moved to Tampa from Toronto.
He's also published a series of articles on topics ranging from classical scholarship in Fascist Italy, sport terminology in the ancient world and women and Greek athletics, according to his faculty profile.
The Tampa Bay area resident's love for "Jeopardy!" dates back to 1984 when he was 13 years old.
"I remember seeing the first episode Alex Trebek hosted," Perry told 10 Tampa Bay. "I've watched the show zealously since then, and I have been seriously trying to get on the show since 2015."
Perry said they were told that about 100,000 people take the first online test every year and only 400 people make it on the show. That information, alone, sent Perry's excitement through the roof. He went through a series of interviews, tests and auditions to get on the Alex Trebek Stage — 18 months worth of waiting. But it was worth it.
"It was so much fun to hear Ken [Jennings] call out my name to provide a question," Perry said.
Aside from memorizing the Periodic Table, Perry prepared for his debut with a trick he read online that involves a spring-powered toilet paper roll to mimic the signaling device on "Jeopardy!"
