Chattanooga-native on 10-day winning streak on 'Jeopardy!'

Seth Wilson, seen here with "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek, is a 2003 graduate of Notre Dame High School, where he was valedictorian. (Courtesy of Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)
Seth Wilson, seen here with "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek, is a 2003 graduate of Notre Dame High School, where he was valedictorian. (Courtesy of Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)
photo Seth Wilson, seen here with "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek, is a 2003 graduate of Notre Dame High School, where he was valedictorian. (Courtesy of Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)
photo Seth Wilson is a 2003 graduate of Notre Dame High School, where he was valedictorian. (Courtesy of Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)

To watch

“Jeopardy!” airs at 7:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday on WTVC/Channel 9.

Jeopardy! Facts

* Winningest Player: $2,520,700 by Ken Jennings in 2004, plus another $675,600 in various tournaments for a total of $3,196,300* Longest Consecutive Wins: 74 days by Ken Jennings in 2004* Second Longest Consecutive Wins: 20 days by Julia Collins in 2014; she won $428,100

As a child growing up in East Ridge, Seth Wilson liked books. All kinds of books. So much so, he often read two at a time. Literally.

"He'd walk around the house with a book in each hand, and he'd read two pages from one and then two pages from the other," said his dad Earl, who still lives in East Ridge.

"For his 16th birthday, he wanted a set of Shakespeare books. Not a car like everybody else. He has every book he's ever owned since he was a kid. Including his college textbooks."

All that reading appears to have paid off for the 2003 Notre Dame High School valedictorian. He is currently on a 10-day winning streak on "Jeopardy!" and has racked up more than $231,000. He'll be back on the show on Monday.

"I do like to read," said Wilson. "I wasn't big into the sports thing, so I figured I'd better read a lot."

Wilson, who taught Latin and drama at Notre Dame after graduating from Vanderbilt University, is currently a composition teacher at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.

He says he has always been a fan of "Jeopardy!," but it took four tries at the online test to get on, although he did well enough each time to be called for an in-person audition.

"I did the in-person audition twice and was invited to do it two other times, but I couldn't make it," he said.

Getting to the audition doesn't mean you'll make it to the show. You have to take yet another test at the audition, play a mini-version of Jeopardy and your personality also must impress the panel that's passing judgment on you.

Wilson's most recent audition was in April; he got the official word that he'd been picked for the show in June, and he taped the current string of shows in July.

"People ask me if he's nervous being on TV," his dad said. "He's in a zone. He doesn't realize he's on TV because he's in a competition. He's focused and he's been that way all along."

Wilson gives much credit to the "Jeopardy!" crew for reducing his nervousness.

"They told us how things would go and the history of the show and made us feel comfortable," he said. "Once it started, I didn't think about millions of people watching us."

One of the "history" lessons the staff shares is why there are dividers on the podium to separate contestants.

"They told us it's so people won't cheat like Cliff Clavin," Wilson said.

Clavin was a character on the hit show "Cheers" who appeared on "Jeopardy!" during a classic episode in which he racked up huge winnings in categories that were tailor-made for his U.S. postman/mama's boy character - Civil Servants, Stamps from Around the World, Mothers & Sons, Beer, Bar Trivia and Celibacy. He'd earned $22,000, then he blew it all in "Final Jeopardy!" when he bet "The Whole Enchilada," but got the answer wrong.

"That was pretty funny," Wilson said, referring to both the "Cheers" episode and the history lesson from the "Jeopardy!" staff.

Wilson's father said seeing his son on TV and the amount of money he's won are nice, but not nearly as nice as what his son told him after his first appearance on "Jeopardy!"

"He sent me a text that said, 'You're responsible for all of this because you put such a high value on learning.' People ask me what he will buy me with his winnings. That right there is all I want. That one comment."

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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