After a lifetime of watching Jeopardy!, Edmund Cardoni will see a familiar face on TV tonight — himself.Thursday night's program will feature Cardoni, the executive director of Hallwalls in Buffalo and a longtime fan of the show. Cardoni says he took the online Jeopardy test a few times, but the third time was the charm.
“In the old days you sent in postcards,” Cardoni said. “I started taking the test. I took it one year and nothing came of it. I took it another year. Then, finally, on that third year, January of 2014, I took it and a couple months later I heard back.”
After Cardoni was contacted by the show, he headed to Boston, where he grew up, for a live audition. Ten months later, Jeopardy! organizers asked him to fly to Los Angeles in March for a taping. Cardoni said he enjoyed the experience with the other contestants.
“It doesn’t feel very competitive or cutthroat in any way,” Cardoni said. “Everybody is rooting for everybody. Everybody has this interest in learning general knowledge and trivial knowledge.”
As for how Cardoni did, viewers will have to wait and see. The program will air on Channel 4 at 7:30 p.m Thursday.
“I hope people tune in. I did my best. It’ll be exciting to see myself up there.”