The question: What is a ploy for more ratings?
“JEOPARDY!” WHIZ Ken Jennings will have a shot at winning an additional $2 million – but the competition will be tougher this time around. A “Super Tournament” will pit Jennings against two survivors of a competition among nearly 150 past five-time winners, producers announced Tuesday.
Host Alex Trebek called the tournament the “quest for Ken.”
“Ever since Ken started his amazing run, people have been speculating on how some of the past ‘Jeopardy!’ players would do against him,” Trebek said. “We’re answering that question.”
The matches will begin airing in February or March, and the finals will air in May.
“I can’t wait to see who I’ll be up against in the finals,” Jennings said.
He earned $2,520,700 after a 74-game winning streak before being beaten in an episode that aired Nov. 30.
She should’ve worn her nightcap
More details about Liza Minnelli‘s hospitalization earlier this week: Her bodyguard called 911 in the middle of the night because he found the singer unconscious on the floor of her Manhattan apartment and couldn’t revive her. Police and EMS workers responded, strapped her to a stretcher and whisked her to a hospital.
The official explanation is that she fell out of bed and smacked her head. But the New York Daily News reported that Minnelli, a veteran of rehab clinics, appeared intoxicated during the extraction process.
Bobbitt’s toy story: battery not included
John Wayne Bobbitt has been acquitted of charges that he battered his wife and 14-year-old stepson after the boy discovered a sex toy in Bobbitt’s bedroom.
Witnesses testified the teen became enraged after finding the toy in August and began throwing things around the living room. When the boy shoved him, Bobbitt pushed him to the ground and restrained him; accounts varied whether Bobbitt ever punched him.
A Las Vegas judge ruled Monday that the stepson was to blame for the fight. Wife Joanna Ferrell filed for divorce the day afterward, but she and Bobbitt reconciled. Her son now lives with his father in New Mexico.
Bobbitt gained fame in 1993 when his first wife, Lorena, sexually mutilated him.
Liquidizing Elvis’ assets
A North Carolina man made $455 by auctioning three tablespoons of water from a plastic foam cup he claims Elvis Presley sipped from 27 years ago.
Wade Jones says he went on stage to snag a souvenir after a 1977 concert and grabbed a cup of water that touched Elvis’ lips. He kept it in a freezer for eight years, then thawed out the fluid and transferred it to a glass vial.
“I’m kind of attached to the cup,” Jones said. “I thought it was a little quirkier to sell the water.”
The birthday bunch
Singer-guitarist Bo Diddley is 76. Actor Joseph Bologna is 70. Actor Russ Tamblyn is 70. Singer Noel Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary) is 67. Director James Burrows (“Cheers,” “Taxi”) is 64. Actor Fred Ward (“The Right Stuff”) is 62. Singer Mike Nesmith (The Monkees) is 62. Singer Davy Jones (The Monkees) is 59. Singer Patti Smith is 58. TV host Meredith Vieira (“The View”) is 51. Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Moesha”) is 49. Country singer Suzy Bogguss is 48. Actress Patricia Kalembar (“Sisters”) is 48. “Today” show anchor Matt Lauer is 47. Actress-comedian Tracey Ullman is 45. Singer Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) is 35. Actor Jason Behr (“The Grudge,” “Roswell”) is 31. Actress Meredith Monroe (“Dawson’s Creek”) is 28. Singer Tyrese is 26. Actress Eliza Dushku (“Tru Calling”) is 24. Actress Kristin Kreuk (“Smallville”) is 22.