A lawyer originally from New York, New York...

Tom Halpern

Date of first appearance:
March 1991

Total winnings (regular shows and tournaments):
$64,602 (pre-doubling of clue values)

Stats:
5-time champion. Highest one-day total: $15,201.

Records held:
Smallest lead going into Final Jeopardy!: $1. (Possibly matched, but not surpassed.)

Favorite anecdote associated with being on the show:
When I first appeared on the show, I booked my return flight to New York on the red-eye. My wife, Lucy, was waiting for me at JFK. I kissed her and gave her a small box containing a gift I bought at a jewelry shop I visited between taping my fifth show and catching my plane--a ruby ring. That ring will always be our sparkling Jeopardy! trophy.

Did being on Jeopardy! have any effect on your life?
I would just say that Jeopardy! has an amazing fan base, and people invariably have been fascinated to hear about my experience when they have learned I am a five-time champion. Their enthusiasm demonstrates to me the affection people have for the show and the esteem in which they hold it.

Did you do anything crazy with your winnings?
A few months after I was on the show, we used some of the winnings to join members of my wife's family and mine at an unusual family reunion. My wife, Lucy, her brother, Sam (from Columbus, Ohio), my parents and I flew from the United States to Ireland to meet up with Lucy's mother and stepfather, who had come from their home in Australia for an exhibition of her stepfather's paintings. Lucy, Sam and their mother are Chinese, her stepfather is of English extraction, and my family is Jewish--none of us is Irish--but Dublin was a perfect venue for our cross-cultural family gathering.

"A writer and researcher when he won 5 times in 1991, today he's a lawyer. Originally from New York, New York..."

2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 1 player: $5,000.
1991 Tournament of Champions quarterfinalist: $1,000.
Season 7 5-time champion: $63,602.

Tom appeared in the following archived game:
#4744, aired 2005-03-31 Tom Halpern vs. Graham Gilmer vs. Bruce Naegeli 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 1, game 37.
Tom previously appeared on Jeopardy! as Tom Halpern in the following archived game:
#1654, aired 1991-11-07 Tom Halpern vs. Sara Cox vs. Scott Gillispie 1991 Tournament of Champions quarterfinal game 4.

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