Could you tell us about your charity?
I'm playing for a charity called Common Ground Relief in New Orleans. Uh, I'm, uh, an adopted son of New Orleans, it's my adopted hometown, and, uh, there are a--a large number of, uh, charities that are working on the ground in New Orleans to, uh, try to remedy the--the dis--the results of the disaster--Common Ground Relief is one of the chief ones. Uh, they were on the ground in the Lower Ninth pretty much from day one or day two of the--the disaster. And they've been working since then. They've--they've gotten thousands of volunteers together to, uh, do short-term relief: gutting houses, first of all, to get people back into their homes, and then providing job training for people so they can be productive citizens once more, uh, in a city that had a--a failing economy in the wake of the disaster. That was an important thing. And now they're looking more long term, and doing more work to try to heal the wetlands that provide the buffer between hurricane force and New Orleans. So they're--they're doing both short-term and long-term relief.
What would winning $1,000,000 mean to your charity?
Wow. It means, um, they can spend more of their time doin' what they're supposed to do and less of their time scramblin' for funds.
Are you the Jeopardy! champ in your house?
Um, well, I'm the Jeopardy! watcher in my household. I--I--we--we divide our chores fairly evenly. Judith takes all the crime shows, all the, uh, Law & Orders, uh, and I, uh, I take all the--the smart quiz shows, i.e., Jeopardy!
What do you think of your competition?
Oh, I'm--I'm playing mind games with them in the green room. I think I got them, uh, y'know, where--exactly where I want 'em.
What categories are you hoping to see?
Hoping to see, uh, SIMPSONS CHARACTERS. [Laughs] I might be able to ace that. It would be embarrassing if I got it wrong. Uh... hoping to avoid? I don't know. Um, NIGERIAN POLITICS.
...
How does it feel to win Celebrity Jeopardy! again?
I feel a lot better now. I was feeling like a chump, uh, after the practice round. And, uh, I really felt like I had to suck it up, and, y'know, get it together.
What do you think of your competition?
This was a very competitive game, yeah. Any one of the three of us could have won it. Uh, and, uh, I had my eye on the score the whole way through, 'cause I knew it was--it was not only, y'know, playing the game, it was strategy.
Was there a point when you knew the game was "in the bag"?
No. No. The end of Final Jeopardy! was the moment I had it.
How are you going to celebrate?
Uh, go home and, uh, rotisserie a duck. [Laughs] And that's a true story!
What advice do you have for other contestants?
Uh, yeah, drink a lot. Drink heavily, punish your livers now.
Did you enjoy your experience?
Oh, great experience, yeah. Thrills, chills, spills. |
"He recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of This Is Spinal Tap with a new DVD and an album. He's known to millions for his work on The Simpsons. Please welcome..."
Playing on behalf of Common Ground Relief, Inc.
Harry Shearer is a comic personality who takes "hyphenate" to new levels. First and foremost an actor, he is also an author, director, satirist, musician, radio host, playwright, multi-media artist and record label owner. For nineteen years the Los Angeles native has enjoyed enormous success and planted the fruits of his talents in the heads of millions worldwide thanks to his voice work for The Simpsons and The Simpsons Movie. Shearer plays a stable of characters: most notably Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, Rev. Lovejoy and Scratchy.
In July, 2007, Shearer plunged into the on-line video universe when the Harry Shearer Channel became a cornerstone of My Damn Channel, an entertainment studio and new media platform specifically created to empower artists to co-produce, distribute and monetize original, episodic video content. Each week a new political or pop culture satire written by and featuring Shearer is unveiled.
In October 2006, Shearer released his first novel, Not Enough Indians (Justin, Charles & Company). The book takes a darkly comic look at the proliferation of Native American gaming and what happens to the fictional town of Gammage, New York, when it transforms into the sovereign nation of the long lost Filaquonsett tribe. The critically acclaimed novel is also available in paperback and on tape. |
