Takoma Park Middle School teacher Joseph (Joe) Evans, a longtime Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) educator, earned a victory on Jeopardy! on Tuesday, November 4, representing Montgomery and Prince George’s County (where he currently lives) on the iconic quiz show.
Evans entered Final Jeopardy! with $9,000, behind Aaron with $15,000 and ahead of defending champion Joyelle, who had $3,600. The final category was Literary Characters, with the clue: “Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life!” says this man.
Aaron missed the question, while both Evans and Joyelle answered correctly with “Who is Ebenezer Scrooge.” Evans added $6,529 to his total, finishing with $15,529 and securing the win. Final scores were: Joyelle $7,200, Joseph $15,529, and Aaron $11,999.
Evans, who has taught full-time in MCPS for more than a decade, has deep ties to the area. Though he currently lives just outside Montgomery County, he has spent much of his life here since moving in 2007 , and fittingly, he originally hails from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
“I can’t divulge too much because my students might read this,” Evans joked before his appearance. “Getting the call from the producer, going to Sony Pictures Studios, meeting Ken Jennings, it’s all been pretty crazy. There have been big smiles and big tears. The best moment was telling my parents over the phone.”
To prepare, Evans said he dove into trivia and general knowledge. “I did a couple bar trivias, one at Silver Branch in Silver Spring that was a lot of fun, and I looked through my local library for general information books in the 000s of the Dewey Decimal System,” he explained. “But what ended up being most helpful was watching Jeopardy! itself. The writers often pull from similar topics.”
The process to become a contestant took time and patience. “There’s the Anytime Test on Jeopardy.com, which you can take anytime,” Evans said. “After that, I had two callback auditions. Then the producers let you know you’re on a list for two years. Most people wait years for the call, I was extremely fortunate to get mine about eight months after my test.”
He also shared some behind-the-scenes details from his taping experience. “The signal button is always tricky! Sometimes I rang in and thought, ‘Wait, I’m first?’ Other times it was, ‘How was I not first??’ The uncertainty never stops,” Evans said with a laugh.
For fans curious about the show’s familiar voice, Evans revealed that Johnny Gilbert, the legendary Jeopardy! announcer, doesn’t record contestant intros live. “A producer says your name and profession when you’re taping. Johnny records the intros later in his studio, so when I hear him say my name on TV, it’ll be my first time hearing it too!”
Evans said one of the best parts of the experience was meeting other contestants. “You develop a camaraderie. Everyone’s going through the exact same new process, except for the returning champion,” he said. He hosted a small, private watch party for friends “at an undisclosed MoCo location,” and encouraged everyone to tune in. “People better be watching!” he laughed. “My students, my colleagues, my family, everyone’s ready.” Evans defends his title Wednesday night at 7:30pm.
