# Andy Richter Controls the Jeopardy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526 "2009-09-18T01:25:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jorge\_Burrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Jorge\_Burrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge_Burrito)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/1 "2009-09-18T01:25:20Z")
Normally celebrity Jeopardy is a big yawn fest, but I did enjoy the beat down Andy Richter delivered tonight. His final total: $68,000. Normally his charity would only receive 50,000, so way to go Andy! Wolf Blitzer on the other hand apparently thought he was on SNL version of celebrity Jeopardy and manged to score a commanding -$4,600. The final Jeopardy was easy even for celebrity Jeopardy though, come on. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/2 "2009-09-18T01:27:02Z")
They showed his practice on Conan last night. He thought that maybe Blitzer was just trying to set low expectations. Guess not. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/3 "2009-09-18T01:28:13Z")
I like the way Jeopardy! is doing the celebrity tournament this year, with one celebrity game every week. It’s a nice way of breaking the tedium of having all-celebrity or all-regular-show weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/4 "2009-09-18T01:33:54Z")
Andy was doing quite a good Ken Jennings impression. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/5 "2009-09-18T04:07:14Z")
Andy kicks ass. It’s sad that he’s the comedian and Wolf Blitzer is the journalist. Perhaps they should switch jobs. I liked how Alex tried to save some Blitzer-feelings by claiming that Andy was just too quick on the buzzer. Really? Andy didn’t make Wolf lose $4,000! ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/6 "2009-09-18T04:09:24Z")
Thanks for spoiling it in the title!! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/7 "2009-09-18T05:19:34Z")
Blitzer is an idiot. Now everybody accepts this as fact except Wolfie. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/8 "2009-09-18T06:13:17Z")
What was the final? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/9 "2009-09-18T06:42:03Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > Andy kicks ass. It’s sad that he’s the comedian and Wolf Blitzer is the journalist. Perhaps they should switch jobs. Do you think Wolfie is any better at being funny?(on purpose, anyway) ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/10 "2009-09-18T06:49:34Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > Do you think Wolfie is any better at being funny?(on purpose, anyway) Well, Andy is completely wasted on The Tonight Show; I don’t know if anyone could make that funny. Andy Richter Controls the Universe, on the other hand, was comedy gold! I hope Wolf is on suicide watch. That’s got to hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/11 "2009-09-18T07:34:52Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > Thanks for spoiling it in the title!! I thought it was just a good, funny reference to Andy’s late great sitcom, Andy Richter Controls the Universe- but “controlling” a game of Jeopardy is different than winning. You can control attention through losing spectacularly or just by being the most interesting contestant that day. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/12 "2009-09-18T07:40:10Z")
Can this be watched online somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/13 "2009-09-18T12:33:43Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > What was the final? Category: Famous Actors Anwer, something like: "Ironically, this actor was rejected for a role in the production of \*(some play I don’t remember the title of)\*because he wasn’t considered “presidential enough.” Question: Ronald Reagan, of course. The whole game was very easy, but I was most impressed with Mr. Richter. Not only because of his focus and ease but because he didn’t administer the gloat to Blitzer, who at the end was showing signs of guessing anything that came into his head. “Uh, what is a coffee cup?” What is . . . Harry Potter?" He was pitiful. Dana Delaney was meh. ETA: On the Sony boards, a poster says that Richter now holds the one-day celebrity record. I wonder how he could do in regular \*Jeopardy! \* ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/14 "2009-09-18T13:19:05Z")
Andy Richter was on Celebrty Jeopardy once several years ago, I believe one of the contestants he was up against was Steve Page of Barenaked Ladies. Anyway, Richter completely owned that match as well, winning enough money so he wouldn’t have to bet a single dollar during Final Jeopardy and still win. So how much did he wager? ALL OF IT! And he got it right. I think he won something like $120k but I might not be remembering correctly. Edited to add: According to [this page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_Jeopardy!#List_of_participants), Richter was on in November of 1999, not the same season as Steve Page. Not sure who he went up against in his match. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/15 "2009-09-18T13:29:44Z")
His IMDB page says his 1999 win was $24,400 plus a $5000 victory bonus. His take last night was $68,000. St. Jude Hospital is very, very happy. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/16 "2009-09-18T14:10:56Z")
I was so thrilled! I love Andy! While I was expecting Wolfie to do better (he’s supposedly so intelligent and insightful, etc.), I was not expecting that from Andy. And he was so darned serious. A lot of comedians that come on there spend half their time trying to make it funny for the viewer. Andy was there for a reason: to win money for St. Jude’s. Period. And if he had a good time while doing it, great. But he wasn’t there to make himself look hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/17 "2009-09-18T15:54:22Z")
It was hilarious! Did you notice that at the end, Wolf immediately threw down his buzzer and crossed his arms in a pout–a couple of seconds later, he must have realized what he did and uncrossed his arms and tried to have a neutral expression on his face. Those few seconds of his disgust had us howling with laughter. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/18 "2009-09-18T16:27:12Z")
Did anyone see the bit on Late Night they aired the day before where they showed Wolf, Dana and Andy in their preparations and practice round? Wolf came across as a total ass there too and it was clear Andy was going to mop the floor with them. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/19 "2009-09-18T16:38:45Z")
> [@HelloNinja](#): > > Andy Richter was on Celebrty Jeopardy once several years ago, I believe one of the contestants he was up against was Steve Page of Barenaked Ladies. Anyway, Richter completely owned that match as well, winning enough money so he wouldn’t have to bet a single dollar during Final Jeopardy and still win. > > So how much did he wager? ALL OF IT! And he got it right. I think he won something like $120k but I might not be remembering correctly. > > Edited to add: > According to [this page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_Jeopardy!#List_of_participants), Richter was on in November of 1999, not the same season as Steve Page. Not sure who he went up against in his match. Here is link to a [summary of Andy’s 1999 appearance](http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=2499). He beat Brian Dennehy and S. Epatha Merkerson. But you are correct, he had a lock game and wagered his entire $12,200 on Final Jeopardy to end with $24,400! Back in those days, the clues were worth half of what they are today, so that translates to $48,800 in today’s values. Pretty impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526/20 "2009-09-18T18:49:35Z")
Andy Richter is a favorite of mine. I’m currently re-watching his short private eye series on Hulu [Andy Barker, P.I.](http://www.hulu.com/search?query=Andy+Barker%2C+P.I) I just realized from the titles that each show was based on a famous mystery. Should have run a lot longer. Maybe with Monk having its last season there will be another opening for a light mystery. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-richter-controls-the-jeopardy/510526.md?page=2)