Jeopardy! whiz ends 74-game streak
Jeopardy! whiz Ken Jennings’ 74-game winning streak came to an end in an anti-climactic episode televised Tuesday on ABC, but the computer software engineer from Salt Lake City has something to write home about: $2,520,700 in winnings. Rumors of Jennings’ loss circulated on the Internet yesterday after video clips of the episode, which was taped in September, were leaked. Jennings’ downfall started when he blew two Daily Double questions and then got stumped in the Final Jeopardy round. The answer in the Business & Industry category was: Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year. Contestant Nancy Zerg, a California real estate agent, had the correct reply: “What is H&R Block?” But Jennings guessed Federal Express as a shocked audience gasped in unison. The final score was Jennings $8,799 to Zerg’s $14,001. But Jennings, who gave more than 2,700 correct responses during his stint on Jeopardy!, said getting use to the post game show life has been difficult. “I miss it quite a bit,” Jennings told The Associated Press. “It didn’t really hit me that that was going to be the hard part. I thought the hard part would be the loss.” During his Jeopardy! reign, Jennings’ average daily haul was $34,063.51, but the show benefited, too. Ratings were up 22 percent over the same period last season.
Sheryl Crow stalker acquitted
After deliberating for about three hours Tuesday, a jury found 38-year-old Ambrose Kappos not guilty of stalking singer Sheryl Crow for 15 months, the AP reports. Kappos was accused of stalking Crow from July 2002 until his Oct. 6, 2003, arrest at a concert hall in New York City where the singer was appearing. During that time, he also visited the singer’s sister in Tennessee and her father in Missouri. Kappos told reporters outside the court he was “delusional” when he thought he was communicating telepathically with Crow and blamed two unhappy marriages, an infatuation with the singer and other emotional difficulties for creating the “perfect storm” psychologically.
CBS takes November sweeps
With one day to go, CBS claimed a November sweeps victory among viewers aged 18 to 49, while ABC and NBC were fighting for second. November is one of the four sweeps month where Nielsen Media Research ratings are used to set local advertising rates. According to Nielsen, CBS won the week, averaging 13.9 million viewers, followed by ABC with 11.1 million, NBC with 10 million, Fox with 7.5 million, the WB with 3.9 million, and UPN with 3.4 million. For the week of Nov. 22-28, the top 5 shows, their networks and viewerships: Desperate Housewives, ABC, 27.2 million; CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Thanksgiving Special, CBS, 24.4 million; CSI: Miami, CBS, 22.1 million; Without a Trace Thanksgiving Special, CBS, 19.8 million; and Two and a Half Men, CBS, 18.9 million.
Bill Maher fights ex-girlfriend’s lawsuit
HBO’s Real Time host Bill Maher is asking for the dismissal of a $9 million palimony lawsuit against him, claiming he never promised to marry and support his ex-girlfriend Nancy “Coco” Johnsen, the AP reports. “He never supported her financially, and he never promised to support her or to purchase any house for her,” said the filing, calling Maher “a confirmed bachelor, and a very public one at that.” In her lawsuit, the former model and flight attendant claimed Maher, who began his relationship with Johnsen in 2003, convinced her to quit her job and promised marriage, children and a house but became “verbally abusive” once she did. The relationship ended in May.
Sundance unveils film premieres
The Sundance Film Festival has announced dozens of films that will premiere in January at what has become the leading U.S. showcase for independent movies. This year’s festival will feature 120 films with 87 world premieres and 19 U.S. premieres, including: Happy Endings, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Arnold and Lisa Kudrow; The Matador, featuring Pierce Brosnan; Loverboy starring Sandra Bullock; Upside of Anger with Kevin Costner; The Jacket with Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley; Game 6 with Michael Keaton and Bebe Neuwirth; and The Ballad of Jack and Rose, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. The festival, backed by actor Robert Redford‘s Sundance Institute, kicks off for 10 days on Jan. 20.
Drake sweeps British indie awards
Mike Leigh‘s Vera Drake, a moving portrayal of a back-street abortionist in 1950s London, cleaned up at the British Independent Film Awards Tuesday, taking six awards, including best film and best director, Reuters reports. Drake‘s stars Imelda Staunton and Phil Davis also took the top prizes in the acting categories. This makes the second win for the indie film this year, after snagging the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice Film Festival in September.
Soap actor David Bailey dies
Soap star David Bailey, who played the ruthless Alistair Crane on NBC’s Passions, died in an accidental drowning at the age of 71, the AP reports. Bailey was spotted submerged in his apartment pool in Los Angeles on Nov. 25. According to an investigator’s report, Bailey swam almost daily. An autopsy performed Sunday determined drowning was the cause of death. Bailey joined the Passions cast in September, finally giving a face to Alistair Crane, who had only been heard via speaker phone since the program debuted in 1999. He also portrayed Russ Matthews on Another World as well as Alan Spaulding on Guiding Light, Ben Forrest on As The World Turns and Teddy Malcolm on Ryan’s Hope.
Opera singer Pavarotti to retire
Opera legend Luciano Pavarotti said he plans on retiring after he completes a 40-city tour. In an interview with Reuters, the tenor, known as “The king of the high C’s,” said he will bring down the curtain on a 43-year career with an international tour taking him from the Balkans to Buenos Aires via London, Paris and New York. “The tour is long but I never perform like a rock star night after night. I shall do a maximum of two or three concerts a month,” he said of his global finale. When pressed, Pavarotti could not put a date on when the tour will end or where. “I don’t know. When they are finished, I am finished.”
Lucas donates cash to California university
Star Wars creator George Lucas has donated $100,000 to California State University, Long Beach, for film department scholarships as well as repairing equipment damaged in a heavy rain storm, the AP reports. Although Lucas attended the University of Southern California, close friend director Steven Spielberg is a Cal State Long Beach alum.
Kit Bowen contributed to this report.
