Competing on Jeopardy! has been a long time coming for Harvey Silikovitz.
On the March 10 episode of the game show, Silikovitz, an attorney and “worldwide karaoke singer” who first auditioned in 2001, detailed his 24-year journey to appearing on the show.
“It’s been a longtime dream of mine to get here,” he told host Ken Jennings. “In 2019, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, but I continued chasing the dream, and now here I am.”
“I wouldn’t recommend that as a preparation strategy for doing well on the show,” he added as the audience laughed. “But after living with Parkinson’s for five and a half years, it’s no longer just about wanting to do well for myself.”
He concluded, “I would like to give hope and inspiration to the people who are living with chronic illnesses.”
Silikovitz went on to win $23,200 while breaking returning contestant Laura Faddah‘s eight-game streak.
Silikovitz reflected on his journey in a lengthy Instagram post prior to his appearance on the show.
“One of the principal reasons I travel is to learn more about the world,” he began. “That same voracious curiosity led me to become immersed in the world of trivia. While I believe that knowing stuff is an intrinsic good, I also enjoy testing my knowledge in trivia competitions of various kinds.”
“Inevitably, I wanted to test myself on ‘Jeopardy!’, which has long been the gold standard of TV quiz shows,” he continued. “And so, for many years, I have tried to become a contestant on that show. I persevered in that quest even after setbacks – like that time in March 2019 when I missed a voice-mail from a senior casting producer that, had I returned the call, would have led to my becoming a contestant a few weeks later. By the time I finally heard the VM, taping for the season had wrapped.”
Silikovitz revealed that five months later, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which is “a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time,” according to Mayo Clinic.
NBC
Silikovitz explained, “But I refused to let that diagnosis deter me from following my long-held dream.”
“I worked hard to manage my Parkinson’s symptoms – even while relentlessly seeking to improve my knowledge base as well as my proficiency at the skills, such as timing on the buzzer, that are crucial to success on J!” he wrote.
Finally, in January 2025, Silikovitz shared that his “dream was realized.”
“I flew out to Culver City, CA to tape as a J! contestant!” he recalled. “So how did I do? Can a person with Parkinson’s be competitive in the rigorous crucible of a ‘Jeopardy!’ game? To add to the intrigue, the returning champion who was one of my 2 opponents had won her first 8 games. Did I become another of her victims? Did I put an end to her streak? Or did the third player take down both of us? Tune in on Monday to find out! #jeopardy #parkinsons #parkinsonswarrior.”
Silikovitz will continue his Jeopardy journey on the March 11 episode.
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Jeopardy! airs weeknights on ABC (check local listings).
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