Final Jeopardy: 20th Century Literary Names (2-9-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (2/9/2026) in the category “20th Century Literary Names” was:
In 1950 he won a Tony for Best Play & 18 years after his 1965 death, he would go on to win 2 Tonys for a musical
In the third quarterfinal of the 2026 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (JIT), the players are: Liz Feltner, a law student from Baton Rouge, LA; T.L. Cubbage, a lawyer from Dallas, TX; and Drew Goins, a journalist from Washington, D.C.
Round 1 Categories: Other Invitationals – Canned Goods – …said This Novel Character – I’m Back on the Apps – From Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary – The Dreaded Jazz Opera Category
Drew found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “From Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary” under the $1,000 clue on the 11th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $3,000 now, $1,000 more than T.L. in second place. Drew made it a true Daily Double and tried scribe. That was WRONG.
Self-effacing Sam defined this, his occupation at the time, as “a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing” words show
Liz finished in the lead with $4,800. T.L. was in second place with $3,600. Drew was last with $2,800. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Ancient Times – It is a Contest – 8-Letter U.S. Cities – Such a Beautiful Simcha – Scientific Minds – Starts & Ends With the Same Vowel
T.L. found the first Daily Double in “8-Letter U.S. Cities” under the $1,600 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. He was in the lead with $5,200 now, $400 more than Liz in second place. T.L. bet $3,000 and guessed Hartford. That was WRONG.
After Jackson, this city well to the southeast is Mississippi’s largest show
Liz got the last Daily Double in “Scientific Minds” under the $800 clue on the 19th pick of the round. In the lead with $9,200, she had $3,600 more than Drew in second place. Liz bet $3,000 and but ran out of time to respond so she was WRONG.
Scientists in Brno drug up the remains of this local hero around the bicentennial of his birth & analyzed his genetic code show
Liz finished in the lead with $6,200. T.L. was in second place with $5,400. Drew was last with $5,200. All clues were shown.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS T.S. ELIOT?
Born in St. Louis, MO. in 1888, T.S. Eliot moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and became a UK citizen in 1927. He first made his mark in the literary world through poetry but published his first play in 1926. “Murder in the Cathedral” (1935) and “The Cocktail Party” (1949) are the most well known of his 7 plays, the latter being the most commercially successful. It ran for 409 performances on Broadway from 1/21/1950 to 1/13/1951, winning the 1950 Tony Award for Best Play.
Eliot died at age 76 on 1/4/1965. His widow, Valerie, collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber on what became the highly successful musical “Cats”, which opened on Broadway on 1/7/1982 and ran for 7,485 performances. In 1983, the Tony for Best Book of a Musical went to T.S. Eliot for “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats”, and the Tony for Best Musical Score went to Eliot (lyrics) and Webber (music).
Drew thought it was Arthur Miller. He lost $3,600 and finished with $1,600.
T.L. went with Truman Capote. That cost him $5,399 and left him with $1.00.
Liz wrote down Hudson. She lost $4,601 and finished with $1,599. So Drew Goins won the game by a dollar and he advances to the semifinals.
A triple stumper from each round:
THE DREADED JAZZ OPERA CATEGORY ($1000) Duke Ellington’s unfinished “Queenie Pie” opera about a beautician was inspired by this real-life hair care millionaire “Madam”
SCIENTIFIC MINDS ($2000) “Uncle Tungsten”, a memoir by this late neurologist, says a kid could buy cyanide in the London of his youth
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “U.S. STAMPS”
This Roman numeral appeared on stamps in a 2022 series for the 50th anniversary of an anti-discrimination law show
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This is the first time Liz Feltner has found a daily double.
It didn’t go her way. Darn Those Daily Doubles!
Semifinalists:
Matt Amodio: $18,800
Roger Craig: $15,000
Drew Goins: $1,600
Wild Cards:
Karen Farrell: $16,400
Drew Basile: $7,200
Liz Feltner: $1,599
============================
Tom Cubbage: $1
Veronica Vichit-Vadakan: $0 ($7,200)
Eric Ahasic: $0 ($5,600)
This was an ugly game today. All three players each lost 3,000 on the Daily doubles and we had a low scoring game and 1,600 is now the lowest win of the season. The wild cards standings are Karen and Drew Basile still in first and second with 16,400 and 7,200 respectively so they are both still safe while Liz is on the bubble with 1,599 and is probably unlikely to advance to the semifinals.
16400 looking very safe