Who is Ron Clarke? Alaska's 'Jeopardy!' champion

If you meet Ron Clarke, he'll regale you with entertaining stories from his many years as the morning host and announcer on public radio in Fairbanks, or the years he spent in state government, or the ways he spends his days now, often with just his two dogs at his home in Chickaloon.

"I can go days and days without talking to another person," he said.

This might be true, but he's a natural storyteller, a sponge for information, and remarkably friendly. He moved to Alaska after completing his undergraduate degree at Montana State University to earn a master's in zoology at UAF. He thought he would be on his way to get a doctorate in Africa.

"Never got the Ph.D. but I've been to Africa," he said.

He once interviewed Helen Thomas, the legendary Washington correspondent who covered presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Barack Obama. They bonded and would go out to lunch whenever Ron made it to Washington. He also interviewed one-time presidential candidate Steve Forbes, founder of the eponymous magazine, an unlikely pair in terms of political orientations. But the two men hit it off and Ron still receives a Christmas card from Forbes.

Throughout a good chunk of his life, though, Ron has dreamed of being on "Jeopardy!" The game show with a cult following has entranced people who think they have the encyclopedic knowledge and quick reflexes to match wits on national television. Brainy competitors must respond in question form such as "What is a noble gas?" when given a clue like "Any of the chemical elements in Group 18 of the periodic table known for having a very low chemical reactivity."

"Oh, I've wanted to do this since I was a little kid," Ron said. The basic sequence to participate is that you take an online test. "If you get a high enough score-no one knows what that is-rumor is it's 37 out of 50. They don't confirm or deny," you can advance in consideration.

The next level is a second test via Zoom with several wannabe contestants and rounds of questions. You could start with Shakespeare and end with 17th century French literature. Or they could ask you goofy word questions.

"You have 15 seconds. You have to hear the question, write down your answer and then bang. Here is the next category. And the category is something you've never heard of in your whole life," Ron said.

After that, you play three rounds of practice games with three people each.

Even if you succeed at the tests, "Jeopardy" producers are on their own timetable about when you could be tapped to be in the contestant pool. It could be a few weeks. Or you could wait 18 months. Or never. Showrunners tell prospective contestants to start over if they haven't heard back within two years.

"It's easier to get into Harvard than it is to get on 'Jeopardy!'" Ron said. The show receives 75,000 applicants per year and picks about 400.

But if and when you get the call, you get the call.

The call finally came for Ron one day last summer. He was out on a walk when he saw his screen light up with a phone number from Culver City, where the "Jeopardy!" studio is based. "I'm retired. Every day is Saturday," he said. Of course he could come to California. And what's more, his daughter lives there.

Ron's first stop in was to pay tribute to longtime "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek, a pop culture icon who hosted the show from its revival in 1984 until his death in 2020. Ron bought two roses from a street vendor and placed them on Trebek's star on Hollywood Boulevard. They were for luck for hitting the Daily Double, a chance to double your winnings. Then Ron headed to the television studio.

When he showed show employees in the green room his photo and the sentiment behind it, some of them teared up.

They told him no one had ever done that. "They were touched by that and that touched me."

The camaraderie among the contestants and the professionalism among the staff struck Ron. "It's top-notch outfit." The connections with other contestants were immediate and genuine.

"With all the other foolishness going on in the world, this was positivity and decency. That doesn't happen by accident."

Finally, his appearance on "Jeopardy!" aired in October. The Sutton Library organized a watch party. Only Ron knew the outcome, and he had to swear to secrecy to the show's producers.

For most of the episode, Ron trailed the three-time champion, Greg Monson. Then, Ron seized on a tactical error Monson made in not wagering more. That allowed Ron to pull even, and the two men were tied with daily winnings of $18,200 late in the game.

The next clue was a tiebreaker, which is something of a rarity.

After Ken Jennings read the clue-describing President George W. Bush's National Security Adviser and later Secretary of State, Clarke was quicker on the draw.

"Ron," Jennings said.

"Who's Condoleezza Rice?" Clarke said.

"Condoleezza Rice is correct," Jennings said. "And Ron Clarke is today's Jeopardy! champion. Wow, what a finish!"

The next day's game was not as successful for Ron, but no matter.

"What a gas. It was so much fun," Ron said of his experience.

"Everything is fleeting."