“What is Sarah Beach?”
If you stay tuned to tomorrow’s blog you will read the interesting story of how a former Clerical Assistant at the Los Angeles County Law Library snagged “what is almost the only secure job in Hollywood, working for the quiz show, Jeopardy!”
She will reveal what it took to research and cross-check “every little factoid in the clues,” and the variety of category topics she had to delve into daily to make sure the writers had read their sources correctly.
Sarah will also share how working on the quiz show greatly influenced her own writing. (She currently writes screenplays, novels, short stories, and non-fiction.) And finally, she will give us tips and examples to use when we write and edit our manuscripts.
So the answer is: The Writers In Residence blog
And the question is: “What online blog will I be reading on Wednesday, April 15, 2020?”
See you there!!
How it all began…
He hadn’t yet reinvented himself as the real estate tycoon that he became. But one-time big band singer, Merv Griffin, was already an established talk show host when he and his wife, Julann, came up with the idea for the hit game show Jeopardy! As it happened, they were flying somewhere. And Griffin, a lifelong aficionado of crossword puzzles, was lamenting the fact that there hadn’t been a successful question and answer show since the hugely popular The $64,000 Question was canceled due to a scandal.
“He was despondent,” says his son, Tony Griffin, describing how his parents began brainstorming game show ideas. “My mom turned to him and said, ‘Why don’t you give them the answers?’ My dad was like, ‘What?’ She said, ‘5,280.’ He said, ‘How many feet in a mile?’ She said, ‘221 B Baker Street.’ He said, ‘Where does Sherlock Holmes live?’”
With that, they nailed down the concept. However, says Tony, his dad felt there wasn’t enough tension. “He said, ‘How can I get more jeopardy into the show?’ She said, ‘Why not take the money away if they’re wrong. That’ll put them in jeopardy.’ He said, ‘Jeopardy! What a great name.’”
~~~ From “Merv Grillin: Hall of Fame Tribute by Ann Farmer, December 8, 2017.
(a teaser tidbit by Jackie Houchin about the GUEST for our regular Wednesday blog post)
The Writers in Residence 