Babylon Alumni Competes On Jeopardy!

BABYLON, NY — When Alfred Guy was asked who wrote the 1970 young adult book "Are You There? It's Me, Margaret" as a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, he couldn't help but laugh.

Guy was the only boy in his Babylon Elementary School fourth grade class at who read "Are You There? It's Me, Margaret", by Judy Blume. He was awarded $5,000 for his correct answer.

His knowledge would guide him to win more than $250,000, and to compete in other game shows such as Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?, and just last week — Jeopardy!

Guy, assistant dean and director of undergraduate writing and tutoring at Yale College, spoke with Patch about his recent experience on one of television's most beloved game shows.

The professor originally tried out for Jeopardy! in the 80s and 90s, he said, back when the initial tests were in-person at Atlantic City, New Jersey.

"I took the test at least twice, maybe three times," he said.

But in 2011, Guy's dreams reignited, when he had the opportunity to compete on Millionaire.

After winning more than $250,000, Guy, who graduated in the Class of 1982 at Babylon High School, gave back to the district by donating $5,000.

"My love of books was very much nurtured in a really in the grade school as much as in high school," he said.

Then in September 2019, he competed on season two of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

"By then I stopped thinking about going on Jeopardy!," he said. "In terms of the game show itch, I had already scratched that."

In fall 2021, Guy learned that Jeopardy! was organizing a professor tournament. After passing the first round of an online test, he was invited onto a group Zoom video meeting with show producers and other potential contestants.

"It wasn't built into me to think, I have to go in Jeopardy!," he said. "But when I heard there was a professor's tournament, I actually thought I had a better chance."

The tournament occurred in spring 2022, but Guy said he was never contacted about it after the video meeting.

However, producers contacted him in April, inviting him to compete in a standard game.

He then flew to Los Angeles for a May 16 and 17 taping, he said, as episodes are filmed within a two-day period every two weeks.

Contestants are not given any clues about their categories, Guy told Patch. To prepare, he studied geography, which he felt was not his strong suit.

He competed against returning champion Matt Mierswa and Alison Trebley, with host Ken Jennings. The episode was aired on July 20.

"I never expected to do well on Jeopardy!," he said. "I'm perfectly happy with how it went."

Although didn’t have as much success as he had in his previous experiences, finishing in third place with $10,999, he enjoyed the camaraderie and supportive environment of the cast and crew.

"The thing that most impressed me about the experience of being on Jeopardy! was that the contestants were absolutely rooting for each other to do well," he said. "In the commercial break, Allison and I both said to Matt, 'Wow, I can't believe you knew that one.' We were impressed with him rather than mad at him."

The professor, who still resides in Babylon, said that he owes the value of good sportsmanship to growing up in the school district.

"I had a group of very close friends in Babylon, who all rooted for each other, rather than feeling competitive with each other," he said. "I think that's been absolutely essential to every single thing I've done."