MAY 23 • 2024 | 27

honor. Throughout his career, he won 
six Daytime Emmy Awards as part of the 
Jeopardy! writing team. 

STILL IMPACTING THE GAME
In the 20 years since Steven has been 
gone, our family has maintained a close 
relationship with some of the show’s 
writers. Steven’s clues are still being used 
today, and when one is to be used in an 
upcoming game, my grandparents are the 
first to get a heads up. Anytime a member 
of my family visits Los Angeles, we always 
stop by the Jeopardy! set for a visit.
In February, along with my mom, sister, 
aunt and cousin, I headed to Los Angeles 
for the Jeopardy! Honors ceremony. That 
evening, we visited with the Jeopardy! 
writers and researchers who shared 
memories of Steven and showed us 
cabinets full of typewritten clues on index 
cards that Steven had written years prior. 
Next, we walked the Blue Carpet leading 
into a cocktail party filled with Jeopardy! 
staff and memorable contestants from the 
last season of the game show. 
The Jeopardy! honors ceremony was 
held on the Wheel of Fortune set and 
hosted by Ken Jennings. Awards were 
given to contestants for a variety of 
categories including Best Fashion, Best 
Signature and Best Comeback. 
To close out the ceremony, Ken 
Jennings shared a story about Steven 
that delighted the audience: “In 1987, 
I happened to read a magazine article 
that changed my life. It was a funny and 
engaging, fascinating deep dive into how 
Jeopardy! gets made and how the clues get 
written, and I was smitten. I was 12 years 
old, and I decided right then, I was going 
to be a Jeopardy! contestant or maybe I 
was going to be a trivia writer or, as it 
turns out, both! Tonight, the writer of 
that article and of so much great Jeopardy! 
is going to join the Hall of Fame.” 
It just so happened to be my uncle who 
wrote the article that set the trajectory of 
Ken Jennings’ career. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CEREMONY
To induct Steven into the Jeopardy! Hall 
of Fame, co-head writers Billy Wisse and 
Michele Loud shared sentiments about 
Steven that only close friends could. 
Highlights from their speech are below:

Billy Wisse: “There was never any 
mistaking the voice of the writer we are 
highlighting today, Steven Dorfman. 
In many ways, it’s the voice we all try 
to write in today: serious about the 
information, but beautifully informal 
in its tone … In the short form that he 
was the master of, Steven put himself in 
the place of his subject and that is why 
his work still feels fresh today whether 
we watch a clue taped in the ’80s or ’90s 
or run across an unused gem in our 
database.”
Michele Loud: “Steven cared 
passionately about the show, arriving 
every day at 6 a.m. and writing three 
categories every day like clockwork. He 
was always thinking about the show 
and how to make it better in every 
way possible. Thanks to him, we first 
started using online sources, and we 
made the giant leap from typewriters 
to a computer database … He gave the 
viewers a tremendous gift, 30 minutes of 
wit, wisdom and wordplay. We are here 
to honor someone who lives on not only 
in the memories of those who knew him 
and loved him, but in the fabric of the 
pop culture he loved so much. It is our 
honor and our privilege to induct Steven 
Dorfman into the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame.”
My family was invited onto the 
stage, and we stood at the podium as 
my cousin, Ben Mitchell, spoke on our 
behalf, sharing stories about Steven and 

expressing our gratitude for the kindness 
and love from the entire Jeopardy! 
community. How incredible that 20 years 
later, Steven is still so revered by his 
colleagues and industry. 
My Uncle Steven lived his dream and 
made an incredible impact on a TV show 
that is such a big part of our culture. 
We are so proud of everything Steven 
accomplished throughout his career, 
and every time we hear a reference 
to Jeopardy! in our daily lives, we’re 
reminded that he helped build one of the 
most iconic TV game shows in television 
history. 

Samantha Foon, 
Ken Jennings, 
Taylor Sher, 
Randee Sher, Lisa 
Mitchell, Benjamin 
Mitchell

Samantha Foon 
next to the Steven 
Dorfman Memorial 
Library dedicated 
in 2004