Jeopardy Champion
December 21, 2016 1:14 PM   Subscribe

When Cindy Stowell was called by the Jeopardy producers about having earned a chance to audition, she told them it would have to be fast; she had Stage IV colon cancer and an estimated six months to live. Stowell passed away on December 5, eight days before the first day of her winning streak began to air. After Tuesday night's show Cindy’s six-day total is $103,803 (U.S.), which she donated to cancer research.
posted by roomthreeseventeen (42 comments total) 30 users marked this as a favorite
 
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Also a Learned Leaguer (as is her boyfriend), and this has been bouncing around the message boards there since just before she started.

Stowell is impressive enough on her own (she's at third place for victories by women); knowing that she was in Stage IV makes her performance absolutely incredible. Remember that Jeopardy! is taped in full-day blocks, not a half-hour per day -- multiple-time champions have called it a physical marathon as much as a mental one, which is why you don't often get people winning double-digits.

(I will note that on Day 2 or 3, Trebek made a comment about how she looks "frail", and I damn near threw my shoe through the television.)
posted by Etrigan at 1:24 PM on December 21, 2016 [13 favorites]


I think she is amazing. I've lost several family members to colon cancer, and that she's managed to keep taping and winning during a fever and while on painkillers is astonishing.
posted by gladly at 1:28 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


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She had a really great run on Jeopardy, I'm glad I got to see some of it.

Alex Trebek is an asshole.
posted by supermedusa at 1:29 PM on December 21, 2016 [5 favorites]


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Glad she got her shot.

More glad she owned.
posted by Samizdata at 1:30 PM on December 21, 2016 [4 favorites]


I had heard about this for the past couple of weeks, but only found out it was her last night. I've been watching her run since it started (we usually eat dinner while watching Jeopardy) It was weird watching her play while knowing she was no longer with us.

Did Trebek know about her condition during the taping? (which doesn't excuse him from being an asshole, of course)
posted by Thorzdad at 1:31 PM on December 21, 2016




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posted by Iridic at 1:40 PM on December 21, 2016


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Respect.
posted by Bob Regular at 1:43 PM on December 21, 2016


Do not go gentle into that good night...

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posted by jim in austin at 2:03 PM on December 21, 2016 [4 favorites]


So, as the shows air, she's still going? She's on again tonight?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 2:11 PM on December 21, 2016


Prisoner of Trebekistan
posted by anshuman at 2:15 PM on December 21, 2016


She's on again tonight?
She won last night, so I assume so.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:23 PM on December 21, 2016


I think it's really amazing that her family gets to have her there on the TV screen for an extra week. Just thinking about all the people in her life that get a little extra Cindy... guh, now I'm crying at work again.
posted by maryr at 2:28 PM on December 21, 2016 [7 favorites]


I stopped watching Jeopardy! years ago, but I was out at a bar last night with a coworker who was getting text updates from his former Jeopardy champ wife about it. So very heartbreaking, and so very 2016 to see someone so gifted kicking ass, but knowing that she's gone.

(My coworker did mention that the Jeopardy producers sent her recordings of the shows so she could see them before she died, so at least there's that.)

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posted by tonycpsu at 2:48 PM on December 21, 2016 [8 favorites]


She will be on again tonight! She was behind much of last night's episode, she only pulled ahead in final Jeopardy. Awesome comeback!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:10 PM on December 21, 2016


I've had a hard time watching Jeopardy since my wee little run on the show, but I made sure to catch her appearance because it's a hell of a tribute to her.
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:26 PM on December 21, 2016 [2 favorites]


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posted by JoeXIII007 at 3:47 PM on December 21, 2016


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posted by Joe in Australia at 3:51 PM on December 21, 2016


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posted by dreaming in stereo at 4:23 PM on December 21, 2016


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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:30 PM on December 21, 2016


Finally creating a login here, after lurking for over a decade:

My roommate was a contestant against Cindy in her final game, which was the third game in a subsequent taping in September. I had flown with my roommate, along with my mom, to watch the taping live as my friend's cheering section.

I can confirm that the other contestants didn't know anything about Cindy's condition, other than one of the episodes was delayed slightly, and they said it was because she wasn't feeling well.

Her goal was apparently to reach $100k for her cancer research donation, and she reached that goal in her prior game. I have to believe that she was running on fumes by that point. She had already achieved the goal she had come back a second time to complete. As far as I'm concerned, she did not lose her final game.

It was a VICTORY LAP.
posted by notoriety public at 4:32 PM on December 21, 2016 [75 favorites]


Cindy Stowell is my Person of the Year.
posted by NorthernLite at 4:32 PM on December 21, 2016 [7 favorites]


Cindy was a great competitor, steady and relentless. I'm so sorry for her friends, family, and loved ones.
posted by muddgirl at 4:34 PM on December 21, 2016


As far as I'm concerned, she did not lose her final game.

It was a VICTORY LAP.


A: A fluid produced by lachrymal glands.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:59 PM on December 21, 2016 [6 favorites]


Jeopardy would have given her a chair if she needed one, but as best I can tell, Cindy has played all seven of her games so far standing on her own two feet.
posted by themanwho at 5:41 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


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posted by Token Meme at 5:46 PM on December 21, 2016


Trebek told the TV audience after her last appearance tonight, and was clearly holding his emotions down tight.
posted by Etrigan at 5:56 PM on December 21, 2016 [3 favorites]


God bless her. i had a upper right lobectomy in 2005. and now its in my liver.Iget treatment at MD anderson in Houston, so God bless her. I,m 63 but i go in to the hospital and see the little ones with cancer and it so sad. it"s a heartbreaker. sorry if i ruined your day
posted by beemerboxer at 6:06 PM on December 21, 2016 [21 favorites]


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posted by defenestration at 7:17 PM on December 21, 2016


. for a thousand Alex.
posted by Sphinx at 7:18 PM on December 21, 2016


She was a great player. It was sad seeing her run, knowing she was dead, but also uplifting that she was able to knock it out of the park before she departed.
posted by codacorolla at 8:26 PM on December 21, 2016


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posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 8:37 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


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posted by slipthought at 8:58 PM on December 21, 2016


Joe in Australia: " As far as I'm concerned, she did not lose her final game.

It was a VICTORY LAP.


A: A fluid produced by lachrymal glands.
"

Not in the form of a ques [wipes eyes]...
posted by Samizdata at 8:59 PM on December 21, 2016 [2 favorites]


Here's the clip with Alex that aired at the end of tonight's show.

And here's her Jeopardy! story, in her own words.

(Both hosted on Facebook, but should be available to the public. Strap on a private/incognito window if you'd like...)
posted by Shmuel510 at 9:00 PM on December 21, 2016 [5 favorites]


Followup article in NYTimes
posted by Shmuel510 at 9:08 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


I can't think of anything more 2016 than learning about an amazing person after they're already gone.

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posted by Joey Michaels at 9:12 PM on December 21, 2016 [13 favorites]


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posted by SisterHavana at 7:16 AM on December 22, 2016


God this is a great story. That is an epic "rage, rage against the dying of the light"
posted by trif at 7:19 AM on December 22, 2016 [3 favorites]


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posted by ZeusHumms at 11:04 AM on December 22, 2016


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posted by daybeforetheday at 7:46 PM on December 22, 2016


I'm a LearnedLeaguer and former J! champ. As the NYT article mentioned, many of us played along and donated a dollar per correct answer (or similar, as we were moved).

Our current total is close to $10,500 more going to cancer research.
posted by St. Hubbins at 9:39 PM on December 24, 2016 [3 favorites]


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