Determination for $1,000: How Harvey Silikovitz didn't let Parkinson's disease end his ‘Jeopardy!' dreams

CNN

12-03-2025

After at least eight auditions over two decades, 'Jeopardy!' superfan Harvey Silikovitz learned last year that his dream was coming true: He was chosen to compete on the show. What he hadn't anticipated was that his big chance would come as he was living with Parkinson's disease.
Silikovitz made his 'Jeopardy!' debut on Monday, besting the 8-day champion Laura Faddah by winning $23,600 in a dominating game that, from the start, was a runaway. In that episode, he said that after living with Parkinson's since 2019, coming onto 'Jeopardy!' was 'no longer just about wanting to do well for myself, I would like to give hope and inspiration to the people who are living with chronic illnesses.'
Silikovitz's run ended on Tuesday when contestant James Corson succeeded him, winning a whopping $42,000.
'Just being a Jeopardy champion is something that I'm proud of,' Silikovitz told CNN in an interview. 'But the important thing is that even though I had Parkinson's, I didn't give up on my dream and more generally, I tried not to let it define me or stop me from doing the things that I'm passionate about.'
The New Jersey-based lawyer's journey to 'Jeopardy!' was no ordinary one. After years of auditioning, he first got a call in March 2019 from a producer notifying him that he'd been he'd finally been chosen to compete on the show, but he missed the call. By the time he realized it, it was too late, and he'd have to audition yet again.
In August of that same year, Silikovitz, then 49, learned of his diagnosis. Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder affecting the nervous system that worsens over time, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Suddenly, after spending so many years focused on both his work as a commercial litigation lawyer and getting onto 'Jeopardy!', his priorities drastically shifted.
'It took me a few months to kind of adjust to that diagnosis,' Silikovitz said. 'I was scared for a while but with the help of my therapist, I was able to accept it, and I had a really good care team of neurologists and physical therapists.'
But Silikovitz 'never lost interest in the show,' he said, despite having to pause his efforts of getting on it for a few months as he worked to manage his symptoms.
Determined not to let his diagnosis stop him, he started traveling again, including to Las Vegas to attend two game show boot camps run by 'Jeopardy!' champ James Holzhauer.
In early October, his decades-long effort finally paid off when Silikovitz opened up his email to a pleasant surprise.
'Harvey, I know this email has been a long time coming,' the email began.
Getting the email confirming he had been chosen was both exciting and motivating. Silikovitz stepped up his preparations so much that he hardly left any time to celebrate being cast after all these years.
A big motivating factor in going on 'Jeopardy!' following his diagnosis was that getting on the show meant he'd be able to give hope and inspiration to those living with chronic illness.
'I hope that I can give some people a little more hope, a little more confidence to do things that they still want to do,' he said. 'It would have been really nice when I first got my diagnosis if there had been someone like that to make me realize sooner that I still had a lot of great experiences ahead of me.'
Holzhauer, who is also a longtime friend of Silikovitz's, was in the studio during the taping for support, Silikovitz said.
While his time on the show may have ended sooner that he'd have liked, it may not be over. A representative for 'Jeopardy!' confirmed to CNN that by winning at least one game, he has qualified to appear on the 'Champions Wildcard' tournament, which is set to take place next season.
'It didn't matter how many games I won, it's just such a fantastic thing to get to do,' he said.