AU professor wins on 'Jeopardy!'

Auburn, Al.

As an assistant professor in the English department at Auburn University, Dr. Sunny Stalter-Pace often finds good use for her knowledge of literature.

But it was her love of movies that ultimately won her $29,200 on “Jeopardy!” Thursday night.

Stalter-Pace ousted two-day champion Gabor Vari, of Los Angeles, by writing the correct question to the answer: “The villain’s visage in this movie series was partly chosen due to its likeness to an 1893 work by a Norwegian artist.”

Stalter-Pace wrote “What is the Scream series?” and wagered $14,000. The art in question was “Scream” by Edvard Munch.

“I was just elated,” Stalter-Pace said of her win. “Honestly, I was elated when I saw that the category was movies.”

Stalter-Pace said she worked as a projectionist in college and has assisted with film series at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.

The AU assistant professor will compete to defend her title as champion on Friday’s episode of “Jeopardy!” The show was taped during the summer, but she is not allowed to talk about the results of shows that have not aired.

Stalter-Pace said participating in the game show was a dream come true. Growing up in Illinois, she often watched the show with her parents.

“This is basically something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said.

Before appearing on the show, Stalter-Pace had to go through a rigorous audition process that included two “Jeopardy!” exams as well as a mock game.

“It’s something that I’d been dreaming about doing since I was 13, so it was amazing,” she said. “It was a great experience all around.”

Stalter-Pace said she enjoyed meeting longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek.

“He was really friendly and answered questions from people in the audience during commercial breaks,” she said.

“Jeopardy!” airs at 6 p.m. on CBS.