Oct 12, 2018 3 min read

For decades, Hila Saxer has been one of the thousands of people who shout out the answers to questions when “Jeopardy!” airs on weeknights.

So it was an easy next step for the South Franklin resident to take the online test that can propel the rank-and-file “Jeopardy!” viewer into being a contestant. About 80,000 people take the test every year, but only about 400 of them are finally chosen to be on the long-running game show.

Saxer, much to her amazement, turned out to be one of them.

Her appearance on “Jeopardy!” will be airing at 7 p.m. Tuesday on WPXI-TV. It was taped in August and, as is customary for game-show contestants, Saxer cannot reveal anything about the outcome. She can say unequivocally, though, that she was astounded she was selected.

“I was truly floored,” said Saxer, who is a retired rehabilitation counselor and employment specialist for people who are deaf. “It was really fun. It was a great experience, and I left feeling like, ‘Oh my god, I met Alex Trebek.'”

A viewer of “Jeopardy!” since she was “a little kid” when Art Fleming was the host, Saxer took the online test, and then promptly forgot about it when she didn’t get a response. She did eventually hear from staff of the show, however, who invited her to auditions in Cleveland in June. That included another written test and a stand-up audition.

Again, when she heard nothing from them, Saxer assumed she had gone as far as she was going to go. Then, in July, she was invited to fly out to Los Angeles to be a contestant.

After some deliberation – contestants have to pay their own way – Saxer decided to make a weeklong trip of it, and was accompanied by her daughter-in-law for the journey in August.

“I would describe it as fun and terrifying, thrilling and exhausting,” Saxer said. “It’s not like being at home.”

One of Saxer’s cousins was a contestant on “Jeopardy!” in the 1960s, and her interests make her a “Jeopardy!” natural. She enjoys classical music and operas, is a reader and avidly fills in crossword puzzles. While some viewers make it a lifelong goal to get on the show, repeatedly filling out the online test and going to auditions, Saxer made it on her first try. And though contestants sometimes have dollar signs in their eyes, Saxer decided to enjoy being on “Jeopardy!” whether she won anything or not.

“You have to view it as a whole experience,” she explained. “Just embrace the experience and have fun.”