Local man finds 'Jeopardy' worth wait

The third time, Jonathan Sanchez was sufficiently charming.

Twice before the local writer and bookstore owner had tried to win a contestant's spot on "Jeopardy!", NBC's long-running TV quiz show. In January, he finally made the grade, taping the show in Culver City, Calif. How he did will be revealed when the show airs at 7:30 p.m. Monday on WCBD-TV.

Let's just say he's feeling pretty good about his performance.

"I'm extremely pleased, all things considered," said Sanchez, proprietor of Blue Bicycle Books in downtown Charleston. "But life continues as usual. We had a great time and a great trip. It was also good timing for us since my wife Lauren and I were celebrating our fifth anniversary while we were out there.

"She's a real star-spotter. Besides meeting ("Jeopardy!" host) Alex Trebek and (announcer) Johnny Gilbert, our trip to Los Angeles also netted sightings of Slash, character actor Seymour Cassel, Anna Trebunskaya, Adam Sandler and Fran Drescher."

Sanchez got the call he was waiting for in December, following another audition last April in Charlotte.

"This time I just went to Charlotte and treated it like something fun to do. I was relaxed," said Sanchez, whose passions are books and baseball. "But the competition is tough; they only put 400 people on the show each year. It's a quality show that people really like. They (producers) take a lot of pride in their writers and in their contestants."

Reach Bill Thompson at bthompson@postandcourier.com or 937-5707.