3-Time Jeopardy Champ Is From Highland Park; Attended Deerfield High School

The three-time reigning Jeopardy champion was first introduced to academic competition more than a decade ago as a student at Deerfield High School and resident of Highland Park.

Not only is Michael Bilow a multiple show champion, he is one of the most successful contestants in the popular game show’s long history.

As of the morning of April 1, it’s no joke that Bilow has accumulated nearly $100,000 in winnings after just three shows. During the win that aired Tuesday, Bilow’s post-Final Jeopardy total stood at $57,198 - the fourth highest total in history trailing only the legendary Ken Jennings, Roger Craig and Arthur Chu.

“I knew I was going to take risks from the get go,” said Bilow, a 2005 Deerfield High School graduate. “I wasn’t going to go out there to avoid losing or looking stupid on TV. I was going to try to win and try to get the most money as possible.”

Bilow’s start in the world of academic competitions came as a freshman at DHS when he signed up for scholastic bowl.

“I knew instantly I was pretty good,” he said, recalling the “fierce matches” the school would often have with New Trier and teaming with leader Alex Nomitch and others to place Deerfield fourth overall at the state level.

“High school competitions were very fun,” he said. “I remember a game in my junior year where I was able to buzz in immediately and factor a difficult polynomial to win the game. If I had missed it, we would have lost.”

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The passion for scholastic bowl didn’t waiver for Bilow, now a PhD student in computer science at UCLA. He competed in college as an undergrad at Yale and tried out for college Jeopardy in 2007 but was not selected.

Being on the big show - the one featuring America’s well-known quiz voice Alex Trebek - was always something Bilow thought about.

That inevitability was nearly delayed again. Bilow explains that he tried out for the show in the summer of 2013, and that auditions are up for consideration for the main show for two years.

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He got the call this January and filmed the first show on the 13th and the next two on the 27th. He can’t tell us just how far he makes it, but it’s already been a “surreal” experience, he says.

“In between filming episodes, Alex always takes a half hour to allow the audience members to ask questions of him,” Bilow said. “He is a down to earth dude, very similar to his TV persona.”

While an impressive run already, Bilow has quite a way to go to catch Ken Jennings - who set the show record for consecutive victories with 74 in 2005.

At the time, Bilow was following along in the halls of DHS.

“We would talk about it at the writing and tutoring center,” he remembers. “It was a big topic of conversation for months.”

He will also have plenty of work to do to be the top Jeopardy contestant in recent memory from the North Shore. Just last year, Julia Collins of Kenilworth amassed 20 consecutive victories for a total of $428,100. But even if Bilow’s run ends soon, he can still claim more winnings than Collins in one day.

Bilow, who also attended Kipling Elementary and Shepherd Junior High schools, said he always returns to the North Shore to visit family in Highland Park for the Fourth of July parade.

He plans to complete his degree and then “keep doing research.”

“Unless Alex’s lectern would happen to open up,” he said.

UPDATE: Bilow’s run on Jeopardy came to an end Wednesday as he could not advance to Final Jeopardy, finishing the double round with -$1,600. His three-day winnings totaled $97,000.

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