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Jeopardy
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Jeopardy! viewers are doing a double-take after they thought a big comedian ended up competing on the quiz show last night (Dec. 8). Could Steve Martin really be buzzing in answers, making jokes with Mayim Bialik, and throwing down with other professors? Is he using the stage name of “Sam” now? Audiences of the revered game show took to social media to point out the doppelgänger in the episode, all agreeing that the pair look exactly alike.
It wasn’t Martin, of course… It was Sam Buttrey, an associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, who has an uncanny resemblance of Martin. He has platinum, Martin-like hair, a kind smile, and above all, a humorous attitude. Heck, viewers even thought the competitor sounded like Martin too! Hey, doesn’t he have more episodes of Only Murders in the Building Season 2 to film?
“Sam looks a bit like Steve Martin,” one user shared with a mind-boggling GIF of the comedian.
Audiences also found an eerie coincidence in the fact that Martin famously portrayed King Tut on Saturday Night Live and King Tut was one of the categories in the opening round. The best news of all? Buttrey will advance into further games on the show, as his performance was stellar enough for him to win the episode. He’ll advance to the semifinals of the current tournament.
Buttrey is taking part in the Professors Tournament, which runs through next week. The winner of the tournament goes home with a cash prize of $100,000 — as if the complimentary comparisons to Martin weren’t enough of a prize for the competitor. Bialik is hosting the tournament now, and will host the syndicated series for the rest of Season 39.
The Jeopardy! Professors Tournament has taken over the show’s normal programming, which would’ve seen the continuation of Amy Schneider as she treks onward in her streak. Unfortunately, we probably won’t get to see a Schneider v. Buttrey throw down. But maybe that’s a good thing, because how could we choose who to root for?
Jeopardy! airs weeknights on ABC at 7/6c.
