Trivia twins from Thunder Bay make their mark on Jeopardy!
CBC
Jeopardy! fans may recognize a familiar face from Thunder Bay on an episode airing early next month.
Ron Lalonde, the identical twin of former contestant and 13-game winner Ray Lalonde, is scheduled to make his on-air debut on Dec. 3.
Both brothers were born and raised in Thunder Bay, graduated from the former Hillcrest High School and headed off to university before building careers far from home. Ron now lives in Pittsburgh, working as a medical physicist, and Ray is a Toronto-based scenic artist who shot to fame after his own Jeopardy! run in 2022.
He took home close to $400,000 USD playing the game.
The siblings grew up watching Jeopardy! with their parents, a nightly ritual that planted a quiet ambition.
“My parents were big Jeopardy! fans and we would watch that after supper, on the regular,” said Ray.
Ray says he had taken the Jeopardy! test for about 20 years, drifting in and out of the contestant pool “four times before I got on.” Ron, watching his brother’s efforts, eventually followed suit.
Ron was in the contestant pool when Ray got on the show. When producers learned Ray had an identical twin who also kept testing, they told him “to keep trying” and they’ll look out for his name. Three years after Ray’s run, Ron finally got his call.
He was able to turn to his brother for advice on how to prepare.
That included practical tips not found on any trivia website.
“If you go up on stage, you're nervous, your mouth is going to go dry, have some lozenges with you, don't drink too much coffee,” said Ray.
Ron took the preparation seriously, including buying a practice buzzer, something Ray hadn’t even known existed.
Ron, who has watched the show since its Art Fleming era in the 1970s, said nerves hit harder than expected once he stepped on set.
“I was surprised at how nervous I was on stage because it was funny. I didn't feel nervous in my head, but my legs would not stop shaking,” said Ron.
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