Avon Lake native Brett Kirwan successfully defended his “Jeopardy!” title, winning for the second consecutive day on Tuesday’s show. Kirwan’s two-day total is $35,600 — $18,801 added onto Monday’s earnings of $16,799.
Kirwan, a lieutenant in the Navy, defeated challengers Bill Frank, an epidemiologist from Phoenix, and Katherine Duke, a writer-editor originally from Sugar Loaf, N.Y.
Kirwan bet $4,400 - almost a third of his money - going into Final Jeopardy on the category of “Poets.” He correctly guessed Elizabeth Barrett Browning is the author of these lines:
As he did on Monday’s show, Kirwan led after the first round, including nailing a daily double, in which he wagered all of what he had at the time — $2,200. Double Jeopardy saw a dogfight between Kirwan and Frank, but the 25-year-old Ohio native took the lead and never relinquished it.
Kirwan looked relaxed throughout the show, which usually is taped months in advance. During introductions, Kirwan’s anecdote involved having dinner with famous people. While at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, he was involved in a group that brought various dignitaries to campus. He said Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland, was the most important person he met, and Ben Stein, a former speechwriter for President Nixon and game-show host, was the most fun.
The only time host Alex Trebek might have thought Kirwan looked a bit uncomfortable came when the lieutenant, dressed in his officer’s uniform, delayed choosing the category “fashion designers.”
But Kirwan knew that ’stilletto’ is derived from the Italian word for ‘dagger,’ prompting the host to joke: “See how good you are in fashion.”
Kirwan returns to defend his title in Wednesday’s show, which appears locally on Channel 5 at 7:30 p.m. weekdays.

cleveland.com