“Celebrity Jeopardy!” Showcases the Florida Keys’ Conch Republic

The Florida Keys’ Conch Republic — the beloved nickname for the “micronation” created during the symbolic secession of the island chain from the United States on April 23, 1982 — has gained prime-time attention during the newest season of the nationally broadcast “Celebrity Jeopardy!” 

The first hour-long episode of the show’s third season premiered Wednesday, Jan. 8, on ABC. Typically, stars from TV, movies, sports and other professions compete with trivia knowledge to raise funds for charities. 

The Jan. 8 contestants were comedian W. Kamau Bell, a CNN series “United Shades of America” host; actor Max Greenfield, who plays Schmidt in the Fox sitcom “New Girl”; and actress Camilla Luddington, who portrays Jo Wilson in ABC’s medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Contestants correctly responded regarding two Keys personalities: the late songwriter Jimmy Buffett, whose hit songs include “Son of a Son of a Sailor” and “I Have Found Me a Home”; and Judy Blume, famed author of young-adult and adult books, who opened a Key West bookstore with her husband George Cooper. They also correctly identified the island as the birthplace of Key lime pie.

But participants did not correctly respond about two of Key West’s most famous residents: Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway, who lived and wrote on the island for most of the 1930s; and former President Harry S. Truman, whose “Little White House” was the president’s working headquarters during 11 trips to the island city. Today, the Little White House is Florida’s only presidential museum.

“Past ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’ episodes have drawn audiences in excess of 4 million viewers,” said Diane Schmidt, chair of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council. “We are ecstatic that the Florida Keys and Key West were highlighted on a game show that appeals to an audience whose demographics are important to our destination.”

“Celebrity Jeopardy!” is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, and distributed domestically by CBS Media Ventures and internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution, both units of Paramount.

“The office is pleased to see the acknowledgement of our tiny island nation located in Key West, Florida,” said James Gilleran, the Conch Republic’s secretary of state. “As should be noted, the Conch Republic truly is a ‘farce’ to be reckoned with!”

Fans and friends of the Conch Republic can celebrate the anniversary of the Keys’ secession during the annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration, slated April 18-27.

Planned activities are inspired by the 1982 establishment of a U.S. Border Patrol blockade at the top of the 125-mile-long island chain that stopped traffic on the only road connecting the Keys to mainland Florida.

Jeopardy website: jeopardy.com

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