Samuel Edward Buttrey (born August 19, 1961) is a podcaster, and retired Associate Professor of Operations Research at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

. He is best known for multiple appearances on the game show ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

''.

Early life

Buttrey was born in

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, on August 19, 1961, the son of Theodore V. Buttrey, Jr. and Marisa (Macina) Buttrey. He was educated at The

Perse School The Perse School is a private school (English fee-charging day and, in the case of the Perse, a former boarding school) in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1615 by Stephen Perse, its motto is ''Qui facit per alium facit per se'', taken to mea ...

in Cambridge, U.K., graduated from the

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

in 1979, and was awarded a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1983. He thereafter obtained his Ph.D. in Statistics from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1996.

Career

Buttrey has about two dozen journal articles and over a hundred masters theses advised. He has also published a book, ''A Data Scientist's Guide to Acquiring, Cleaning, and Managing Data in R''. In 2004, Buttrey was awarded the Rear Admiral John Jay Schieffelin Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Naval Postgraduate School.

''Jeopardy!''

Buttrey’s initial appearance on ''

'' was during its inaugural Professor's Tournament in December 2021. Buttrey won his initial game, won again in the semi-finals, and prevailed in a two-game final. His win earned him an automatic spot in the show's Tournament of Champions, which aired from October 31 to November 21, 2022, where he progressed to the finals, which was won by

Amy Schneider Amy Schneider (born May 29, 1979) is an American writer and game show contestant. Winning 40 consecutive games on the quiz show ''Jeopardy!'' from November 2021 to January 2022 and the November 2022 Tournament of Champions, she holds the secon ...

. Buttrey obtained a degree of social media renown for his physical resemblance to the actor

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

, as well as his jovial manner and quick-wittedness. He donated a little more than half the winnings from his first appearance, when he won $100,000 as champion of the Professors Tournament, to the

CSU Monterey Bay California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university located in Monterey County, California, United States. The main campus is situated on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, spanning the ...

Buttrey-Hardy endowed scholarship fund. Buttrey was invited back to Jeopardy to compete in the ''

Jeopardy! Masters ''Jeopardy! Masters'' is an American game show hosted by Ken Jennings on ABC. Each season features recent notable ''Jeopardy!'' champions competing against each other in a " Champions League-style" format. It premiered on May 8, 2023. In Febr ...

'' competition in May 2023. He finished sixth among the six players. He won $50,000. Buttrey's final ''Jeopardy!'' appearance came in the show's inaugural Invitational Tournament, which aired from March 20 to April 9, 2024. He won his quarterfinal match against Colby Burnett and Lilly Chin, but lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Victoria Groce. In September 2024, it was announced that Buttrey had been made a co-host of the show's "Inside Jeopardy!" podcast, as a result of which he had retired from competition. His job as "Sambassador" includes appearances at Jeopardy!-themed events, like the Jeopardy! event at the Sporcle's SporcleCon 2024 event in Detroit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttrey, Sam 1961 births People from Pacific Grove, California Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Princeton University alumni Living people Contestants on American game shows