Bessemer City native to appear on 'Jeopardy!' for the second time. Here's what to know.

Bessemer City native Gary Hollis once again had the opportunity to be a contestant on “Jeopardy!”

At 7:00 p.m. Friday on WCNC-TV, friends, family and community members alike will find out if Hollis made it to the finals in his most recent competition.

Hollis made his first appearance on “Jeopardy!” in 2021 when the Roanoke College chemistry professor and quiz bowl coach was invited to participate in the show’s Professor Tournament.

In an episode that aired in December 2021, the 15 participating professors were split into groups of three, creating five quarter-final competitions.

Hollis won in the quarter-final, walking away with $20,000, but did not advance in the semi-final.

This year’s competition was a little different for Hollis since the group of competitors was able to film together in front of a live audience.

In his 2021 appearance, pandemic restrictions prevented contestants from filming with an audience, and they had to test for COVID-19 several times before arriving at the studio.

The experience of competing in front of the audience was intense, Hollis said.

However, the experience was still unforgettable.

According to Hollis, when his time on the show comes to an end, he is typically grateful for the opportunity and sad that the competition is over.

“The worst part about leaving 'Jeopardy!' is that you don’t get to play 'Jeopardy!' anymore,” Hollis said.

Although he enjoys being on the show and connecting with like-minded individuals, many of whom he has stayed in touch with, trivia is just as deeply rooted in Hollis’s life off-screen.

“I do trivia for fun always, whether I’m going to be on the show or not,” Hollis said.

As the coach and adviser of Roanoke College’s Quiz Bowl team, Hollis spends more than an hour every Monday afternoon quizzing and answering questions with team members.

Following Quiz Bowl practice each Monday, Hollis attends weekly trivia events with his local pub trivia group.

When he was asked in September to return to “Jeopardy!” Hollis increased his fact practice by having his son quiz him for at least a half hour each night.

However, he says the added practice did not feel like work to him.

“Learning is something I have liked to do my whole life,” Hollis said.

Hollis graduated from Bessemer City High School in 1979, and credits much of his love for learning to the Bessemer City School system.

“I had great teachers,” Hollis said. “I had teachers who took learning seriously, and I learned such a tremendous amount from our school system.”

According to Hollis, his passion for teaching was likely impacted by the instructors in Bessemer City.

Today, he hopes his students and anyone else who watches him compete on “Jeopardy!” will walk away with a positive perspective on the value of knowledge.

As for the people who helped shape Hollis as a child in Bessemer City, “The people in my hometown, they have been so supportive of my appearance on Jeopardy,” he said. “They don’t say, ‘did you win,’ or ‘we’re only going to support you if you win,’ they just say, ‘good job.’”

Hollis could not share whether he won or lost in the latest episode, but at the end of the day, “I just enjoyed playing,” he said.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Bessemer City native Gary Hollis to appear on 'Jeopardy!'