Jeopardy! player reveals ‘unexpected’ death of her husband just weeks after giving him a shoutout on ‘bittersweet’ debut

JEOPARDY! contestant Maria Lauro has revealed the sudden death of her husband just three weeks ago after giving him a ‘huge shoutout’ on today’s episode.

Though she admitted making it onto the Alex Trebek stage was a “dream come true,” watching back Friday’s game was “bittersweet” after suffering the unexpected tragedy.

Ken Jennings hosts Friday’s game of Jeopardy!Credit: Jeopardy!

Maria Lauro makes her Jeopardy! debutCredit: Jeopardy!
Maria, a contract specialist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, made her game show debut on today’s episode.

She went up against Joe Asaminew, an ER physician from Winnipeg, Manitoba and Laura Faddah, a manager from Memphis, Tennessee.

The returning champ has secured one-day winnings of $11,200.

Ken Jennings, 50, carried out his daily interview segment where he walks over to each contestant’s podium and gives them a moment to speak.

“I’m told you want to shoutout your family. Your husband and your son,” the host said to Maria during her moment to shine.

“I’m a quiz mom and a history mom. My husband has been trying to get me to apply for this show for years.

“This is my first time trying out. In fact, before I got the call, he said ‘is it time for you to reapply?’ He’s my coach.

“And because this show is being aired during the holidays it’s a Christmas present for him. Honey, you were right!”

Tragically, Maria shared online that her husband passed away between the time of filming and today’s episode airing.

“Today is probably the most bittersweet day of my life. Thanks to the encouragement of my husband, I tried out and actually made it to the Alex Trebek stage.

“And, as you’ll see when you watch, I gave him a huge shout-out in my interview, which I was keeping a secret.

“But he’s never going to see it because he unexpectedly died three weeks ago. (He did know how I did.)

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“I’ve got a bunch of people meeting me at a local bar that plays the show every night. I know he’d want me to enjoy my 15 minutes of fame.

“But god, this is hard,” she wrote in a heartbreaking message.

Despite the tragedy, Maria called her Jeopardy! taping “one of the best experiences” of her life.

According to an online obituary, Maria’s husband, Leo, passed away on Friday, November 29 at the age of 61.

The teenage sweethearts met on Maria’s 17th birthday after joining a group of friends for a movie at the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

Jeopardy! Contestant Rules

Passing Jeopardy!’s online Anytime Test is hard enough, but there are also many rules players must follow once they make it to the stage:

The returning champion is always at the leftmost podium and keeps playing until they lose.
Contestants don’t have to say “who is” or “what is” in the first round but must do so in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy.
Contestants can change their responses as long as Ken Jennings or the judges haven’t made a ruling.
The minimum wager for a Daily Double is $5. The minimum wager for Final Jeopardy! is $0.
Written responses in Final Jeopardy! do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must be phonetically correct (the judges decide this).
If there’s a tie after Final Jeopardy, the tied players enter a bonus clue shootout, and whoever buzzes in first correctly wins.
If all three contestants wager everything in Final Jeopardy! and are incorrect, leaving them with $0, there will be no returning champion (it’s happened before—six times).

“After graduating from high school, they began dating and Leo’s mother remembered Maria’s mother.

“Their relationship blossomed into a strong marriage that lasted over 30 years. In all pursuits, Leo was Maria’s biggest cheerleader.

“For many years, he encouraged her to try out for Jeopardy! She finally did in 2023 and after she got the call to be on the show last August, he excitedly coached Maria to prepare for her taping in October.

“Unfortunately, he did not get to see her appearance, which is on December 20,” the obituary stated.

Leo is survived by Maria and their teenage son, Leo Jr.

Though Maria had a lot of accurate answers and quick buzzer play, she ultimately ended the game in third with $799.

Laura won her second game, finishing with a prizepot of $5,800 while Joe was closely behind in second with $5,000.