Spinal Tapper Cranks Jeopardy! Winnings Up to $1 Million

Michael McKean wins Celebrity Invitational, scores $1 million for cancer charity

By Natalie Finn May 08, 2010 2:35 AMTags

David St. Hubbins is as idiotic as they come. The man who plays him, however, is no dummy.

This Is Spinal Tap star and all-around funnyman Michael McKean put his best brain forward to win Jeopardy!'s Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational tournament, the final round of which aired Friday.

Not that the trivia hound actually answered (or questioned?) $1 million worth of questions (answers?). In fact, he didn't even get Final Jeopardy tonight!

But over the course of two days, his total winnings of $35,700 topped fellow finalists Jane Curtin and Cheech Marin, landing him in the winners' circle.

"It was really daunting to play against such smart people," McKean said. "Everyone was really fast on the button!"

McKean's $1 million prize is going to the International Myeloma Foundation, making it the largest donation the organization has ever received.

"If some breakthroughs can be made or more research can be done due to this win, it would be incredible," the Laverne & Shirley star and Christopher Guest regular said in a statement. "There are so many amazing people at IMF who do great work."

Marin, who earned $100,000 for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, was actually the highest earner Friday, answering Final Jeopardy correctly (Answer: In 1949, this kingdom dropped the word Trans- from its name. Question: What is Jordan?) and ending up with $12,000 tonight, $18,600 over two days.

Curtin's big day yesterday, however, put her in second place with $29,001, even though all she answered tonight was "?" and was left with $1. Jeopardy! awarded her $250,000 for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

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Great job, great charity. We're happy to add Michael McKean to our Do-Gooder Gallery.