State Sen. Dean Murray featured in 'Jeopardy!' clue
State Sen. Dean Murray serves New York's 3rd District, which includes Bellport, Patchogue, Medford and other areas in eastern Suffolk. Credit: James Escher
Dean Murray can boast of many accomplishments — broadcaster, semipro football player, entrepreneur and, of course, his current gig as state senator from New York's 3rd District, which includes Bellport, Medford, Yaphank and more areas of eastern Suffolk. Now he can add being mentioned in a "Jeopardy!" clue to his resume.
"My life is complete. Now I made it to 'Jeopardy!,' " he joked.
Murray, 59, of East Patchogue, was referenced in the $400 clue in the category "Politics as Unusual" on Wednesday's episode. "This movement named for a 1773 event arrived in 2010 starting with the election of newbie Dean Murray to the N.Y. State Assembly," read the clue. Contestant Juveria Zaheer, a psychiatrist from Whitby, Ontario, correctly responded "What is the tea party movement?"
"Jeopardy!" airs weeknights at 7 p.m. on WABC/7. At the time the show went on, Murray said he was just arriving home after a day in Albany and was unaware of what was happening. "I was on the phone with a friend and saw I was getting all of these text messages," he said. "My phone blew up and everyone was saying 'You're on "Jeopardy!" ' And I said 'No, I'm on the couch.' "
Murray thought it was a joke until a friend sent him a screen shot of the clue. "I'm guessing the mention of the 1773 event was what helped with the contestant guessing the tea party," he said.
This was the second time in two days that a Long Islander was featured as a clue on the popular game show. On Tuesday, Jericho author Ellen Meister and her novel "Dorothy Parker Drank Here" were mentioned in a clue about The Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan, a popular hangout for writer and wit Parker during the 1920s and '30s.
Murray, who had previously served in the Assembly between 2011 and 2013 and again between 2015 and 2019, said he received a second flood of calls and texts over the "Jeopardy!" shoutout on Thursday from friends and colleagues who had recorded the show and watched it the next day.
"Other people are making a bigger deal out of it than I am," he said. "I just thought it was funny and interesting."
