Thom McKee (born 1955) is a former

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer and 1977 graduate of the Naval Academy, who was a long-running contestant on ''

Tic-Tac-Dough ''Tic-Tac-Dough'' is an American television game show based on the paper-and-pencil game of tic-tac-toe. Contestants answer questions in various categories to put up their respective symbol, ''X'' or ''O'', on the board. Three versions were produc ...

'', an American

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

, in 1980. He set a number of game show records for the time, appearing on 46 episodes of the series and winning $312,700 in cash and prizes. This total made him the biggest winner in the history of television game shows at the time.

Performance on ''Tic Tac Dough''

As a contestant on ''Tic Tac Dough'', McKee won $312,700 (the equivalent of about $ in today's dollars) in cash and prizes over 46 days on the show. He played a total of 89 games, defeating 43 opponents (the remaining games other than his last being drawn), and answered 353 questions correctly. His total prizes included eight cars (as winners on ''Tic Tac Dough'' were awarded a new car every fifth win), three sailboats, 16 vacations (which he was unable to take), several other smaller prizes, and $200,000 in cash. Prior to McKee's record, the most ever won on a television game show was ''

The Joker's Wild ''The Joker's Wild'' is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. In the show, contestants answer questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's ...

'' contestant Eileen Jason, who won $305,280 ($250,000 of which was won during the 1979 Tournament of Champions). McKee was defeated on August 3, 1980 by Erik Kraepelien to end his winning streak. After his defeat, which occurred after he failed to answer a question in the topic 'Women In Film', McKee appeared on '' To Tell the Truth'' in 1980. Only one of the four celebrity panelists was able to identify him alongside his two impostors. Three years after his original run on ''Tic Tac Dough'', McKee made one more appearance on the show, this time to compete in a Tournament of Champions. In the 1990s, he became president of Hicks & Rotner Associates Inc. (now H&R Retail), a

brokerage A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

firm. He is no longer with the firm.

Records broken

The wins and consecutive days records were broken by '' 100%'' contestant

Ian Lygo Ian J. Lygo (born September 1958) is a British civil servant from Hemel Hempstead, who made 75 appearances on the UK game show '' 100%'' in late 1998, with the 75th appearance occurring on 14 December of that year.Lamer, Tony (July 11, 1999). "Triv ...

in 1998, while the winnings record was broken by

Michael Shutterly Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

during the original 15-night run of ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...

'' in 1999, where he won $500,000. McKee still holds the American record for most consecutive games played (100 games, 56 wins), due to the nature of ''Tic Tac Dough'' making ties possible (and frequent). However, ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American 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 given genera ...

'' contestant

Ken Jennings Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, author, and former game show contestant. He is the highest-earning American game show contestant, having won money on five different game shows, including $4,522,70 ...

(who himself set a new cash winnings record), beat the wins record with 74, and most consecutive days with 75 in 2004–05.

Other shows

McKee was a subject on the Robin Ward-hosted version of ''To Tell the Truth'' shortly after his reign on ''Tic Tac Dough'' came to an end. McKee participated in the American version of ''

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

'' as the #11 seed, facing a field of game show greats. He faced

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' fame in a first-round matchup, but lost.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKee, Thom 1955 births Living people United States Naval Academy alumni Contestants on American game shows United States Navy officers