Ryan “Fritz” Holznagel is an American writer and game show contestant. He was a writer at Google in its first decade, and he’s written for high-tech firms and solemn old banks, the Dictionary of American History, and Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego?. He earned two Emmy Award nominations as a co-writer of the CBS specials Claymation Comedy of Horrors (1991) and A Claymation Easter Celebration (1992), winning the Emmy for the latter show.

His latest book, 8 Letters or Less: How to Write Like a Pro at Work, is being published by How2Conquer. He’s also the author of Secrets of the Buzzer and The Ultimate Droodles Compendium.

Game Shows and Secrets of the Buzzer

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As Ryan Holznagel, he first appeared on Jeopardy! on November 3, 1994, winning four games and $49,413.[1][2] He returned to the 1995 Tournament of Champions and won its top prize of $100,000.[3] He represented the United States in the 1996 Jeopardy! Olympic Games Tournament, and was also invited back for the Ultimate Tournament of Champions (2005), as well as (as Fritz Holznagel) for the Battle of the Decades in 2014.[4][5] His total Jeopardy! winnings to date are $179,413.[6]

In 2015, Holznagel wrote Secrets of the Buzzer, outlining how Jeopardy success mostly comes down to how well a player is able to use the buzzer — essentially, their reaction time and buzzer speed.[7] Jeopardy! contestant James Holzhauer credited Holznagel for helping his technique during his 32-game winning streak in 2019, during which he won $2,462,216.[8] Of the book, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote: “Baseball players have Ted Williams’ ‘The Science of Hitting.’ Golfers have ‘Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book.’ And quiz show wannabes have Fritz Holznagel’s ‘Secrets of the Buzzer.’”[9]

Fritz Holznagel also appeared on the quiz show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? in 2018, winning $30,000.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "J! Archive - Show #2339, aired 1994-11-03". j-archive.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  2. ^ "J! Archive - Ryan Holznagel". j-archive.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  3. ^ "J! Archive - Show #2585, aired 1995-11-24". j-archive.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  4. ^ "Jeopardy! - Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 2, Game 10 - TheTVDB.com". thetvdb.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  5. ^ Townsley, Nancy (2014-02-25). "Holznagel: 'I'll take history for $1 million'". ForestGroveNewsTimes.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  6. ^ "Champions Archive | Jeopardy.com". www.jeopardy.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  7. ^ "How focusing on the buzzer helped 'Jeopardy! James' win millions". wtsp.com. 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  8. ^ McNear, Claire (2019-04-18). "Big Bets and a Fast Buzzer: The Secret Sauce of James Holzhauer's 'Jeopardy!' Success". The Ringer. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  9. ^ Hummer, Steve. "A player for the ages on display now - on 'Jeopardy!' of all places". Further Review Blog (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  10. ^ "See Who2's Founders on TV Today | Who2". Retrieved 2024-10-21.
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