Ben is a historical interpreter (NOT a re-enactor) who skillfully portrays the Marquis de Lafayette in addition to being a federal management consultant. In addition to being a Jeopardy champion, Marjorie has been a high school social studies teacher, college instructor, a docent for the Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia and a historical interpreter of famed suffragette Susan B. Anthony.

by Len Lear

Lots of mothers have strong emotional bonds with their sons, but few mothers in the U.S. have the kinds of bonds that Marjorie Goldman and her son, Ben, have. Both were Jeopardy winners (the TV show for really smart people), and both are historical interpreters, Marjorie as Susan B. Anthony and Ben as the Marquis de Lafayette.

(Some people would call them re-enactors, but Marjorie explained, “We are interpreters, not re-enactors. Interpreters can find themselves in all kinds of situations where they portray their persona and educate the audience. Re-enactors are more likely to find themselves on the battlefields, for instance, and not necessarily having direct contact with the audience.”)

Now I have to concede that the Goldmans are not exactly Chestnut Hill area residents, but their story is too good not to tell. And they are from Wynnewood, which many people do confuse with Wyndmoor, so they are almost local residents.

Marjorie, 59, grew up in the Pittsburgh area and attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, majoring in American Studies and also earned a Secondary Education teaching certificate in social studies. “The interdisciplinary nature of my studies certainly served me well on Jeopardy,” she said.

Marjorie also received a Masters degree in American Studies from Boston University and completed all requirements for a PhD except for the dissertation.

She has been a high school social studies teacher, college instructor, library assistant, “standardized patient,” actor, teacher of improvisation, a “dancing bagel” (you don’t see one of those every day) and a docent for the Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia (in addition to being a Susan B. Anthony interpreter, of course).

In 2000 she won $10,100 on Jeopardy and the championship. In the next game she came in second. “At that time, there were prizes for second and third instead of cash,” she said. “I won a trip to Stockholm, which was pretty great.”

Many very bright, highly educated people take the ridiculously hard test to get on Jeopardy and do not pass, but Marjorie passed it the first time. “I certainly didn't know all the answers,” she recalled, “but I evidently knew enough of them. I was surprised that in our group of about 50, only nine of us qualified, and this was obviously a self-selected group of people who thought they were pretty good at Jeopardy.”

How much harder is it to answer questions on the show than in one’s living room? “In person, you have to ring in first. In my living room, I can just shout out the answers. On my second game, I knew almost all the answers, but another contestant kept ringing in before me…I was a little nervous at first, but once we got started, I kind of got into the ‘zone.’”

Marjorie’s son, Ben, 30, is a federal management consultant in Washington, D.C., who has a Masters degree in Urban Design from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ben was in the Jeopardy College Tournament in 2005 and made it to the semi-finals on a high wild card score, winning $10,000. “For the tournaments, unlike the regular games, Jeopardy pays for transportation and lodging, etc.  I had to pay for all those things out of pocket, which substantially ate into my winnings,” said Marjorie.

Ben told us that he is still in touch with a number of the contestants from his Jeopardy tournament. “A good number of us have attended each other's weddings over the years.”

(By the way, the Goldmans are not the only parent/child pair to both appear on Jeopardy and win money. Ben recently joined a Facebook group for former Jeopardy contestants and discovered other such family pairs.)

Regarding her Susan B. Anthony persona, Marjorie has been doing it for 20 years for the American Historical Theatre. “We are not just people in costume,” she explained. “We must thoroughly research our personae and be ready to answer all kinds of questions…I haven't had quite the dazzling career that Ben has had as the Marquis. Men are requested far more often than women, alas, but I'm hoping that with the 100th anniversary of the suffrage amendment coming up, I might be called upon with greater frequency.”

How did Ben get into being a Marquis de Lafayette interpreter? “Starting in 2005,” he explained, “I spent my summers working for Once Upon a Nation in Old City as a combination storyteller, tour guide, reservations officer and sometime cashier, but I aspired to portray a costumed historic character. I noticed there were many French-speaking tourists coming through Philadelphia, and I carved a niche for myself with the company as a French-speaking guide and performer.

“When I spent a semester abroad in Paris in spring, 2007, I picked up a biography of Lafayette, who was getting a bit more press than usual in honor of the 250th anniversary of his birth. In reading his story and learning how similar he was in age to my own at the time, it seemed a logical fit. That summer, a new tour launched in Valley Forge that featured a scripted part for Lafayette. The part went to me, and one of the tour's creators, the late Bill Summerfield (who himself portrayed George Washington at Mount Vernon for many years), worked with me to develop a solo program. In the nine years since, I've performed in 11 states plus D.C., including for presidents George W. Bush and Nicolas Sarkozy of France in the fall of 2007, my first year in the role.”

One final question for Marjorie: What is the hardest thing you have ever done? “I have had a blessed life,” she said, “and haven't had to do many truly hard things. I might say that preparing for and passing my oral exams for a doctorate in American Studies was pretty darn hard. Pushing out a couple of babies was pretty hard, too! But so worth it.”