Thomas Kinne

Thomas (Tom) Kinne studied at the University of Mainz in Germany and at San Francisco State University in California. During this time, he started freelancing as a script translator for various German TV producers and networks. His work included dubbing scripts for American TV series such as "Cheers" and "Hill Street Blues," but he also translated German entertainment programs as well as historic and scientific documentaries into English. Books and television productions which he was involved in as a translator received numerous national and international awards. He graduated with a thesis on elements of Jewish tradition in the works of Woody Allen. Tom had his first television appearance on June 11, 1991 in an episode of "Riskant!", the first German version of the U.S. game show, "Jeopardy!". In the same year, he taped an appearance on "Tic Tac Toe" (the German version of "Tic-Tac-Dough") where he left as undefeated champion. When "Jeopardy!" was re-launched in Germany in 1994 under its original title, Tom won the first five episodes of the series, becoming both Germany's first undefeated "Jeopardy!" champion. He was invited to represent his home country in 1996 in the first international "Jeopardy!" tournament in the United States. A few months later, back in Germany, Kinne reached the final round on "Jeder gegen jeden" (the German version of "Fifteen to One"). Kinne returned to television in 2001 on the German version of "The Weakest Link," again as the winner of the show. He also played on the German version of "1 vs. 100." In 2015, he appeared for the first time - as a winning contestant - on "Gefragt - gejagt" (the German version of "The Chase"). A year later, he was the winner in episode 22.11 of "hessenquiz", which focuses on trivia about the state of Hesse, following in the footsteps of his daughter, Alisa, who had won an installment one year earlier. In 2017, Kinne appeared on "Der Quiz-Champion", taking home the grand prize. In season 7 of the game show, Kinne returned to "Gefragt - gejagt," but changed sides to join the ranks of the chasers on "Gefragt - gejagt."