Jim Birge

Born on December 26 1947 to Cyril and Antoinette Birge in Jasper Indiana After graduating from Jasper High School in 1965 Jim enlisted in the United States Air Force stationed primarily in Turkey during his enlistment Following his Honorable Discharge from the military Jim enrolled at the University of California Los Angeles UCLA where he received his Bachelor of Arts BA degree in Motion PictureTelevision and Master of Fine Arts MFA degree Upon completing his studies Jim served as a student counselor in UCLAs School of Fine Arts During his time there Jim founded the UCLA Comedy Club a student comedy troupe that grew from campus performances to appearances in comedy clubs throughout Los Angeles Jim and the UCLA Comedy Club helped launch the careers of several successful motion picture and television professionals He later served in a similar counseling role at the University of Irvine Throughout his life Jim maintained relationships with many former students several of whom went on to write produce and direct some of the leading films and television shows in Hollywood today Jim was an accomplished writer and actor with several professional roles to his credit including the famous toilet scene opposite Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon II the cultclassic Chasing Dreams with Kevin Costner and writing credits in such productions such as Tales of the Crypt For the past quartercentury Jim produced and hosted Classroom Jeopardy student competition events inspired by the longrunning television game show His passion for bringing educational competition into the classroom earned media attention awards and recognition from schools throughout Southern California Along the way Jim became affectionately known as Jim the Jeopardy Guy