Alex's Page

Contestant: Alexander Clemens

Alex as a champion has the unique distinction of having been on two STARCADE! shows.  He appeared on show #19 & #63 As one of our best players, he was invited back to play in one of the STARCADE! Invitational shows.  

Alex had Lady Luck on his side and won the Grand Prize on both shows!

Alex was a 15 year college student when his show aired.  His goal then was to be "mover and shaker" after starting at a ground level position as V.P. of IBM.

After he received a copy of his show (we send one free to every Starcader who checks in), he sent us the following email: "I watched the tape with my girlfriend, and once done being mortified, I laughed my butt off.  (The twelve-pack of beer probably helped...)

"The packaging was such a sweet touch -- I love it.  I can't believe that I
 won, even though I got pretty much every buzz-in question ABSOLUTELY wrong. (Big moron -- that's me.) ... if you have Robert Dang's (his opponent on Show #19) e-mail address, I'd love it ... because that kid was so poised and cool that I think he deserved to win,  rather than me..."

Reason Alex wanted to be on STARCADE!: "I love vid's and I am a budding actor who needs to be discovered.

Prizes won: T.I. Home computer, Pooyan Arcade Game, Cobra Phone & RB5X Robot (Alex won it all!!).

When Alex Checked in he wrote: "What a blast from the past...I can't believe there's a website that celebrates STARCADE, and I can't believe I found it.  Here's how odd the world is...I see the news about Yahoo acquiring Google as their search engine;  I check out Google and put my name in as a goof:  I come up with the story about me and Robert Dang fighting to the finish...holy cow, that was along time ago."

Today Alex is Community Relations Director for an international provider of high-speed Internet access.  He graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1989, and has worked for four elected officials in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.  He's a licensed private investigator and, according to him, "a mediocre poker player." 

 Alex's STARCADE memory: "I was in nirvana during the show -- what could be better for a video-game playing extrovert?  The auditions were PACKED, with more than a hundred kids showing up for just a few game show spots.  I don't remember exactly what I did to get noticed, but I think it may have involved some limited amount of nudity (just kidding).  I got lucky and won my first show (#19) by the skin of my teeth over the estimable Robert Dang, who nearly kicked my butt.  A Commodore 64 (blast from the past, huh?) provided me with online access to local bulletin boards and a Pooyan console game in my bedroom made me the most popular kid on the block (though nobody, ANYWHERE, had ever heard of Pooyan).

"Months later, I was vacationing in Washington DC with my grandparents, when I got the call that an Invitational show was being taped, and I was invited ... Though saddled with jetlag, I got lucky again and won the whole shebang.  I won a robot, the RB-5X, that was supposed to vacuum my house and bring me dinner and so on ... the only thing I ever got it to do with any proficiency was to run into walls and beep plaintively.  I think it was eventually beaten up by neighborhood cats and became too frightened to leave the back of my closet.  I had a great time on Starcade, and I'm glad that the producers are allowing those of us who made the show the opportunity to relive those fifteen minutes of fame."

Alex's First Show # 19
Taped in March 1983

Taped in March 1983 when he was 15.
Games: Super Pac Man, Buck Rogers, Tac Scan, Star Trek & Super Zaxxon.
Grand Prize: Pooyan video arcade game
Alex's opponent: Robert Dang

60 seconds

Game played: Tac Scan
Alex: 18,000
Robert: 16,800

50 seconds

Game played: Buck Rogers
Alex: 5,322
Robert: 4,270  		40 seconds

Game played: Super Zaxxon
Alex: 4,600
Robert: 3,900

Grand Prize Play
Game played: Star Trek - Time Limit: 30 seconds
Needed to win: 2,847 - Alex exceed the score to beat
Grand Prize: Pooyan video arcade game

Invitational Show #63
Taped in July 1983

The invitational show featured two sets of contestants playing each other with the winners of each competition playing each other for the Grand Prize. Alex played Leo Schwab in the initial competition and Mike Schoenwetter in the Final Round for the Grand Prize.

First Round:

Game: Zoo Keeper
Alex: 2,290 - Leo: 3,020

Game: Star Wars
Alex: 9,000 - Leo: 7,000

 Second Round:

Game: Pole Position
Jordan: 6,000 - Mike: 6,980

Game: Zoo Keeper
Jordan: 3,370 - Mike: 4,170

Final Round

Game: Gyruss
Alex: 8,050 - Mike: 7,700

Grand Prize: RB5X Programmable Robot

Alex won ... again!!

Alex engaged in battle

Alex during the taping of STARCADE! - March & July 1983

Alex With Katherine - 2000