penpusher | LJ Idol - Week [14] - The Millionaire Story I Never Told*

“Meredith, I want to tell you something. Last night, as I was thinking about the categories that might be used to stump me, one of the first ones I considered was ‘Classical Music.’”

Meredith Vieira smirked and nodded.

“Now, I have worked professionally as a DJ, so I own a considerable amount of music, but I don’t get to use much Classical in my line of work.”

Meredith gave a concerned look.

“However, there was a film soundtrack that I do own, for a fantastic motion picture starring Gary Oldman. It was called “Immortal Beloved.” It was the story of the life of Ludwig van Beethoven. And the very first track on that album is Beethoven’s 5th Symphony… in C Minor. Final answer.”

Well, no. Let’s rewind.

It was early Summer of 1999 that I first heard about “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” a big money game show that was going to be a prime time event for ABC Television in the United States that Fall. The show was already up and running in Great Britain, and had become a huge hit, there.

The concept of the game was incredibly simple. Answer 15 multiple choice questions correctly, and stroll out of the studio with a million dollars. I felt as if this game was built for me. First, it was just you and the questions: no other contestants to beat out, like on “Jeopardy!” Second, it was multiple choice! The correct answer was sitting right there in front of you! And finally, there were many opportunities to take the money you made and leave. Even if you didn’t win the Million, there were still chances to get a six figure payday out of it.

Regis Philbin, one of the many celebrities I share a birthday with, was the host, and I had to feel that was a good omen. But the problem was the format for getting on the show.

First you had to call a special number and answer a question. Then, if you got the answer right, you were put in a random draw. If you were drawn, a producer for the show would contact you and you would come in for an interview. And THEN, if you were selected for the show, you still had to face off against nine other contestants in what they called “The Fastest Finger Contest,” where you had to be the first person to put four items in their correct order using the buttons A, B, C and D.

Only after you jumped through all of those hoops could you sit in “The Hot Seat,” and play for the money.

I attempted to call in countless times, and maybe got the correct answer a handful of times. But I never was contacted by anyone. The show became a phenomenon here, just as it did in England, but then ABC ran it every night and people got bored of it. Eventually it was canceled in the Spring of 2002.

However, the surprise was in the Autumn of 2002, the game was back in syndication, with a new emcee: Meredith Vieira, who was, at the time, the lead host of ABC’s “The View” talk show. In the new iteration, there was no phoning, no fastest finger, none of the stuff that I seemingly couldn’t get beyond.

In early August 2003, I went to ABC studios on Columbus Avenue for a cattle call audition. It was a packed house of people and we were each given manila envelopes. Inside the envelopes were a test form, like the SATs, with circles to fill in for the numbered questions we had on our individual tests. We were told we had ten minutes to answer the 30 multiple choice questions. The fastest ten minutes of my life.

Then came the intolerable wait as the tests were graded, put through a computer processor to know which people did well enough.

Amazingly, out of all the potential contestants, and there must have been at least two-hundred, only about a dozen of us were asked to stay. I was one of the lucky ones.

After briefly talking with a producer who wanted my life story, and it was determined that there had never been a clown on the program, I was put on the fast track to being a contestant! Super fast: the program was taping the first episodes of the season in three weeks, and I got the call to be on in early September.

My contestant pool featured people from various parts of the country. And, since the program covered the cost of hotel as part of the process, they wanted to get them on the show and home quickly!

We filmed a week’s worth of shows in a day, and I hadn’t been on, so I had to come back the following day. It was that fateful night that may have changed my life forever.

I did consider classical music as a possible stumbling block for me. I certainly knew classical music, but I didn’t necessarily know certain details. But I did have the Immortal Beloved Soundtrack in my collection of CDs and something told me I should look at it. But then, I got distracted, and never got around to it.

Next day, I was sitting in the chair, Meredith wore a Red Nose in my honor, I flew through the first nine questions without using a lifeline. It was going so, so well. It was, quite literally, dizzying, in a way I had never felt before. But then I burned through my lifelines on the next three questions, getting me to $125,000.

The next question would be just me, all on my own, with no other help, for $250,000. The question:

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is in what key?
A: D Minor B: A major
C: C Minor D: F major.

And that brings us back to the start of the story, where what I should have said, happened. But it didn’t.

Something they never tell you about being on a game show: you have to live with the question you didn’t answer correctly for the rest of your life. And since I didn’t get to see the final two questions, I’ll never know if I might have become a Millionaire. But, one thing is certain. I haven’t played the “Immortal Beloved” soundtrack since that day.

*This entry was created for LJ Idol using the prompt: “Confession from the Chair.”

Page 1 of 2 << [1] [2] >>

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

catwomon.livejournal.com

Great piece for the topic. I enjoyed it. (smile)

From:

Thinking Is Underrated

LJ Idol - Week [14] - The Millionaire Story I Never Told*

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags