| Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Contestant Archive | ||
| November, 2001 | ||
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Here are all of the Featured Contestants for November, 2001.
October 28 - November 3: Mike DiStefano
Mike DiStefano and Paula Litman won the most ($64,000) on a low money week on "Millionaire." Not even a Comedy Edition Celebrity made it as high as $250,000. (Yes, I do find that surprising with all the help they're given...) Mike DiStefano seemed to be a better candidate for this Contestant of the Week because he seemed to be the most knowledgable. Mike won $64,000, which in the Gameshow prime of the 1950's, would have been the buzz of the town and the most money anyone could dream. Nowadays, it still is a very nice piece of cash, but it is no longer the talk of the town and life-changing money. However, Mike DiStefano should be happy with a well-earned $64,000 that he won on October 25.
November 4-10: Comedy Edition Contestants
Although I wouldn't normally select celebrities to write about for the Contestant of the Week, I'm afraid they were the only people on "Millionare" this past week. The overuse of celebrities every other show is really killing this show, and if they don't do something about it quickly, than some bad things might happen. The celebrities on the Comedy Edition of Millionaire were not much different than all the other celebrities this show has had - corny forms of humor, lack of normal knowledge, and of course, the most favorite, turning around on a $200 question and asking their "buds" for a little help. However, not all the celebrities of this edition were that stupid, thank goodness. In particular, $250,000 winner Seth Green, $125,000 winner Jimmy Kimmel, $125,000 winner Jack Black, and $125,000 winner Robin Quivers did the best job in my mind. All of them had a good amount of knowledge (and some guts) to get up to how much they did. Seth Green was the only member of the gang that managed to get $250,000, so he obviously deserves some good credit for that. He also managed to keep a straight head and keep his cool in the seat. If you watch "Win Ben Stein's Money" on Comedy Central, or if you watch "The Man Show," than you may be familiar with Jimmy Kimmel, who won $125,000. Kimmel had gameshow co-hosting experience ... but was he good enough to be a contestant? Survey says ... Yes! Kimmel won 1/8 of a million dollars for charity. Ben Stein, co-host of Win Ben Steins Money, was Jimmy Kimmels Phone-A-Friend. Although Ben Stein is probably the smartest gameshow host around, he couldn't help Kimmel, and Kimmel left with $125,000 for charity. Jack Black was another story. A well-known actor and comedian, Black seriously risked pulling the trigger on his $250,000 question, but walked with $125,000. He was quite entertaining as he agonized over the quarter-million dollar question, but he walked away with his $125,000. His post-mortem guess was correct. Finally, Robin Quivers did an exceptional job by winning $125,000 for charity. She was also the champion on Celebrity "Jeopardy!", and did a fine job on "Millionaire," too.
November 11-17: Phyllis Harris
Phyllis Harris is the Gameshow Veteran. Now appearing on 6 Gameshows, which include Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Greed, Cardsharks, and two other shows, she is now the 8th richest woman in Gameshow History - her winning totals are just a few dollars short of $500,000. On Millionaire, Phyllis again demonstrated what outstanding trivia knowledge she has. Using only one lifeline to make it to $32,000, Phyllis was almost unstopable. She poled the Audience at $8,000 to confirm her instinct that a "jitney" was a boat. At $64,000, Phyllis called fellow teammate from Greed David Juliano to win her $64,000. (By the way - David answered the question without Phyllis having to read the answers, and he knew it for sure. What a way to use a lifeline.) At $125,000, Phyllis was asked "In the 1988 movie, 'A Fish Called Wanda,' what kind of fish is Wanda?" Correct Answer: Angelfish. Phyllis saw the movie six times, but couldn't pull the trigger, and took the well-earned $64,000 to add to her all time Gameshow Jackpot. Phyllis was very personable on the show, and really brought some nice personality to it, yet she wasn't a "dud" who doesn't know any answers, either. Stay tuned, maybe we'll see Phyllis on another Gameshow some day...
November 18-24: Eric Mason
First of all, I would like to give my proud salute to all the veterans that have served our country over the years - you guys are true heros, and right now we have some more veterans, and heroes, being formed in Afghanistan. I salute you all. On Veteran's Day and the day after that, "Millionaire" saluted our Armed Forces with the Armed Forces Edition of "Millionaire." Overall, Travis Sumner took home the most amount of money, winning $125,000. There was a whole mix of people that won $64,000 and $32,000, and then there was the one person who went home empty-handed. Yes, Eric Mason, who I am writing this column about, left with $0, missing the $1,000 question. I usually never write about people who went home with nothing, but when he missed that question, I felt so bad for him. His $1,000 question was this: When people are genuflecting, they are doing what? Eric said: "I think genuflecting requires a little bit of movement, so I'll say B Dancing, final answer." Then came Regis' response: "No, no, Eric, it's kneeling! It's kneeling. Oh dear." Eric was upset, and you could tell that. He wasn't angry upset, but rather sadly upset. He seemed to be embarassed about it, and when he put his head down into his arms, that's when I felt really bad for him. Eric, if you read this, my sympathy goes to you. He was a really nice guy, and I wish he could have taken home the million dollar jackpot. Look on the bright side - there could always be another "Return of the Zero Dollar Winners" Special.
November 25 - December 1: Eva Herzigova, Veronica Webb, and Heidi Klum
The Supermodels of "Millionaire" ... not only attractive, but smart, too. On November 18 and 21 (Thanksgiving), Eva Herzigova, Veronica Webb, and Heidi Klum raked in $250,000 each for charity. Herzigova was the first of the three. She won $250,000 for US Fund for UNICEF, which is a charity that helps feed hungry children in countries such as Afghanistan, Palestine, Pakistan, and other 3rd world countries. Eva did well in the hotseat, and was the first supermodel to win $250,000. Only 2 contestants later, Veronica Webb made it into the hotseat. Veronica dominated her questions, and won $250,000 for LIFEbeat. She passed on her $500,000 question after using two lifelines. Heidi Klum was the last supermodel to get into the hotseat. Klum certainly didn't seem the type to win a quarter million dollars - maybe $32,000 at the most. However, when she got into the hotseat, she showed everyone out there that just because she was last and didn't seem that sharp that she could win a very nice amount for a very important charity. The charity she donated the $250,000 to was the Twin Towers Fund, set up by Mayor Guiliani which benefits the families of the victims of the World Trade Center attack. All 3 of these women did a fantastic job in the hotseat, and raised $750,000 among themselves for some very important charities.
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