| Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Contestant Archive | ||
| December, 2001 | ||
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Here are all of the Featured Contestants for December, 2001.
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.
December 2-8: William Baldwin
There must be something about those Baldwin's ... first Alec, than Billy. Let me explain. Both Alec Baldwin and Billy Baldwin have been on "Millionaire." Both of them look almost identical. Both of them won the first fastest finger question. And both of them walked out with $250,000. Some odd coincidences there, but this smartness must obviously run in the family. Billy Baldwin was the most recent of the Baldwin's to be on "Millionaire" - and he had a reputation to live up to with his older brother Alec winning $250,000 in November, 2000. Billy was the first contestant in Celebrity Edition IV to make it into the hotseat. He did outstanding in the hotseat, and made it to the $250,000 question with 2 lifelines still on the table, just like Alec. First, he took a 50:50. Then, after still not knowing the answer, he called a friend, who took an educated guess at the answer. Reluctantly, Billy went for it. And just like big brother Alec ... he won $250,000! At $500,000, Billy did the smart thing and took the $250,000 and walked away. Billy was playing for New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund, and presented them with a check for $250,000 to help all the victims and their families of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. I really enjoyed both Alec Baldwin and Billy Baldwin's style of playing. They both are funny, but stay cool at the same time. They don't risk money when they have no clue, which we have seen some people do in the past, both celebrities and non-celebrities. (Take David Duchovny, Kati Knudsen, and countless others who have taken a wild guess and lost a whole lot of money.) Perhaps the more fun player of the Celebrity Edition IV Shows, Billy did well, and the NY Times 9/11 Neediest Fund will certainly appreciate the money.
December 9-15: Dave Hann
On December 6, Dave Hann won $250,000 - the first regular person to do so since Scott McKeeve back on October 11. Dave Hann was an extremely smart player, as he had two lifelines going for $500,000. You rarely ever see this - especially nowadays. Not many times has someone gone for a half million dollars with 2 lifelines on the table - a rare and honorable feat. Dave's $500,000 question, which he couldn't pull the trigger on even after using both his lifelines, was: What direction does the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean towards? The Correct Answer: To the South. I found this question to be a really interesting piece of trivia. I never really thought about what direction the tower was leaning - a new and interesting fact I learned from that show. It is painful, so to speak, to watch someone sit there and use 2 of their lifelines on one question, just to walk away with what they already won. You feel really happy for that person, but you feel disappointed for them too, because they used both of their lifelines, and they didn't pay off. Dave was a real good player of this game - a true champion of Millionaire.
December 16-22: Meredith Vieira
Meredith Vieira, who co-hosts "The View," along with Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Star Jones, and Lisa Ling, is usually the more calm, sane of the four. Meredith Vieira was on Celebrity IV Edition of "Millionaire" on December 17. Her fellow co-host, Joy Behar, was also on "Millionaire" Celebrity Edition II in November, 2000. Joy won $125,000. Meredith took it one step further by winning $250,000 for Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund. Like all the celebrities in Celebrity Edition IV, Meredith was playing for a charity that related to the 9/11 attacks. She and Billy Baldwin won $250,000 for charity. More Soon...
December 23-29: David Clayton
David Clayton will certainly be having a Merry Christmas. He's the most recent member of the $250,000 winners club, which was started by Doug Van Gundy back in August of 1999. Since Doug Van Gundy, 51 people have won $250,000 - David Clayton being the 51st. David is a wildlife photographer (that's his hobby, at least) who goes all around the world photographing the most ferocious, biggest beasts around. He's been to Africa, and has come back alive, too. David won $125,000 on December 13, and then the buzzer sounded. Earlier in the show, when asked what he wanted to do with the money, David said that because many charities were hurting greatly this season due to the overwhelming response to charities of September 11th, he would donate a good amount of his winnings to smaller charities that needed help this holiday season. The audience broke out in cheers and a big applause when he said this. On December 20, a week after he had his first show, David was back in the hotseat. He was up to $250,000, and he still had a 50:50 lifeline left. For $250,000: On December 7, 1963, Instant Replay made its debut between which two college football rivals? David didn't really know, so he used the 50:50. The magic two left: Army-Navy and Ohio State-Michigan. David figures that since the game was on December 7, 1963, it is probably Army-Navy since December 7 is Pearl Harbor day, so he was leaning towards that. David makes up his mind that he wants to go with B Army-Navy, for his final answer. Regis reminded him that if he missed he'd lose $93,000. But he doesn't! David wins a Quarter Million Dollars! Here's exactly what was said: "Yes David! You won $250,000!" The camera focused on his girlfriend who had a huge smile and a huge amount of joy on her face. If he missed the next question for $500,000, he would lose a whopping $218,000. His Half Million Dollar Question: "Satisfaction Guaranteed or your Money Back" was first used in the 1870's by what company? David admitted that he really wanted to see that million dollar question, but he didn't have any clue what the answer was. So he did the smart thing and took the $250,000 and walked away. The correct answer: Montgomery-Ward. David was a fabulous player, and it was really fun to see him play. Now, my message to Lloyd Braun: you want better ratings, bring back regular, fun contestants like David Clayton.
December 30 - January 5: David Murphy
Call him the guessing David. David Murphy, a recent $125,000 winner from Quincy, Massachusettes, literally guessed his way to $125,000. David had used up all of his lifelines by $32,000. At $32,000, David said "I didn't come to New York to only win $16,000." He had no clue what the answer was, but he winged it with a complete guess - and got it right for $32,000. But, would his luck continue to the next question? At $64,000, you have nothing to lose, so you might as well guess anyway. Once again, David had no idea. Like I said, you might as well take a guess, since you won't lose anything. David guessed again - and he was right for $64,000! Actually, we have seen quite a few people take guesses at $64,000 and nail it, but rarely do we see two guesses in a row that were both right. The next question, worth $125,000: Which ancient temple was moved to higher ground in the 1960s because of a lake created by Aswan High Dam? He guessed Abu Simbel. For his final answer. Can you believe this - he got it right! Wow! This was truly an amazing story of luck at WWTBAM Thursday. However, at $250,000, the luck of the Irish caught up to him. David considered guessing, but thankfully decided to do the smart thing and take a nice $125,000 and go home. David was quite a character, the whole time since he got into the hotseat to when he walked away. All I have to say is that some sort of supernatural force must have been with this guy - 3 straight guesses to win himself lifechanging money. I find it really hard to believe, but at the same time, I find it really fun to watch too - someone putting all that money on the line on a complete guess and they get it right. My absolute congratulations go to David, and may the luck of the Irish continue to follow him around.
Contestant of the Year 2001
The year of 2001 has certainly been a very lively one in New York City. The September 11th attacks were a horrible disaster for the Big Apple, but there were some positive highlights about New York in 2001, too - "Millionaire" made some big winners, 2 of them broke the record of the former gameshow champ, David Legler. I picked Kevin Olmstead for the "Millionaire Contestant of the Year" because he was a great player. He broke the television winning record by winning $2,180,000, which was when "Millionaire" was doing the bonus game, where every show the total jackpot increased $10,000. Olmstead broke a long, 9 month streak of no million dollar winners, and it was a glorius victory. Kevin is a trivia king - he played trivia in high school, college, and now does it in his free time, coaching students in college. He was a five day champion on "Jeopardy!" in 1994, and now has won $2,180,000 - a very nice piece of cash, and he is officially the Gameshow King and our "Millionaire Contestant of the Year."
The Runner-Ups
For 2nd place, there wasn't any dilemma on who I would choose. My choice was definitely Ed Toutant, who won not $1 Million, but $1,860,000. For those of you who didn't hear what happened, let me explain. In January 2001, Ed Toutant went out going for $16,000. However, "Millionaire" decided to throw out one of the questions he was asked, due to a flaw. Ed started with a new $16,000 question. Since he was playing when their bonus game was in effect, he was playing for $1,860,000. I'll bet "Millionaire" wasn't expecting him to take home the grand prize, but he did. Ed was a guy who went home with $1,000, and a few months later, due to a flaw, he came back to win the grand prize. Toutant admitted that he struggled quite a bit, and in some cases he used his instincts and educated guesses to get the answers right. However, he was quite an entertaining and smart contestant too - it takes lots of guts and knowledge to take home the grand prize. All in all, I'd just like to congratulate Ed on being such a great contestant, and winning the spot of "Millionaire Contestant of the Year Runner-Up."
For the final "Millionaire Contestant of the Year Runner-Up," I couldn't think of anyone who could fit that category better than the 8th Millionaire, Bernie Cullen. Bernie was just absolutely fantastic in the hotseat. He had a great time - he has to be one of my favorite Million Dollar Winners. Bernie has a quality that no other Millionaire has shown - he is quite a comedian. Bernie could not only answer almost all the questions on his own, but was very funny, too. Also, on almost every question he answered (with the correct answer) before Regis even read the question. It seemed as if he would go out very early due to his freewill in answering the questions, but that only strengthened him. He used his final two lifelines on the million dollar question, and then only to give the audience some fun. Bernie was one of 3 people who conquered the game in the year 2001, and he deserves this honor as much as the other two.
Honorable Mentions
Although we can't make everyone a "Contestant of the Year" or a Runner-Up, we do find it necessary to make mention of some other smart and entertaining contestants and how they made "Millionaire" a success in 2001.
Steve Perry is the Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens of Millionaire. He's an ace. The young college student won $500,000 - a very great feat. However, he didn't use any of his lifelines - he had all 3 lifelines on the million dollar question. He was very knowledgable, and to me, he was the smartest player I have ever seen on "Millionaire."
Can anyone make a better team? Rob and Mary Beth McNally deserve a Honorable Mention because of their awesome and colorful teamwork in the May, 2001 Couples Edition. They won $500,000 together, and posessed a great amount of knowledge, which led to the victory.
On June 14, 2001, Mary Burke became the 4th woman to win $500,000. She showed very good knowledge, and she was quite entertaining to watch. She certainly does deserve an honorable mention, for she was a quite honorable contestant.
Martin Poteralski, just like Ed Toutant and Tim Shields, made one of those very memorable comebacks on the "Return of the Zero Dollar Winners" special in May, 2001. In April, 2000, Martin missed the $1,000 question, and went home empty-handed. However, "Millionaire" had a special series of shows, titled appropriately "The Return of the Zero Dollar Winners," and Martin Poteralski came back to win $250,000. Yes, and he did it well too - he still had two lifelines left at $250,000. Martin made an outstanding comeback, and it goes to show that just because you don't do well on a gameshow doesn't mean that you aren't smart.
The Runner-Ups
For 2nd place, there wasn't any dilemma on who I would choose. My choice was definitely Ed Toutant, who won not $1 Million, but $1,860,000. For those of you who didn't hear what happened, let me explain. In January 2001, Ed Toutant went out going for $16,000. However, "Millionaire" decided to throw out one of the questions he was asked, due to a flaw. Ed started with a new $16,000 question. Since he was playing when their bonus game was in effect, he was playing for $1,860,000. I'll bet "Millionaire" wasn't expecting him to take home the grand prize, but he did. Ed was a guy who went home with $1,000, and a few months later, due to a flaw, he came back to win the grand prize. Toutant admitted that he struggled quite a bit, and in some cases he used his instincts and educated guesses to get the answers right. However, he was quite an entertaining and smart contestant too - it takes lots of guts and knowledge to take home the grand prize. All in all, I'd just like to congratulate Ed on being such a great contestant, and winning the spot of "Millionaire Contestant of the Year Runner-Up."
For the final "Millionaire Contestant of the Year Runner-Up," I couldn't think of anyone who could fit that category better than the 8th Millionaire, Bernie Cullen. Bernie was just absolutely fantastic in the hotseat. He had a great time - he has to be one of my favorite Million Dollar Winners. Bernie has a quality that no other Millionaire has shown - he is quite a comedian. Bernie could not only answer almost all the questions on his own, but was very funny, too. Also, on almost every question he answered (with the correct answer) before Regis even read the question. It seemed as if he would go out very early due to his freewill in answering the questions, but that only strengthened him. He used his final two lifelines on the million dollar question, and then only to give the audience some fun. Bernie was one of 3 people who conquered the game in the year 2001, and he deserves this honor as much as the other two.
Honorable Mentions
Although we can't make everyone a "Contestant of the Year" or a Runner-Up, we do find it necessary to make mention of some other smart and entertaining contestants and how they made "Millionaire" a success in 2001.
Steve Perry is the Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens of Millionaire. He's an ace. The young college student won $500,000 - a very great feat. However, he didn't use any of his lifelines - he had all 3 lifelines on the million dollar question. He was very knowledgable, and to me, he was the smartest player I have ever seen on "Millionaire."
Can anyone make a better team? Rob and Mary Beth McNally deserve a Honorable Mention because of their awesome and colorful teamwork in the May, 2001 Couples Edition. They won $500,000 together, and posessed a great amount of knowledge, which led to the victory.
On June 14, 2001, Mary Burke became the 4th woman to win $500,000. She showed very good knowledge, and she was quite entertaining to watch. She certainly does deserve an honorable mention, for she was a quite honorable contestant.
Martin Poteralski, just like Ed Toutant and Tim Shields, made one of those very memorable comebacks on the "Return of the Zero Dollar Winners" special in May, 2001. In April, 2000, Martin missed the $1,000 question, and went home empty-handed. However, "Millionaire" had a special series of shows, titled appropriately "The Return of the Zero Dollar Winners," and Martin Poteralski came back to win $250,000. Yes, and he did it well too - he still had two lifelines left at $250,000. Martin made an outstanding comeback, and it goes to show that just because you don't do well on a gameshow doesn't mean that you aren't smart.
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