Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Regis cured Clifton trivia addict
BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A few minutes in Regis Philbin's hot seat has given Jeffrey D. Siehl a new outlook on TV quiz shows.
“It was much more difficult sitting in that chair with Regis than sitting in your living room watching the show on TV,” said the Clifton resident, who won $64,000 on ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire broadcast Monday.
“I'll never laugh again at someone who misses an easy question,” said Mr. Siehl, an attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor here.
The 27-year-old Dayton native had auditioned for Millionaire through the show's toll-free number, (877) 258-5808. (The phones are open 3 p.m.-3 a.m. daily through Nov. 18.)
Millionaire producers called him at 7:30 p.m. Friday and invited him to fly to New York at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
“I frantically had to get packed, but I didn't mind,” he said.
Contestants spent most of Saturday sight-seeing. At 11 a.m. Sunday, they met in the hotel and went over to the ABC studios. Millionaire staffers explained the rules, offered wardrobe advice, and let them play a few practice games. Every contestant got to sit in center-stage chair opposite Mr. Philbin and answer a few questions.
Taping the one-hour show took three hours Sunday night, he said. Part of the delay was from director's asking Mr. Philbin to repeat his lines, he said.
Mr. Siehl won the opportunity to play for big money by being the fastest of 10 finalists to answer the first-round question about U.S. presidents' pictures on paper currency.
Then he walked over to the hot seat, where he correctly answered 11 multiple-choice questions to win $64,000. He quit four questions away from the top prize ($125,000; $250,000; $500,000 and $1 million). But an incorrect answer would have cut his prize money to $32,000.
The Jeopardy addict was surprised at the intensity of the experience. “It was very nerve-racking and very exciting,” Mr. Siehl said.
And fulfilling.
“For the first time in my life, I'm sick of trivia,” he said. “I don't think I could do better than this.”
Millionaire airs 8:30 p.m. today (Channels 9, 2), Thursday and Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday; 9 p.m. Sunday; 8 p.m. Monday; 8:30 p.m. next Tuesday-Fri day and 8 p.m. Nov. 20. It concludes 8-9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21.
BRIEFLY: ABC had its best Sunday night in two years, with Annie (drawing 26.7 million viewers), Millionaire and The Practice, says USA Today.
On Tristate Nielsen meters, Millionaire and The Practice easily beat CBS Shake, Rattle & Roll (second place), the season premiere of Fox's The X-Files (third) and NBC's The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns (fourth). Millionaire's 25.9 million audience Sunday was up 3.5 million from its last telecast in August.
OXFORD CHANGE: WOXY-FM (97.7) is looking for new morning hosts to replace Breakfast Club DJs Ric Tile and Kevin Couche, who were dismissed Thursday.
Why? “We really don't talk about "family' matters here. But sometimes change is a good thing,” says owner Doug Ballough. He anticipates hiring a new morning show by December.
Mr. Tile, an eight-year veteran, says he was fired for “philosophical differences” with management over the station's variety of new music. “At the most progressive radio station in the country, we were too progressive,” he says.
Mr. Tile, an instructor at Miami University and the Ohio Center for Broadcasting in Madisonville, says he may become a full-time teacher.
Pipe bomb, threat rattle high schools
Tug of war over a 'holy place'
Warm temperatures stay with us
Lawmaker to urge employee-gift ban
Prosecutor allegations need outside investigation
Hustler store faces new charges
Jews say Baptists' recruiting deceptive
Senate OKs tobacco money plan
Freeways a litter sore spot
Hospital tab a ticket to freedom
Magnet programs may be reduced
NKU basks in funding news
Pilarczyk recovering after angioplasty
Racist brochures litter Anderson
Rhodes, Luebbers consider county commission run
Union Twp. voters may dump name
Voinovich says he's for Bush
Health fair targets men in the city
New tools for diabetes
Online database helps blood supply
Girl Scout alternative
'Light It Up' shines beyond familiar fare
'Pokemon' only for the truly game
Regis cured Clifton trivia addict
Butler County faces Channel 2 blackout
Accused teacher won't be charged
Bank largess leads to Internet access
Club for mentally ill offers welcome
Court for mentally ill offenders advocated
Court refuses tower case
Detective: Suspect told about killing
Environmentalists: Utilities seek shield from clear air laws
Fernald back to work after anthrax scare
Fox highway just about ready
Kenton to install new storm sirens
Mason businesses to expand
Officer resigns after pleading guilty to drunken driving
Purchase in Norwood under cloud
TRISTATE DIGEST
Waste gripes heard
