Neil is our final contestant of the November run. He got into the Hot Seat by beating the rest of the field at this question:
| A. Bryant Gumbel | B. Barbara Walters
| C. Matt Lauer | D. Ted Koppel
| Correct Order (drag the mouse over the letters): B-D-A-C
| Neil's winning time: 5.96 Competitors: 3/10 | |
Neil is a DJ who could also win a Marc Summers lookalike contest without too much trouble. Let's see if we can end the November flight with a bang!
| 1. In the Hans Christian Andersen's tale, the 'new clothes' the Emperor wore in the parade were made from what? |    A. Lycra | B. Silk
| C. Nothing at all | D. Gold
| Uh oh. Our last contestant is off to a shaky start. He immediately whips out a Lifeline and asks the hyphenated-for-the-final-time-so-I'm-going-to-drag-this-out-for-as-long-as-I-can audience. (Whew!) A. Lycra - 1%
| B. Silk - 19% |  C. Nothing at all - 63% | D. Gold - 17%
| Hoping they've bailed him out, Neil goes with C... For his final answer. Close one, but he's right! $100. | ||||||||
After the break, Neil mentions that now that he's the father of a 10-week-old daughter, he and his wife have been doing a lot more praying. Not specifically to God... more like to St. Regis. |
| 2. What mechanical 'animal' did John Travolta ride in the movie 'Urban Cowboy'? | | A. Bull | B. Elephant
| C. Pony | D. Frog
| Well, at least he knows this one. Neil picks A... Which is his final answer. He's getting hot! $200. | ||||
| 3. In a standard game of golf, what piece of equipment is officially used to hit the ball? | | A. Mallet | B. Foot
| C. Wicket | D. Club
| Neil: "The way I play??" Well, he says it's D... And he's right again! $300. | ||||
| 4. Which of these industries existed before 1850? | | A. Airline | B. Television broadcasting
| C. Coal mining | D. Radio broadcasting
| Neil chooses C... It's a good one; he's just won $500! | ||||
| 5. Which one of the following types of triangles has three equal sides? | | A. Scalene | B. Isosceles
| C. Acute | D. Equilateral
| Neil: "You know... and I do know the answer, but it's funny, because my father and my brother are probably watching right now going, 'DON'T ASK A MATH QUESTION!'" But he knows it's D... And with that, he secures the thousand!
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| 6. Which of these musical instruments is not in the brass family? | | A. Trombone | B. French Horn
| C. Cornet | D. Clarinet
| Being a music fan, Neil picks D... Final answer? You bet. And he keeps going! $2000! | ||||
| 7. What animated TV show began as a series of vignettes on 'The Tracey Ullman Show'? | | A. South Park | B. King of the Hill
| C. The Simpsons | D. The Jetsons
| Neil goes with C... As his final answer. He's hot now! $4000! | ||||
| 8. What is the score of a perfect bowling game? | | A. 100 | B. 150
| C. 200 | D. 300
| Neil selects D... And that's his final answer. No stopping this guy! $8000! | ||||
Reege: "I've got a good phrase for you next time you're at a party, say, 'Hey, I've got stacks of wax!'" Neil is unmoved by the catchphrase. |
| 9. How often does the Earth complete one full rotation on its axis? | | A. Every day | B. Every week
| C. Every six months | D. Every year
| Neil picks A... That'll be his final answer. And he's going strong! $16,000! | ||||
| 10. In terms of land area, what is the largest state in the U.S.? | | A. Colorado | B. Texas
| C. Alaska | D. California
| Neil: "Is this continental United States or all 50 states?"
Reege then clarifies that it's all 50 states. Neil: "I believe the answer to be C, Alaska....
...however, that is not my final answer. I would like to use a Lifeline." (audience laughs) "I'm going to use the Phone-a-Friend." Rare guy, isn't he? Well, he's going to call his radio cohort Darryl. I've got to include the beginning, because it's so darn funny.
Darryl: "Yes?" Reege: "Regis Philbin here with stacks of wax." (Laughs) "Listen, I've got your pal Neil here and he needs a little help!" Darryl: "Neelie!!" (The fluff, and now we pick up after the question) Darryl: ".......That's a great question, Neil..." Neil: "No pressure here, you've got 7 seconds." Darryl: "I wanted to say Texas, but I'm not sure. ...I love you, man!" (Burp burp)  Reege: "Oh, man- and Darryl, we love you too, man!! And thanks a lot!" (Turns to Neil) "How come on the radio, you guys know everything! Off the radio, 'I love you man!'"
And NOW C will be his final answer.
After all that chaos...
He'd better be right.
And he is! $32,000!!
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After the break, Reege asks Neil what he wants to do with the money. For some reason, Neil has always been fascinated with Mustangs, and now it looks like he'll be getting one. Neil's wife, of course, has other plans for the money - like saving it for their daughter. And what does Darryl get out of all this? Neil: "Darryl gets squat-tah!"
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| 11. By definition, if you are a viticulturist, which of the following would you grow? | | A. Grapes | B. Oranges
| C. Olives | D. Figs
| Neil has no clue, and as such he's going to burn his 50:50. A. Grapes | OUT |  C. Olives | OUT
| Reege reminds Neil that this is a freebie. Miss it, he won't lose a thing. So Neil will hazard a guess and say A... Which is his final answer.
A free guess...
Which turns out to be...
The right guess!
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| 12. Who was the only U.S. president never to marry? | | A. Franklin Pierce | B. Chester A. Arthur
| C. James Buchanan | D. James Polk
| Neil: "Fellow Pennsylvanian - C. Final answer."
A quick answer.
And the right answer!
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Talk about ending the show with a bang - Neil is really working some magic in the hot seat. This question will make him only the fifth quarter-millionaire in American WWTBAM history. Neil: (clasping hands) "St. Regis..."
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| 13. What character in Greek mythology was condemned to continuously roll a heavy stone up a hill? | | A. Hercules | B. Sisyphus
| C. Prometheus | D. Apollo
| Neil is fairly sure that it's B. He recognizes Hercules as the son of Zeus, and Prometheus as the one who brought fire to the humans. With that in mind, he's thinking C. Reege reminds Neil that he'll lose $93,000 if he misses this question. Neil: "I- I understand that. $32,000 is still good... Let's rock 'n' roll! Let's say Sisyphus!" And that will be his final answer.
Neil is a smart man.
He's witty and charming.
He's a risk taker.
And he's also a QUARTER-MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!
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Who'd have thought that this guy - a guy who blasted his first Lifeline on the first question, and on top of that squanders his phone call on a flounderer - would be in the position he's in now. A quarter million dollars is his. But only $32,000 of it is secure. With the next question, he could become the second half-millionaire on the show - but he could also become the first to miss the 14th question. |
| 14. Which of the following actors has never portrayed Jesus in the movies? | | A. Max von Sydow | B. Willem Dafoe
| C. Jeffrey Hunter | D. Charlton Heston
| Neil immediately recgnizes Dafoe from The Last Temptation of Christ, and figures that Heston had to have played Jesus at some point during his long career of bible-thumpers. He has no clue about Sydow, however, nor does he know about Hunter. So rather take a gamble at this point, he decides to pack it in.
Believe it or not, though his work helped create the genre, D. Charlton Heston never played Jesus in a motion picture. LOOGAROO LAMENTS: This guy has to be my favorite player of the November run. Not only was he extremely personable and funny, but he was exceptionally bright, and had more intestinal fortitude than many players have had before him or since. Imagine what would have happened if only he hadn't dropped his first two Lifelines so vainly - we could've been talking about Millionaire #2. | ||||
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