Friday, February 25, 2000
Confessions of a nervous 'Lifeline'
BY CLIFF RADEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The heart palpitations started the moment he asked: “Will you be my Lifeline?”
Rich Steidle was on the phone. The West Chester software writer wanted me to be his spare brain Thursday. He was in New York taping the March 1 installment of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Sure, I said, why not?
Suddenly, there was this thumping sound in my ears. It was my heart.
Before play begins on every show, Regis Philbin, the host with the world's whitest teeth, assures every contestant, “you know the rules.” In case you don't, a player warming the hot seat gets three Lifelines. They can help answer any three of the 15 questions contestants must get right to become a millionaire.
One Lifeline polls the audience. The “50-50” Lifeline throws out two wrong answers from the four possibilities. I fell into the third category, “Phone a Friend,” by default.
Rich and I have never met. But, I have heard of the company where he works, Milford's SDRC.
The other “Phone a Friends” on Rich's list were pals or family. He plays softball with Jim Pape, “who knows a lot about loud music and geography.” He works with Blair Barter. “She has a degree in art history.” He's friends with Michael Thomas, a reproductive endocrinologist at the University of Cincinnati. Rich's sister, Sue, made the list “because she's raising three boys and knows about Pokemon and the Backstreet Boys.”
So, I wondered, why me?
“I don't know much about pop music history,” Rich replied. He called me because I was the Enquirer's pop music critic for 19 years.
Rich said the only music group he knows “is the Beatles.”
And the members' names are?
“Micky, Davy, Michael ... ” Rich laughed and told me he was just kidding. He didn't sound too convincing. My heart beat louder.
Have a heart
Heartbeats play a big part in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Contestants ponder answers to a tune whose rhythm throbs like a beating heart.
Rich's heart is fine. His gut isn't. “When I get nervous,” he said, “it gets me in the stomach.”
His stomach has been on edge for a week since he called the show's audition line. “They're giving away free money and I figured I might as well try to get some.” Rich quickly answered two series of questions correctly. His answers qualified him to be one of the shows' 10 finalists. “I guess I did learn something in school.” He flew to New York on Wednesday with his wife, Joy, a pharmaceuticals salesperson.
Joy and Rich left their New York hotel for the program's pre-show drill at 7:45 a.m. Thursday. The two-hour taping of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire started at 1 p.m. The Steidles used the hours of waiting to answer this question: How are you going to spend your $1 million?
“We told our producer, Jennifer Specht, we'd buy a new dog, a Scottie, and name him Regis,” Joy said. “But that was no good.”
Rich said: “They want something more exciting.”
The excitement and anxiety levels grew at my end of the bargain as I sat by the phone from 1 to 3 p.m.
If Regis called, Jennifer Specht told me: “No small talk.” No remarks about bright teeth or Kathie Lee. Rich would have 30 seconds to read the question and ask me for the answer. And, I couldn't reveal before the show airs how much Rich won.
The phone rang at 1:24 p.m. I could hear show chatter in the background. A staff member said Rich was in the hot seat. The next time the phone rang, the voice on the other end might be saying: “This is Regis Philbin calling from New York City.” Stand by. Down heart.
My mind raced to keep up with my heart. I could lose a fortune for this guy. Earlier in the week, Rich told me not to worry about giving the wrong answer. “It's only money.” Now, I wasn't so sure. I didn't want to sound stupid on nationwide TV. Or lose $1 million for Rich and Joy.
Twenty-one long minutes went by. The phone rang again. Regis was not on the line. It was a woman named Rene. She said Rich had used his Lifeline to call his sister.
Never did like those Backstreet Boys.
And, that's my final answer.
Columnist Cliff Radel can be reached at 768-8379; fax 768-8340.
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