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A Trinity man says his two appearances with Regis Philbin on the popular game show was ''kind of an out-of-body experience.''
By COLLEEN JENKINS
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 28, 2001
A Trinity man who appeared on ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire got $64,000 instead when he came up short on a question about Middle East geography on Wednesday night's show.
Doug Kufahl, 42, spent a year and a half trying to get on the popular show before he finally impressed interviewers at an open audition in Savannah, Ga., in mid-May. But he barely made it to the hot seat with host Regis Philbin, squeezing in as the last contestant for Sunday night's episode.
"It was kind of an out-of-body experience actually," Kufahl said Wednesday morning.
Before time ran out Sunday, Kufahl climbed to the $64,000 mark using three lifelines, the show's feature that allows the contestant to get help on answers.
His first lifeline was a disc jockey friend in Kansas City, who helped him answer the $32,000 question, "Who wrote the 1960s Monkees song I'm a Believer?" (It was Neil Diamond.)
Kufahl was stumped again when Philbin asked, "Whose son did George W. Bush appoint to head the Federal Communications Commission?" He turned to the audience for help, but they didn't seem to know the answer either.
"(The audience) was worthless," Kufahl said.
When he used his last lifeline to narrow the options down to two, Kufahl realized the answer was Colin Powell. That boosted him to $64,000.
His luck wasn't as good when he returned Wednesday night. Philbin welcomed back the "strong-looking, bulky guy" who knitted for a hobby. They also discussed Regina Philbin, Kufahl's tabby cat whom he named in honor of the show's host when he got her nine months ago.
"The cat must be going nuts right now," Philbin said.
Kufahl's stomach was going nuts moments later when he heard his $125,000 question: "If you travel west through the Strait of Hormuz, you will first reach what body of water?"
Without any lifelines left, Kufahl was on his own. A correct answer would have lifted his winnings to $125,000; a wrong answer would have reduced his winnings to $32,000. Kufahl pondered the question for only seconds before deciding not to answer.
Philbin asked him what he would have guessed.
The Persian Gulf, Kufahl responded.
"My guess would have been right," he said Wednesday. "I've relived that moment about a hundred times each day since."
Philbin quipped that Kufahl's prize money might be good for a few more balls of yarn, but that isn't how this regional salesman for a New York-based software company plans to spend his cash.
He and his wife of one year, Kataryna, want to take a vacation to Mexico in the next few months and buy a big-screen television, "maybe the biggest they've got," he said. On a more mundane level, they also will pay some bills.
And they'll continue to watch their favorite show, even though Kufahl's one chance as a contestant has passed.
"It's like a powerful drug," he said. "I'd like to do it again, one more shot."
- Colleen Jenkins can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6232 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6232.