Most Memorable Non-Million Dollar Winner on Millionaire?

[BrandonFG]

I thought Doug walked with 250K? I distinctly remember his overjoyed reaction when Regis declared his answer correct.

Welp I was 5 when he first aired.  Isn't $250k what I said? 

All good. Now get off my lawn.

[PYLdude]

One guy I remember and kinda feel bad and good for was Sam Murray, the last millionaire.

I mean, it's cool that he got it and his reaction when he got his question right was great. I just wish it didn't happen in that half-cocked tournament they did. He was the only one to even attempt the question and didn't stand to lose a whole lot if he missed it, but honestly, did they really think any of the six figure winners that qualified were going to take the gamble?

[TLEberle]

Hard to feel bad for the winner.

[Kevin Prather]

He was the only one to even attempt the question and didn't stand to lose a whole lot if he missed it

He also got one of the easiest question of the ten. Talk about right place, right time.

[knagl]

I had to look up his name. Tom Colletta. Maybe not an amazing player, but a memorable moment where Regis was building up tension after Colletta had given a final answer.

Eventually Colletta blurted out, "I'm a fat man Regis, my heart can't take it!" After the laughter died down, Regis countered with, "I'm just trying to help you sweat off a few pounds!"

[TLEberle]

He was the only one to even attempt the question and didn't stand to lose a whole lot if he missed it

He also got one of the easiest question of the ten. Talk about right place, right time.

To be excruciatingly fair to Sam, he also knew the answer to the final question of the event. (You can hear it under the applause and cheers as Meredith is building to the reveal.) That said, trivia is about putting yourself in position to answer the question and I imagine that being a bartender means he would pick up lots.

On another note if Alan Carver had not decided to re-enact Thelma and Louise and instead stuck on $50,000 he would have posted a sprint time of 32 seconds for eleven questions and maybe he would have known all of the queries asked. (As #6 on the leaderboard he would have bumped off Sam.) There was no reason to try pop the confetti before the first ad break--get into the sweeps event and leaven the risk for the big prize.

One of the great things about Millionaire is that in the old days it was all about merit and the luck of the draw. If you were good you stood a chance to get into the Ring of Fire. No audition tests or sob stories, but Regis was able to draw out all the personality I wanted from the contestants. It immediately set the show apart from everything else on the ar save for The Price is Right and I think to its benefit. Lots of contestants were memorable because there was nobody else there to share the spotlight so you would get people who were eminently root-for-able.

[Loogaroo]

I don't have any numbers to back this up and for all I know I'm totally wrong, but to me, David Honea's "creel" question is what turned the show from a surprise summer hit by default into a phenomenon that would forever change the landscape of the genre and TV in general. The way he collapsed in his chair when he won $32K is one of the most gripping moments a game show has ever produced.

[That Don Guy]

Part of me feels Robby(sp?) Roseman, who I believe was the show's first zero-aire, might be worth mention.

My first thought as well, if only because "llama" entered the game show vocabulary. Over on alt.tv.game-shows, there was a long-running debate over whether "llamaing (out)" meant missing the first question, or missing any of the first five and winning nothing. (I am in the "it has to be the first question" camp.)

[tvmitch]

I agree with all the contestants that have been mentioned so far, and will add one more from the other side of the pond.

Fiona Wheeler was the first UK contestant who showed the potential of the format. Super emotional, funny, great run.

[PYLdude]

I had to look up his name. Tom Colletta. Maybe not an amazing player, but a memorable moment where Regis was building up tension after Colletta had given a final answer.

Eventually Colletta blurted out, "I'm a fat man Regis, my heart can't take it!" After the laughter died down, Regis countered with, "I'm just trying to help you sweat off a few pounds!"

As a fat man myself, I related very well to Tom.

That was one of my favorite moments.

[PYLdude]

Going back to Travis' point about the syndicated era's way of selectibg contesti:

That was the one thing that always annoyed me about the process because it's not easy to try and sell yourself to the PAs. I don't believe passing the test should be the be-all end-all as to whether you get on the show, but once you got through phase one, you basically have to have stories to tell. And I stress that multiple, because they're not gonna read everything you filled out. No game show contestant coordinators are gonna do that. And not everyone is going to be as freeflowing with the conversation as others.

[JMFabiano]

I had to look up his name. Tom Colletta. Maybe not an amazing player, but a memorable moment where Regis was building up tension after Colletta had given a final answer.

Eventually Colletta blurted out, "I'm a fat man Regis, my heart can't take it!" After the laughter died down, Regis countered with, "I'm just trying to help you sweat off a few pounds!"

Guy lived near me.  Used to see him by the shopping mall all the time playing the arcade games at the laundromat, food store, etc.

[GiraffeBoy]

Other than me...   

Jason Block

Frank Tangredi - "A food question, I knew it'd come in handy someday!"

Stan Fluoride -- from San Francisco, wise-crack, crashed at $250K

Rosie O'Donnell - her PAF appearance, and her $500K win

--Charlie

[rebelwrest]

My suggestion is Michael Shutterly.  He was the first person in the world to see the $1 Million question and he EARNED it with his stack.  John Carpenter got an easier stack because the networks were competing to see who could give away a $1 Million first.  Michael's $500K question asked him what was the real name of John Paul I, and that was a proper 1/2 million dollar question. 

[JasonA1]

My initial thought was Doug Van Gundy. His euphoric reaction was the first real clue for me, dopey as it sounds, that this was life-changing money. If there were a second place, I'd have said (the late) Bob-O from Super Millionaire, because he was a perfect character to convey the same reality about the newer, richer game.

-Jason