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Barry W.
- Theme Week:
- California Coast
- Contestant:
- Barry W.
- Hometown:
- Portland, OR
- Week of:
- March 15, 2010
Posted on 3/15
My story started last winter when my wife and I got snowed in during one of the worst storms the Pacific Northwest had ever seen. We watched Wheel of Fortune every night and I would call out puzzle solutions before she even had any clue as to what the answer was. As anyone who has been on the show (or even auditioned) will tell you, it is so much easier at home from the comfort of your couch. My wife insisted that I would do great on the show and she jumped online and filled out the "Be a contestant" form on the WOF website. I never gave it another thought...
Flash forward to March 31st (the day before April Fool's Day) and I opened my email to find a message from WOF Auditions. At first, I skimmed right over it when looking through my messages, and then it caught my eye again. I opened it to find an invitation to a local audition here in Portland in 10 days! I couldn't believe it! I was so skeptical that I even forwarded the message onto my wife and asked her to call the hotel in the email to see if it was real - and of course it was!
I made arrangements to get to the audition and arrived to find a large gathering of about 75 people in the hallway as we were filed in to a conference room at the hotel. We took our seats (I sat in the front row determined to make a lasting impression no matter what) and proceeded to play the game. One by one we all had a chance to stand up and try our hand at calling out letters and trying to solve puzzles. My turn came and I got a letter but didn't solve the puzzle - I was bummed. I did manage to win an autographed picture of Vanna which still hangs in my office!
After playing, we had to take a written test. Every second person had a different set of puzzles to solve so that nobody could copy answers. I was so stressed when I didn't complete all of the puzzles on the test and I waited anxiously as the contestant team graded our tests. They came back with a short stack of papers, a list of those people who made the first cut. As they called out names and people hollered shouts of joy, the stack kept getting shorter and shorter - and my name wasn't called. Finally, with just about 3 or 4 applications remaining, I heard it - "Barry Williams" - I threw my arm up and shouted "EXCELLENT!!!"
By the time the auditions were over, some of the remaining people told me "We'll see you on TV for sure, Barry!" We filed out, hanging on the words of the contestant team "If we want you to be on the show, you will receive a letter from us within 2 weeks. If you don't get a letter, it didn't work out, but thanks for trying out!" And so I waited...My brother-in-law decided to play a cruel joke on me and made up an envelope with the Wheel of Fortune logo on it and mailed it to me - EMPTY. The local postmark was a dead giveaway. Then on the last day of that 2 week period, I got the letter from Wheel of Fortune. I about came out of my skin when I saw it and was literally shaking when I opened it and read the letter inside. The uncertainty of knowing they could call me within 18 months was huge - but I made it!!
Time ticked by, and people kept asking me when I would be on the show. Finally, in October, I got the call. I was at work when the contestant team called me, so I didn't answer the call when it came through, but listened to the voicemail message promptly when I could. I ran around the building at work telling everyone I was flying to LA in 2 weeks to go be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune! Everyone was so excited for me, and I couldn't believe it! I dug out my old school handheld Wheel of Fortune game (yes, the one from the 80's with the various cartridges that plug into it) and played it every day! I watched the show and practiced every night to get ready for my big day!
We flew to LA and got to the hotel late the night before the taping date and I could hardly sleep! The next morning when I went down to the lobby, there were all of the contestants I would be competing with that day mingling around the front doors. We all got acquainted in the hotel and on the shuttle ride to the studio. I still couldn't believe it - I WAS ABOUT TO BE ON WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!
When we got to the Sony studio lot around 8am, I felt like a little kid again. Everything was so surreal and I just kept telling myself to keep my head out of the clouds and stay focused. We all made our way through the lot and to the WOF stage. Everyone got seated in a staging room where we had a spread of water, snacks and various munchies to help calm our nerves if we needed them. We reviewed all of the legal paperwork that comes with being on a game show, and halfway through, the door opened and in walked Vanna White!! She strolled in and introduced herself (like we didn't know who she was) and just told us all to relax, have fun, and most of all to listen to the advice from the contestant coordinators.
We were separated into groups of 3 and started to get a better idea as to who we would be playing against. I selected the ball that would determine our teams' taping order - #4 - I was so glad it wasn't #1 as I didn't want to go first! We finally got a chance to go out and see the stage...AND THE WHEEL! We all got a chance to go up to the wheel and give it a spin or two - WOW - it weighs a ton. Next stop was makeup and a short stay in the contestant waiting room again. The morning blew by and before I knew it, we were being seated in the audience and it was time for the magic to begin...
Tune in Thursday and watch me spin the wheel and see all of the fun (and funny) times we had on our show!