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Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009

‘Wheel of Fortune’ trip a heady experience for Warner Robins man

Earlier this month, J.D. and Jolie Hardin of Warner Robins took an early wedding anniversary trip to Los Angeles. They had to.

J.D. was a contestant on the popular “Wheel of Fortune” TV show, and the taping was taking place Feb. 5. The show is scheduled to air March 26.

The couple took advantage of the occasion to “do touristy stuff” and visit Hollywood Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, “where the rich people shop,” said Jolie, principal at Matt Arthur Elementary in Kathleen.

It was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience,” J.D. said, and it was an anniversary they won’t soon forget. Their anniversary is Tuesday.

His odyssey began in the fall while he was doing political work in Arkansas, his home state, during the past general election.

“Out of the blue, on a TV station, I heard that the ‘Wheel mobile’ was coming to Conley. They were going to be there for two days and do three shows daily,” he said. “I went there, got in line and filled out a 4x5 application card. They put them in a hopper and randomly selected five people. I was one of them.”

He went through a rapid series of puzzles, took a written test, signed more papers and was told he would be contacted.

J.D. returned to Warner Robins after his election work was over and said he put the experience “out of my mind, sort of.”

In late December, he noticed an e-mail with “Do not reply” in the header. It was an invitation to return for a final Wheel of Fortune audition Jan. 8.

“I called Jolie and we debated all for about a second, and then I flew out to Arkansas on a Wednesday,” he said. “The audition was on Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. In the hotel ballroom, there were four scouts who called each of us by name. A puzzle was on the screen, and you played the game. They wanted to see if you knew what was going on. I solved one, but I don’t remember it.”

Then another battery of tests and another “thanks for coming,” he said. He returned to Georgia and tried not to think about it.

“I mean, about 1 million people a year make it to these Wheel mobile events and out of that only 500 to 600 make it,” he said.

Fewer than 10 days later, on Jan. 17, Jolie checked the mail and brought in a letter.

“It had ‘Wheel of Fortune’ in big letters, and I knew what it meant. We were jumping up and down,” he said. “It was real exciting, because we had been talking about being on there a lot.”

The window for making it to the show can be as long as 18 months, he said. He knew that from reading online blogs from past show contestants.

“Most of the people who posted said after they got the letter it was five or six months before they got on the show,” he said. “We got the letter January 17, and the following Tuesday, January 20, I got a cell phone call with a 310 area code. The person identified themselves as Shannon from ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ who told me the taping date was February 5. I said I would be there.”

The show does a week’s worth of taping in one day, and J.D. would be on one of six shows taping that day.

So, last Thursday found J.D., Jolie, his father and a friend, and an uncle from Las Vegas at the studios in Culver City, Calif.

The experience “was pretty much what I expected,” J.D. said. “The staff there is unbelievably enthusiastic. They want all the contestants to win as much money as possible.”

J.D. arrived at the studio at 7:45 a.m., and was told taping would start around noon. He would be on the fourth show, which meant it would air on a Thursday.

Though contestants were being read the rules a lot, the staff was nice about it, he said. “They cover every detail. I mean, all the t’s were crossed and the i’s dotted. It’s nice to see how people function on television.”

J.D., along with the others, taped a “hometown hello” in which he gave his name, hometown and urged viewers to watch the show. The announcements will run during the day the show airs.

“Then we went through the rules yet again, got to practice spinning the wheel and calling out letters,” he said. Coordinators urged contestants to disregard a natural impulse to look at the wheel while spinning, reminding them host Pat Sajak would call out where the wheel stopped.

“They were getting us pumped up, they really wanted you to focus on the letter board,” he said.

The studio is much smaller than it appears on television, he said. “It’s a very cozy studio, the letter board is not that tall, and the wheel itself is neither light nor heavy.”

J.D. was teamed up with a woman from California and another from Michigan for his show. One person from each team draws a golf ball from a bucket to determine the show they’d be on. While the other shows were taping, J.D. and other contestants watched from their own section of the studio audience.

In one of the earlier shows that day, he said, a contestant moved the wheel one notch, then another, before making a spin. A wrong move, and the show stopped taping and started again. Another time, a contestant called out the letter “H,” and Sajak said there were none in the puzzle, even though the board lit up and Vanna White halted in mid-step.

“They stopped taping, had the contestants turn around while everybody got back in their spots, turned them around again to face the board and picked up taping,” J.D. said.

Then, at last, it was his turn, the fourth show of the day.

J.D. wouldn’t say how he did on the show other than to note he didn’t embarrass himself.

But he did drop a hint of sorts.

“I came back with more than the $1,000 consolation prize,” he said.

To contact writer Jake Jacobs, call 923-6199, extension 305.