Mizzou student sakes a spin on
"Wheel of Fortune"

Anthony Robb, Corner Post staff

Sept. 28, 2002 - Lee Drury, an MU sophomore from Mukilteo, Wash., will receive his "22 minutes of fame" when he appears on television as a contestant of the popular game show, "Wheel of Fortune."

Drury is a big game show fan and watches "Wheel of Fortune" an average of twice a week. He always dreamed of being on a game show, and while home in Washington for the summer, he got his chance to try out.

Drury went to Seattle, only a half-hour south of Mukilteo, to try out at the show's traveling audition studio - the "Wheel Mobile" - for shows that were to be filmed in Seattle.

He didn't make the cut but later auditioned online for the "College Week" version of "Wheel of Fortune." Drury made one of the cuts there and had another audition and interview.

A few days later, he received word that even though he would not appear as a contestant on "College Week," he would be a standby player. This meant that he had a good chance of appearing on a future episode. On Sept. 4, Drury received a call inviting him to be on a Los Angeles episode.

The taping was planned for Sept. 19, and Drury practiced by playing at least one hour a day of online "Wheel of Fortune." On Sept. 18, he flew to Culver City, Calif., where the show would be filmed. Friends living in the area sat in the audience to show their support.

The next day, in the hours prior to filming, Drury met his opponents and was briefed on the rules.

When it was finally time for the show to start, Drury drew the numbered dice and won the red position, which is the spot next to Sajak.

"I was really nervous until I got up there on stage and the show started, and then everything started happening so fast," Drury said.

Drury started the game and had no trouble spinning the wheel, even though it was heavier than he expected. Over all, Drury said, the puzzles were of about the same difficulty level.

The show's air date is still to be determined, and Drury will be notified before it airs. He plans on having a little "get-together" to watch the show with his friends or family, depending on where he is when the show airs.

He won at least a $500 house minimum, but he has decided not to say how much money he won, instead choosing to wait until the show airs.

"The experience was as good as the money," Drury said. "You get your 22 minutes of fame on national television."

Drury said he hopes that this is just the start to his game show experience and would like to be a contestant on Jeopardy some day.

"If the opportunity to try out comes along, do it," Drury said.


Story originally posted on 10/02/02

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