Fame and Fortune (US)
| Fame and Fortune | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Michigan Lottery |
| Presented by |
Chuck Gaidica Diane Sarnecky |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minute |
| Release | |
| Original network | WDIV (Michigan only) |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| Original release | January 28, 1989 – April 6, 1991 |
Fame and Fortune was a game show that aired from January 28, 1989 to April 6, 1991. It was developed by the Michigan Lottery. The hosts included Chuck Gaidica from WDIV and Diane Sarnecky, a Detroit area model.
Each week, six contestants played. Their names were drawn from those who had submitted scratch off Fame & Fortune lottery tickets with three TV symbols.
The show taped on Friday afternoons at Detroit's WDIV-TV and aired Saturday evening on WDIV and eight other stations around the state. Breaks during the show allowed for commercials and coverage of live drawings of the evening's Daily 3, Daily 4, Lotto and Zinger games.
Game Play
Fortune Round
The object of the game was to accumulate $1,000. Dollar amounts from -$300 to +$300 were randomly hidden behind the seven letters in the word FORTUNE. One by one, contestants picked a letter and the amount was revealed and added or subtracted to the contestants tally. If the revealed amount would put the contestant below zero or over $1000, the score did not change. However, landing back at zero eliminated the contestant from the game with a $500 consolation prize.
A "car" card was used once each game beginning in round 2. The contestant who found it had the option of leaving the game with a luxury car (usually a Cadillac) or playing on, taking whatever amount was behind the CAR card.
If a contestant accumulated exactly $1,000, the current round was played out to give remaining contestants a chance to tie. Ties were broken by having the tied contestants play one additional round, although random two digit numbers were used instead of dollar amounts.
If no contestant reached $1,000 after four rounds, the contestant with the highest score was declared the winner and awarded $50,000.
Spin To Win
The remaining contestants then played a second round called Spin To Win. They had the choice of keeping the money they earned in the front game or risking it by spinning a wheel with prizes ranging from $500 to $5,000.
Draw for Next Week
At the end of the show, the hosts drew submitted tickets from a plexiglass drum and read the names aloud to determine who would play the following week. At some point, the drawing was moved offstage and only the winning names were read from a list.
The program aired for the last time on April 6, 1991 and was replaced by Megabucks Giveaway the next week.
References
- Michigan Lottery Through The Years
- THE MEDIA BUSINESS; State Lotteries Win on TV Game Shows
- Wilcox plans home repair with $50,000