John Carpenter (game show contestant) facts for kids

John Carpenter, born on December 24, 1967, is an American game show contestant. He is famous for being the very first person to win the top prize on the American TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He was also the first top-prize winner in the entire Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? series around the world.

John Carpenter held the record for the biggest single win on a U.S. game show for a while. This record was later broken by someone else.

Becoming a Millionaire

On November 19, 1999, John Carpenter appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He was amazing because he reached the final question without using any of his special lifelines. These lifelines are usually there to help contestants when they get stuck.

When he got to the million-dollar question, he decided to use his "Phone-a-Friend" lifeline. But he didn't call his father for help with the answer. Instead, he called just to tell him that he was about to win the game! John then answered the question correctly and became the show's first millionaire.

His big win made him famous across the country. He appeared on many talk shows and even came back to play on Millionaire again.

John Carpenter's Early Life and Job

John Carpenter was born in Hamden, Connecticut. He went to Rutgers University and finished his studies in 1990. He earned a degree in economics.

In 1991, he started working for the Internal Revenue Service, which is a government agency that collects taxes. He still works there today. In 1998, he married his wife, Deborah. When he won on Millionaire, he was 31 years old. The audience playfully booed him when he said he worked for the IRS, but it was all in fun!

The Million-Dollar Question

John Carpenter wasn't very interested in Millionaire at first. But one night, he watched it with friends and realized he could answer the tough questions. So, he called the show's hotline and got on the show very quickly.

The show's host, Regis Philbin, said John "cruised right through" the first 14 questions. The final $1 million question was: "Which of these U.S. Presidents appeared on the television series Laugh-In?" The choices were A) Lyndon Johnson, B) Richard Nixon, C) Jimmy Carter, and D) Gerald Ford.

John used his Phone-A-Friend lifeline to call his dad. He told his dad he was going to win the million dollars. John later said he faked needing help so he wouldn't seem too confident. He answered "Richard Nixon" and won!

John's win made him the first person in the world to win the top prize on any Millionaire show. He said the only question that made him nervous was about the location of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. He remembered it was in Tombstone, Arizona from a movie. After winning, he thought about quitting his job but decided to keep working for the IRS. He realized the money wasn't enough to stop working forever after taxes. He also said the fame changed his life more than the money did.

After the Big Win

Soon after winning Millionaire, John Carpenter appeared on the TV show Saturday Night Live. He played himself in a funny skit. He also appeared on other popular talk shows like Good Morning America and Oprah Winfrey Show.

John Carpenter also helped write a trivia book called Matching Wits With the Million-Dollar Mind. It was published in 2002.

More Game Show Appearances

In 2000, John played again in the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Champions Edition. In this special show, past winners played to win money for charity. John won an extra $250,000, bringing his total Millionaire winnings to $1,250,000.

He also appeared on other game shows. In 2004, he was one of the "Three Wise Men" on Super Millionaire. He was also on 1 vs. 100 in 2006 and Grand Slam.

John Carpenter returned to Millionaire for its tenth anniversary in 2009. His family was in the audience with him. He also became an "Ask the Expert" for the show, helping new contestants. He even appeared in the audience for the show's 25th anniversary in 2024.

See also

In Spanish: John Carpenter (concursante de TV) para niños