One of the things that made Press Your Luck so unique was that the players eventually came out of their shell as it were. Sometimes they did funny faces when things happened, sometimes they had a set of lungs on them that would shatter glass, and sometimes they just had something happen to them that was so out there or so upsetting that it just becomes memorable. Here, we showcase 20 of the contestants that have come so close to our hearts, and some that were devestated by The Whammy.
LANA JONES (9/19/1983)
Lana made her appearance on the first episode of Press Your Luck. Aside from
pressing her luck when she shouldn't have and passing when she shouldn't have, her
trademark happened in the question rounds. She was asked a question about cars and
stealing them. She was asked to give a model of a car, and she said
"Chevorlet". After Peter repeated that she needed to give a model, she thought
long and hard and said, "Mercedes". After some laughter, she goes, "Isn't that one?"
What a great way to start off!
J.C. had his share of some cool stuff too. First off, his trademark saying was
"Shoot The Works!" He said it at the beginning of almost every spin that he took.
However, during his game, there was one time that he whammied out of about $6200.
He lept out of his chair screaming, and was so loud that you couldn't stand it.
In case you can't find him in the picture, his body is in the middle
where his face is supposed to be found, and the back of his bald
head is to the left of the lower-left space. :-)
Maggie really loved the shows concept. Aside from being on the pilot of
"Second Chance", a presuccessor to the game, she also appeared on the pilot of
PYL, as well as a typical episode as well. She was very tense and wasn't
loose at all. Worried all the time, made all sorts of little noises whenever she
took a spin. She is what we would simply call, "omnipotent". :-) On the picture
you see, Maggie just whammied, and shocking for us, she screamed out loud, "AWWWW
SHOOT!" (This was not like her at all!)
Karen got more publicity in the game show world as being "the weird one that
introduced the Larson Sweep". Appearing for two days, Karen had a strange fashion
taste (I don't care if it WAS 1984!) - Also, she had all kinds of little sayings
that she would say, including, "Make me rich, whammies you can DROP DEAD!" She
also wanted so badly to have a pool table. One her second day, she kept chanting
that she "wanted one for Dan", and she stopped at one. (She lost it in the picture
you see... Boy is she pissed!)
Laurie was this cute little mouse of a thing... at first! Looks are very strange,
because at the very end of the game, when she won a decent amount, she let out a
squeal that was so loud, it could be compared to that ultra high frequency that
they use to make the underground rodents go away. Peter even shot a look at someone
backstage, as if to say, "What the hell was that?" In the picture, you can see that
the player on the left looks like he is in such pain from the sound! And if you've
heard her before, you know it!
Paul Michael Larson. He's the player you've heard so much about, even if you are just
a minor fan of Press Your Luck. He's the guy that "broke the code" on the show. He
memorized the big board's patterns! This ice cream truck driver from Ohio took this
knowledge and took CBS for $110,237 in cash and prizes. While the network originally
tried to deny him the money, Larson said that "It was just like me breaking the books
to get on Jeopardy." - He took the money home, but made bad investments and lost it all.
Only one month of GSN airing Press Your Luck and I already have a new addition to this section!
This screenwriter from Chicago was just pure fun. Along with doing a little breakdance of her
own with the Whammy, she always threw her entire body on top of the plunger when she stopped the
big board, or buzzed in to answer a question! She also had a high pitched scream in which Peter said, "I think my eyes are cracked! You got quite a scream!" On her last spin, she screamed, "I don't care if I get $500! STOP!"
Karin wasn't totally all that crazy. However one of the things is that she always did this sound when she Whammied that sounded like she was a duck. One time she not only made the sounds of a duck, but she even pretended that her hand was a duck. (I'm not sure if this really is the way that the deaf say "No" with their hands, but that is what she claimed.) And just like Beverlie Peters (see another 3 contestants down), she too had the tendency to go unnaturally crosseyed at times. But, she was a lot of fun.
There isn't much that can be said about Gene that hasn't been said before. Aside from
the fact that under that suit jacket and tie there is a pair of typical blue jeans,
Gene just had a good time on the show. But after he won the game in the very end of the
show, he just couldn't handle it anymore. He kept on screaming at the top of his lungs
deeply, and he had this fascination with pointing to everything. The big board, Peter
Tomarken, the fellow players, and yes, he even pointed at himself at one point!
To my knowledge, Cathy is one for the actual record books, for losing the most money
at once to a Whammy. After playing spin tag with a fellow contestant for over 6 minutes,
and both players continuing to hit money, along with an additional spin, Cathy eventually
hit a Whammy and lost. However, this was after collecting a total of $31,408 in
cash and prizes. The look on her face was pure sadness, because this was her second
appearance, and she only won $2,950 on the first show. I am sure she wanted more!)
Beverlie just had to have a headache, lock jaw, or sight problems by the time she was
done on Press Your Luck. Whenever she hit big, her face made some of the most unique
squints and crosses that I don't think anyone but her could recreate. The host even said
at one point, "Beverlie! You look like you are in pain! Are you all right?" I mean, look
at those eyes! Look at that big mouth! Just be grateful that she won some money on her first
show actually pay for any surgery she mad have needed at the end.
Rita wanted so badly to win, but it sure as hell didn't show! She is the only contestant
that was ever on the show not once, but TWICE, and still didn't take home any money!
On her first show, she had $0 at the end, and the other two players Whammied-Out, so she was
the only one to return. On the second episode, she also won $0 (due to passing at very stupid
times), but this time, her opponents weren't so lucky to both Whammy-Out. But judging from the picture (Rita is the one on the right), she had a good time. :-)
Just replace "Jennie" with "Jenny", and look REAL hard... Yep, this is the same Jenny Jones that
has that ever so popular daytime talk show! I must admit that Jenny looks better here than she ever did. (The eighties WAS the period with big hair and big ideas!) However, aside from Jennie Jones going on to be a celebrity, she had something happen to her that only happened a few times. She was one of the few that stopped at "Pick A Corner", and had the option to pick a Whammy in the upper left corner. (DUH!)
With today's "television rating board", when GSN airs Jim Hess and his episode, it may have to be
rated "TV-14". Why? Because in the three year run of the show, Jim was one of only two contestants that flat out cussed the Whammy out! In the first round after hitting his third whammy, he said under his breath (but clear to the audience), "Aww sh|t..." However, in the last round when he Whammied again, real loud he screamed, "GEEZE FU¢K!! SH|T!!" After it all settled down, Jim just grinned and beared it.
Lana represented Alabama during College Week in 1985. Truely from the south! If she looks confused, she should be. After buzzing in with an answer and squealing in delight, she realized that she gave the wrong answer and got really confused. Her chant? "Whammies, stay outta town!" (The word "town" took about four syllables to say all the way through). After hitting a cheerleader Whammy and asked if that's how they cheer in Alabama, she said "no", and played with her hair like Suzanne Sugarbaker would.
Lela cannot really be put into words. She was a very hyper contestant, that is for one, however
she had this special kinda charm to her that made her unique. It could be because this
woman was big busted, and the entire time she played, she jumped up and
down hard. (Looked like she was gonna pop herself in the chin at one point!) After she won the game, she ran down and gave Peter a huge hug that I am sure he wasn't expecting. (In the pic, she lost her mic, and Peter just says, "You don't need it!")
Steve was one of the few players that I can honestly say I vividly remember from the original
PYL airings. His trademark was that after every spin he took, he would scream, "Big Bucks,
No WHAAAAAAAMMIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!" It would take as long as 15 seconds for him to
finish the word "Whammies"... Very loud, but very memorable! In fact, this picture was made just
for him (notice that there are no Whammies on the board), because whenever he didn't do that trademark, he would stop at a Whammy!
Maxine made a very, VERY, big boo-boo in the first episode she was in. During the opening
introductions, Peter asked her if she was just visiting California. Her responce? "I came all the way here just to see you, and The Price Is.... er, Press Your Luck!" A lot of booing happened in the audience, and Peter just asked flat out, "Do I look like Bob Barker to you??" In the end, all was well, and Maxine won the game, but that moment was just so unexpected! (In the pic, she looks like someone stuck something someplace!)
While Billy wasn't nearly as bad as Jim Hess was, Billy not only has a minor cuss for the Whammy,
but said it loudly and repeatedly as he was playing the game... The entire time the board was spinning, he would go, "WHAMMY, BE DAMNED!" Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help him one "damn" bit, because he whammied out early in the game and got to go home without a "damn" thing at all!
(Can you detect a pattern forming here? Because if you can't, I'll be "damned" if you are sane at all! :-)
Paige appeared during the shows final months, and had something very odd happen to her. While
she was trying to answer a question in the question rounds, the plastic "N" on the "SPINS" sign in front of her fell right to the ground! Everything goes silent, followed by a chuckle in the audience, and then the players lost it. Peter goes over and hands the "N" to Paige. Peter then asks everyone if the show had been renewed, and then goes on to say that this would "Never happen to Bob Barker!" Goofy!
"J.C." (1/30/1984)
MAGGIE BROWN (3/9/1984, 3/12/1984)
KAREN MARTIN (4/2-3/1984)
LAURIE LLOYD (4/11-12/1984)
MICHAEL LARSON (6/8/1984, 6/11/1984)
HELEN BATES (7/2-3/1984)
KARIN GUEDSEN (7/16/1984)
GENE SYNDER (7/23-24/1984)
CATHY SINGER (8/9-10/1984)
BEVERLIE PETERS (8/13-14/1984)
RITA THORNBERG (1/23-24/1985)
JENNIE JONES (1/28-30/1985)
JIM HESS (2/26/1985)
LANA SHACKELFORD (4/2/1985)
"LELA" (5/9-10/1985)
STEVE BRYANT (7/12/1985; 7/15-16/1985)
MAXINE PARKS (9/4/1985)
"BILLY" (6/12/1986)
PAIGE GREEN (6/16-18/1986)