'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' Premiere: 'Modern Family' star Eric Stonestreet wins $1,25,000 for charity
'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' returned to ABC tonight (April 8) for its 20th-anniversary edition. The limited series hosted by talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will feature celebrities playing the game for charity. It was time to party like it's 1999 with this season as it is the first time in 10 years that the show aired on TV screens in primetime.
Joining Kimmel on the show was Eric Stonestreet, popular for playing the role of Cameron Tucker on the hit show 'Modern Family' that aired its series finale episode right before 'Millionaire'. It was only fitting that Eric was the first contestant so as to provide the audiences at home with some respite after the emotion-packed finale. Turns out it was the right decision as Eric had his fun side on full display during the entirety of his time on the episode.
Eric revealed that he was playing this game for his sister Mauria Stonestreet's charity called 'Building Hopes for Autism' which is based out of their hometown in Kansas City. He revealed that he used to watch it a lot of times on television and he was nervous and excited at the same time to be a part of the show. Upon further prodding by Kimmel about what are his expectations with regards to the questions that will be asked, Eric mentioned he hasn't kept up with pop culture but would ace it if the questions were pertaining to farm animals, a subject that he has a great interest in and is well versed with.
The format of this season allows celebrities to bring along a companion who could help them in the game and Eric brought in Danny Zuker, writer and Executive Producer of 'Modern Family' who also happens to be his very good friend. Danny was sitting right behind him and Kimmel mentioned that Eric could solicit his help any time and as many times up until he hit the 10th question mark after which he would have to be on his own. The studio audiences aren't a part of the celebrity episodes and the 'Ask The Audience' lifeline was swapped with 'Ask The Host'.
Eric whizzed past the first ten questions without much difficulty and with a lot of help from Danny who Eric consulted on each question. The game got tougher after he crossed the 10th question and Eric was able to answer the 11th question that won him $64,000. The question following that was for 1,25,000 dollars and it was a tough one and Eric had to use a 'phone a friend' lifeline but that proved of no use as his assistant Tyler couldn't help him. Eric decided to go with his gut and even though he was unsure, he decided to take a chance and it was a good one and he had 1,25,000 dollars in his kitty that he could donate to his sister's charity.
The next question is what threw Eric off the tracks as the options were really confusing and with no lifelines left in hand, he decided it would not be a smart move to play the same and he walked away with 1,25,000 dollars sum at the end of his game.
'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' airs Wednesday nights on ABC.