Circuit city

A faux tweet linked to an interesting story about Jesse Meyen, who's made a hobby out of appearing on game shows. I've made a hobby out of blogging about the things, so I guess that gives us something (sort of) in common.

Jesse's a teacher in L.A., so he needed something to do during those long summer months. He got tired of mundane odd jobs and decided to try out for Deal or No Deal. That audition didn't click because Jesse apparently didn't have the "big personality" so beloved by casting directors.

But Jesse disagreed. He thought his personality was big enough to get onto a game show somewhere. He tried an MTV project but got bounced because he didn't fit the youth demo. Still, the casting folks passed his application on to 5th Grader. He missed the network version but finally got his turn on the syndie and won $6,500.

His hobby was already paying a lot better than mine. A fellow teacher suggested he make the rounds of the "game show circuit." He tried Minute To Win It but didn't get to the 60-second circle. He did get a gig on NBC's short-lived Who's Still Standing. Sadly, he didn't stand for long. But he still liked the show and wondered why it got axed so quickly. I liked the show, too, by the way.

All along Jesse had his eye on the granddaddy of them all, Wheel of Fortune. Finally, his chance came and he made good for $16,700 of loot. "I spent 30 minutes — actually 22 minutes of actual film time, and it only took about 30 minutes all together — and came away with the money." Now he's thinking about Family Feud. Good luck.