“”Wheel of Fortune”” rolled into UCSD on March 6 to audition students as a celebration of the 20th anniversary of “”America’s Favorite Gameshow in America’s Finest City.”” Boasting a new game board and improved Wheelmobile, producers spent three hours calling students from the crowd gathered on Warren Mall.
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“”Colleges are a huge part of what we do,”” said Suzy Rosenberg, promotion director for Columbia Tristar television. “”We’re definitely interested in getting and keeping student viewers.””
Whether it was the numerous prizes given to contestants or the possibility of winning big on the show, sponsors seemed to think the event was successful, since several hundred students showed up during the course of the selection. They were enthusiastic about their shot at fame.
“”It was definitely a lot of fun,”” said Gabe Grossman, a John Muir College junior and A.S. Commissioner of Programming. “”I mean, I felt a little goofy, but it was a lot of fun.””
The students vying for a spot on the show were as diverse as UCSD gets — freshmen to seniors, communications majors to bioengineers — all came to test their luck at the mobile game board.
Sarah Vanderhal was randomly selected to audition for a slot on the show. This freshman math and music double-major is actually the product of the show.
Her mother won a trip to Europe on the show many years ago. While touring the continent, she met a Dutchman who was later to become her husband. Sarah is the first of their two kids. She was understandably thrilled by the opportunity to complete the cycle on “”Wheel of Fortune.””
It is this natural enthusiasm that producers are looking for in addition to the ability to solve puzzles.
“”We’re looking for people who know how to play the game,”” said Harry Friedman, executive producer of “”Wheel of Fortune.”” Friedman promised that 15 students would be selected from area colleges, but San Diego is apparently a preferred locale for taping “”Wheel of Fortune.””
“”We love San Diego,”” Friedman said. “”It really represents what people think of about California, and we get consistent results from San Diego [contestant] searches.””
UCSD is even favored among local colleges. According to Rosenberg, the lower number of applicants at UCSD as opposed to SDSU is more than offset by the quality of the candidates.
“”We may see less people here, but they’re better candidates,”” Rosenberg said.
Episodes filmed with contestants found in these searches should begin airing at the end of the month under the themes “”San Diego Week,”” “”College Week”” and “”Armed Forces Week.””
