Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? premiered on ABC on August 16, 1999. The popular game show was based on the British quiz program of the same name, in which contestants answer multiple-choice questions for money, slowly building their way up to the million-dollar top prize. Not long after its debut, the show began inviting celebrity participants, including Alec Baldwin, Joy Behar, and Jon Stewart, among many others. One such star who showed up early on was Norm Macdonald, who appeared as a contestant in November 2000.
Playing for Paul Newman’s charity, Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for sick children, Macdonald breezed through most of the questions he was asked on the show, which, in fairness, were pretty easy. For example, an early question that he answered correctly was, “What part of the human body is often described as being ‘innie’ or ‘outie’?” Another one that posed no challenge was, “If someone has a ‘six-figure income,’ what is the minimum amount that he makes in one year?” Things, of course, eventually got more difficult as Macdonald progressed, and by the time he reached the $64,000 tier, he started asking for assistance, even calling up his friend and Simpsons co-creator, Sam Simon, at one point.
After using up two of his three lifelines back-to-back, host Regis Philbin jokingly asked Macdonald, “How [are] you gonna win a million dollars with one lifeline left?” to which the comedian replied, “I’m not now! That dream’s as good as dead.” Despite his lack of confidence, Macdonald still managed to make it all the way to the million-dollar question, but not before utilizing his final lifeline just before that.
His final question on that night’s show was, “During the Cold War, the U.S. government built a bunker to house Congress under what golf resort?” and the choices were: “A: The Breakers,” “B: The Greenbrier,” “C: Pinehurst,” and “D: The Broadmoor.” Macdonald gave it some thought and said, “See, here’s the problem: Let’s say I lose all that money and it gets back to Paul Newman.” Philbin concurred with a smile, telling him, “That’s gonna be a problem.”
Macdonald then hesitantly started to say “Pinehurst,” before deciding not to go with the obvious answer and settling on “The Greenbrier.” “Please, before you say, ‘final answer,’ Norm, I’m not kidding…unless you’re sure,” Philbin cautioned him. “OK, fine, forget it,” Macdonald responded. He attempted to answer the question two more times, but Philbin’s warnings finally got to him. Macdonald ultimately backed out at the last second, only for Philbin to reveal that the answer he was planning to go with was the correct one.
When all was said and done, Macdonald walked away with half a million dollars and the comfort of knowing that he hadn’t gotten himself on Paul Newman’s bad side. Check out his full appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire below.
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