Melissa Joan Hart is the 'Celebrity Wheel of Fortune"s first $1 million winner
By the wild-eyed look on the show's legendary veteran presenter, Melissa Joan Hart of "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" knew something miraculous had happened during her appearance on ABC's "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune."
"Vanna White's face turned white," says Hart. "Vanna looked at me and was like, 'You got it! You got it!' I hit the roof. She hit the roof.
It's time for the confetti to fly. When squaring off against Tituss Burgess and Lacey Chabert on Sunday's broadcast, Hart, 45, became the first "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" $1 million winner (for charity).
Hart, who lost an epic 1998 "Celebrity Jeopardy" duel to Fred Savage, adds, "It was super exciting and pretty nerve-wracking; I rarely win game shows,"
Hart joins a select group of celebrities after winning "Celebrity." Since its inception in 2008, the syndicated "Wheel of Fortune" has only had three "Million Dollar Wedge" winners.
Is it a coincidence that Hart's win happened on the 25th anniversary of her breakout role on ABC's "Sabrina" in 1996?
"I would like to say witchcraft was involved," says Hart. "But to be honest, I prayed a lot more than any kind of sorcery. I literally prayed every round, especially that winning round. I'd close my eyes and say, 'God, give me focus and calm and let me just read these letters.' "
To boost her puzzle-solving abilities, divine intervention was required. Hart had to spin the wheel twice, land on Million Dollar Wedges, and solve both puzzles while competing against knowledgeable competitors including long-time friend Chabert, who had figured out the show's first challenge without any help.
"Lacey is a shark from 'Wheel of Fortune,'" says Hart. "She was on fire in the first round. I simply couldn't notice the words as quickly as she did."
Hardcore devotee Hart – "my mother used to watch the show every night before supper" – had been honing her abilities on the "Wheel of Fortune" app while putting her youngest son Tucker 9, to bed each night for weeks. She explains, "I wasn't going in there blind; I'm a prepared person."
This homework was crucial in solving the "Bran Muffin" bonus round puzzle, which was the winner. When emcee Pat Sajak announced the winner, Hart shrieked and placed her quivering palms to her head.
Hart, who was paid a small fee to appear on the game show, raised $1.039,800 for Youth Villages, an organisation that assists emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children and their families.
Hart, overjoyed, asked the show's producers if she might have the $1 million winner card as a memento. "They had to ask the prop people if they could manufacture more of these," Hart explains. "Not only did I win the million, but I also stole the million-dollar card," says the winner.
Along with her show nametag and a dusting of winning confetti, Hart's gift card, signed by Sajak and White, hangs in her Nashville, Tennessee, home office. Hart can finally show off the new items to the room and publicly celebrate her victory now that the episode has aired.
She had to keep the victory a secret from the Youth Villages organisation, whose organisers will be overjoyed to receive the funds.
"I didn't leak it," says Hart. "I was like, 'Guys, you'll have to watch me on 'Wheel of Fortune.' It's going to be epic.'"
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