Bernie Cullen, a graduate student in biology at UC Santa Barbara from Santa Barbara, California, was a contestant on the primetime version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire on April 15, 2001. He was the eighth American contestant to win the top prize.
Bernie Cullen was born around 1972 in Dublin, Ireland. His parents later emigrated to the United States, living in Chicago, Illinois. He likely attended college in Chicago and later moved to Santa Barbara, California at an unknown point in his life, to study at U.C. Santa Barbara. He visited Antarctica, and also visited Brazil, saying he is fluent in Portuguese.
Cullen was an undefeated five-time champion on Jeopardy! in 1996 (first appearing on the Season 13 premiere), winning his first game with a large bet on a Daily Double. He won $63,102, plus another $1,000 as a Tournament of Champions Quarterfinalist later that year. Bernie returned for the show's Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005, being eliminated in the first round, which earned him $5,000.
WWTBAM Run[]
Fastest Finger Question[]
Fastest Finger Question
Put these scientists in geographic order by their country of birth, starting in the U.S. and going east.
⬥ A: Albert Einstein
⬥ B: Andrei Sakharov
⬥ C: Carl Sagan
⬥ D: Isaac Newton
Out of 9 contestants, eight got it right, but Bernie was the fastest to answer C-D-A-B (the correct order) in a time of 5.04 seconds, making it into the Hot Seat.
Bernie's Run to the Million[]
$100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of the following mythological creatures breathes fire?
⬥ A: Unicorn
⬥ B: Centaur
⬥ C: Dragon
⬥ D: High school principal
$200 (2 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of these phrases is often used to describe a trusted aide?
⬥ A: Right-hand man
⬥ B: Left-leg lady
⬥ C: Torso buddy
⬥ D: Left-eye Lopes
$300 (3 of 15) - Not Timed
A sauna is a room that people generally visit to do what?
⬥ A: Sleep
⬥ B: Sweat
⬥ C: Eat
⬥ D: Fall in love
$500 (4 of 15) - Not Timed
In medieval times, which of these professionals was responsible for entertaining the royal courts?
⬥ A: Barber
⬥ B: Knight
⬥ C: Jester
⬥ D: Blacksmith
Bernie said that Regis would look great as a jester, to which Regis replied, "I think I'd look better as a knight."
$1,000 (5 of 15) - Not Timed
For over 50 years, what treat was traditionally included in packs of baseball trading cards?
⬥ A: Chocolate wafer
⬥ B: Gummi bear
⬥ C: Mint stick
⬥ D: Bubblegum
$2,000 (6 of 15) - Not Timed
A parasol is a lightweight form of what accessory?
⬥ A: Umbrella
⬥ B: Hat
⬥ C: Cane
⬥ D: Bracelet
$4,000 (7 of 15) - Not Timed
Seaweed is a form of what?
⬥ A: Bacteria
⬥ B: Algae
⬥ C: Fungus
⬥ D: Sea urchin
$8,000 (8 of 15) - Not Timed
Who was the leader of the band on the TV series "Sha Na Na"?
⬥ A: Benson
⬥ B: Bosley
⬥ C: Bowzer
⬥ D: Baba-Booey
$16,000 (9 of 15) - Not Timed
At the time of his election, who was the oldest person to become President of the United States? 'Phone-a-Friend' lifeline used
⬥ A: George Washington
⬥ B: Herbert Hoover
⬥ C: Woodrow Wilson
⬥ D: Ronald Reagan
Bernie thought the answer was Ronald Reagan, but after guessing on the previous question, he didn't want to press his luck, so he used the "Phone-a-Friend" to call his friend Bob. Bob was 100% certain the answer was indeed D: Ronald Reagan.
However, this is actually a bad question: George Washington, being the very first president, would have technically also been the oldest at the time of his election; therefore, A is also correct.
$32,000 (10 of 15) - Not Timed
The Pecos River is a major tributary of what U.S. river?
⬥ A: Rio Grande
⬥ B: Platte
⬥ C: Snake
⬥ D: Colorado
$64,000 (11 of 15) - Not Timed
In the 2000 movie "Gladiator," Russell Crowe's character is a gladiator under what Roman emperor?
⬥ A: Titus
⬥ B: Commodus
⬥ C: Nero
⬥ D: Claudius
$125,000 (12 of 15) - Not Timed
In 1911, what did explorer Hiram Bingham discover between two peaks in the Andes mountains?
⬥ A: City of Machu Picchu
⬥ B: Frozen woolly mammoth
⬥ C: Lake Titicaca
⬥ D: Meteorite from Mars
Bernie, before the answers come up: "Better be Machu Picchu."
$250,000 (13 of 15) - Not Timed
What 1953 novel marked the first appearance of Ian Fleming's agent James Bond?
⬥ A: Doctor No
⬥ B: Goldfinger
⬥ C: Casino Royale
⬥ D: Live and Let Die
After Regis said "novel," Bernie said Casino Royale.
Regis: "Can I get through the question?"
$500,000 (14 of 15) - Not Timed
When three celestial bodies form a straight line, what is it called?
⬥ A: Simoom
⬥ B: Syzygy
⬥ C: String theory
⬥ D: Saprobity
$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
What letter must appear at the beginning of the registration number of all non-military aircraft in the U.S.? 'Ask the Audience' and '50:50' lifelines used
Unsure, he decided to use his "Ask the Audience" lifeline. 69% of the audience said it was N, but decided to use his 50:50 to see if N would still remain. The computer took out A and L, leaving N and U as the possible answers. After declaring that he thought the answer was either L or N, Bernie went with the audience and famously uttered "N, A, final answer, Regis!". Amazingly, the audience turned out to be correct, and he won $1,000,000. Bernie Cullen: Millionaire
His win occurred 5 days after Kevin Olmstead's victory.
He is somewhat notable for wearing an orange sweater during his run.
Bernie may have led to Regis Philbin correcting an incorrect assumption he had held about the best use of the lifelines. When Bernie asked Regis if he should use 50:50 or Ask the Audience first, Regis suggested using 50:50 first so the audience's answers aren't spread around, however upon hearing this Bernie showed clear confusion and realization before asking to use Ask the Audience first. This is correct, as statistically, using Ask the Audience before 50:50 reduces the chance of audience members changing their vote to a total guess after the 50:50 is used, whereas a clash vote is caused by removing two wrong answers before polling the audience. This concept was not understood by Jason Alexander when he mocked 5% of the audience for voting for two removed answers after a 50:50. After Bernie's win, Regis was known to occasionally suggest using Ask the Audience first and then 50:50.
Here’s an example: If Bernie had instead decided to use 50:50 first rather than Ask the Audience, an audience member who initially believed that D: L was the correct answer may have instead gone with C: U after the former answer was removed, if multiple audience members did this, it further narrows the vote down between two answers and a contestant is more likely to choose the wrong answer as a result. If every single audience member who voted for B: A as well as D: L had changed their vote to C: U, the Ask the Audience Results would have instead been A: 69% and C: 31%.
In Bernie’s case, however, he still would have won $1,000,000 even if he had used 50:50 first, as 69% of the audience (an overwhelming majority) chose the correct answer.
