Daniel Frederick "Dan" Blonsky, a lawyer from Miami, Florida, was a contestant on the U.S. version of the show on January 16-18, 2000. He became the second American contestant to win $1,000,000, after John Carpenter.
On May 23, 2000, he appeared on Champions Edition to play for the charity Miami Bridge Youth and Family Services, which he was the president of. He won $1,000 (half of it went to the charity) after missing the $32,000 question, bringing his total Millionaire winnings to $1,001,000.
Put the following words in the order that they were said in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.
⬥ A: Liberty
⬥ B: Flag
⬥ C: Justice
⬥ D: Indivisible
From the 8 contestants, 5 got it right, but Dan (with a time of 5.65 seconds) was the fastest to correctly answer B-D-A-C, making it into the Hot Seat.
Dan's Run to the Million[]
$100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed
What does it mean to receive a "pink slip" at work?
⬥ A: You're getting promoted
⬥ B: You're getting a raise
⬥ C: You're fired
⬥ D: You won an office pool
$200 (2 of 15) - Not Timed
What do you need to play the traditional game "cat's cradle"?
⬥ A: String
⬥ B: Dice
⬥ C: Jacks
⬥ D: Cards
$300 (3 of 15) - Not Timed
What breed of dog was film and TV star Lassie?
⬥ A: St. Bernard
⬥ B: Collie
⬥ C: German shepherd
⬥ D: Poodle
$500 (4 of 15) - Not Timed
How many cells make up an amoeba?
⬥ A: Three
⬥ B: Two
⬥ C: One
⬥ D: Zero
$1,000 (5 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of the following items are traditionally stored in a humidor to keep them fresh?
⬥ A: Bread
⬥ B: Cheese
⬥ C: Wine
⬥ D: Cigars
$2,000 (6 of 15) - Not Timed
"Al dente" is often used to describe a preparation of which of the following foods?
⬥ A: Meat
⬥ B: Fish
⬥ C: Pasta
⬥ D: Cake
The klaxon called time and Dan would return on $2,000 will all lifelines still available.
$4,000 (7 of 15) - Not Timed
Which New York City building was bombed by terrorists in 1993?
⬥ A: Grand Central Terminal
⬥ B: World Trade Center
⬥ C: City Hall
⬥ D: Empire State Building
$8,000 (8 of 15) - Not Timed
In the film "Notting Hill", where does Hugh Grant's character work? "Ask the Audience" lifeline used
Dan thought it was A, but was not certain, so he asked the audience, resulting in a very large percentage of them saying that it was A. Completely sure of his answer now, Dan went for it and now has $8,000.
$16,000 (9 of 15) - Not Timed
Panama borders which of the following countries to connect Central and South America?
⬥ A: Ecuador
⬥ B: Venezuela
⬥ C: Nicaragua
⬥ D: Colombia
$32,000 (10 of 15) - Not Timed
What did the 45-foot-tall "Hollywood" sign say when it was originally built in 1923?
⬥ A: Hollywood, CA
⬥ B: Hello Hollywood
⬥ C: Hollywoodland
⬥ D: Hollywoodville
$64,000 (11 of 15) - Not Timed
What comedian was a featured player on both "In Living Color" and "Saturday Night Live"?
⬥ A: Keenen Ivory Wayans
⬥ B: Jim Carrey
⬥ C: Chris Rock
⬥ D: Ellen Cleghorne
Dan didn't know, but he eventually came to Chris Rock through process of elimination.
$125,000 (12 of 15) - Not Timed
What country first granted women the right to vote in national elections in 1971? "50:50" lifeline used
⬥ A: Philippines
⬥ B: Switzerland
⬥ C: Morocco
⬥ D: Hungary
$250,000 (13 of 15) - Not Timed
When she used her CB radio in the White House, former first lady Betty Ford went by what handle?
⬥ A: First Mama
⬥ B: Gerry's Girl
⬥ C: Columbia
⬥ D: Lady Liberty
$500,000 (14 of 15) - Not Timed
In 1974, which celebrity appeared on the first cover of "People" magazine? "Phone-a-Friend" lifeline used
⬥ A: Elizabeth Taylor
⬥ B: Jane Fonda
⬥ C: Mary Tyler Moore
⬥ D: Mia Farrow
Dan did not know, so he decided to phone his friend Jeff, who said "It was definitely Mia Farrow." He decided to go with him, and won $500,000.
$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
The Earth is approximately how many miles away from the Sun?
⬥ A: 9.3 million
⬥ B: 39 million
⬥ C: 93 million
⬥ D: 193 million
Dan would immediately answer the question if it were a $4,000 question, as he thought it was 93 million miles (even narrowing the answers to C and D), and made it his final answer. An excited Regis would then exclaim, "You've just won a million dollars!"
Dan Blonsky: Millionaire
Champion's Edition Run[]
Fastest Finger Question[]
Fastest Finger Question
Put these Richard Dreyfuss films in order of their first theatrical release, starting with the earliest.
⬥ A: Tin Men
⬥ B: Mr. Holland's Opus
⬥ C: Jaws
⬥ D: American Graffiti
The correct order was D-C-A-B and 4 of the 10 contestants got it right. However, Dan Blonsky was the fastest with 4.13 seconds.
Dan's Second Run to the Million[]
$100 (1 of 15) - Not timed
According to a popular phrase, you should "Strike while" what "is hot"?
⬥ A: Iron
⬥ B: Anvil
⬥ C: Hammer
⬥ D: Your dinner
$200 (2 of 15) - Not timed
What legendary figure is known for riding naked through the streets of Coventry?
⬥ A: Lone Ranger
⬥ B: Headless Horseman
⬥ C: Lady Godiva
⬥ D: Evel Knievel
$300 (3 of 15) - Not timed
Which of the following punctuation marks looks like a period above a comma?
⬥ A: Ellipsis
⬥ B: Exclamation point
⬥ C: Semicolon
⬥ D: Colon
$500 (4 of 15) - Not timed
Where is the commemorative statue of the film character Rocky Balboa?
⬥ A: Denver
⬥ B: Philadelphia
⬥ C: Jacksonville
⬥ D: Houston
$1,000 (5 of 15) - Not timed
Which of the following is a Jewish place of worship?
⬥ A: Synagogue
⬥ B: Mosque
⬥ C: Cathedral
⬥ D: Kiva
$2,000 (6 of 15) - Not timed
What is the main ingredient in sauerkraut?
⬥ A: Broccoli
⬥ B: Cucumber
⬥ C: Lettuce
⬥ D: Cabbage
$4,000 (7 of 15) - Not timed
On the television series "Get Smart," what part of Maxwell Smart's attire doubled as a phone?
⬥ A: Hat
⬥ B: Shoe
⬥ C: Watch
⬥ D: Tie
$8,000 (8 of 15) - Not timed
George Pullman is best known for what improvement to railroad transportation?
⬥ A: Sleeping car
⬥ B: Standardized gauge
⬥ C: Rail brake system
⬥ D: Bullet train
Dan was thinking about the Pullman cars, so he went for A and got it right.
$16,000 (9 of 15) - Not timed
The saying "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" is attributed to whom? "50:50" lifeline used.
⬥ A: Winston Churchill
⬥ B: Sigmund Freud
⬥ C: Groucho Marx
⬥ D: Andrew Carnegie
Dan decided to use his 50:50, which got rid of A and D, leaving Dan with the two he was debating between. He decided to go for B, which was right.
$32,000 (10 of 15) - Not timed
Which of the following games is most closely related to the English game skittles? "Ask the Audience" lifeline used.
Dan thought $32,000 was a big step, so he asked the audience. 39% said it was D: Shuffleboard, but the results were a little spread out with 29% saying C: Bowling. Dan was leaning towards Shuffleboard, so he went for it, but the correct answer was C: Bowling.
Dan Blonsky's run to the million (Part 1)