Thomas Ashton, a screenwriter from Miami, Florida, was a contestant on the U.S. version of the show on April 13, and 18, 2000. He walked away with $250,000.
On May 25, 2000 he'd return for the Champions Edition shows, where contestants who won $250,000 or more would return to play the game again, this time, giving half their winnings for charity. Tom played for the UCLA Hospital's Department of Surgery and won $1,000 after missing his $32,000 question.
Put these musicians in the order of their birth country, starting in Japan and moving west.
⬥ A: Andrea Bocelli
⬥ B: Van Morrison
⬥ C: Itzhak Perlman
⬥ D: Carlos Santana
Five of nine answered C-A-B-D correctly, and Tom's time of 6.70 seconds was quickest.
Tom's Run to the Million[]
$100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed
In the song "Over the River and Through the Woods," where are the people going?
⬥ A: Racetrack
⬥ B: Sledding hill
⬥ C: Grandmother's house
⬥ D: Home Depot
$200 (2 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of the following terms is often used to describe a television program in the mystery genre?
⬥ A: Whysit
⬥ B: Whodunit
⬥ C: Howzat
⬥ D: Whuzzit
$300 (3 of 15) - Not Timed
What subculture popularized the exclamation "Gag me with a spoon"?
⬥ A: Valley Girls
⬥ B: Spice Girls
⬥ C: Hollywood Wives
⬥ D: Beastie Boys
$500 (4 of 15) - Not Timed
According to legend, who was Robin Hood's beloved?
⬥ A: Princess Ardala
⬥ B: Dame Edna
⬥ C: Maid Marian
⬥ D: Lady Macbeth
$1,000 (5 of 15) - Not Timed
Kosher dill and bread-and-butter are two kinds of what pickled vegetable?
⬥ A: Cauliflower
⬥ B: Zucchini
⬥ C: Green pepper
⬥ D: Cucumber
$2,000 (6 of 15) - Not Timed
What is the official term for the throng of spectators that attends a professional golf tournament?
⬥ A: Bastion
⬥ B: Gallery
⬥ C: Grandstand
⬥ D: Alcove
$4,000 (7 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of the following aquatic animals is not a mammal?
⬥ A: Whale
⬥ B: Shark
⬥ C: Dolphin
⬥ D: Porpoise
$8,000 (8 of 15) - Not Timed
In the movie "Marathon Man," what is the device used to torture Dustin Hoffman?
⬥ A: Leaking faucet
⬥ B: Hot scalpel
⬥ C: Dentist's drill
⬥ D: Revolver
$16,000 (9 of 15) - Not Timed
In what town can you visit the International UFO Museum and Research Center? '50:50' lifeline used
⬥ A: Devil's Tower, Wyoming
⬥ B: Pueblo, Colorado
⬥ C: Reno, Nevada
⬥ D: Roswell, New Mexico
Tom hasn't heard of this museum but notes that D would be the obvious choice. To make sure, he uses the 50:50 which seems to do the trick. Tom makes D his final answer and wins $16,000.
$32,000 (10 of 15) - Not Timed
At the end of the popular fable, what group did the Pied Piper lure away from the village of Hamelin? 'Ask the Audience' and 'Phone-a-Friend' lifelines used
Tom isn't sure, so he asks the audience. The results only give him more uncertainty since he thinks the Rats refer to a different fable, so he'll use his last lifeline and call his brother Bill and to save time, he only gives B & C as answers when reading the question.
Bill says he lured the Children away to punish the village, and just as time expires, he says he's 70% sure. Tom makes B his final answer and wins $32,000, but the klaxon sounds and he'll have to return with no lifelines left to go for $64,000.
$64,000 (11 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of these soap operas was created by Agnes Nixon?
⬥ A: Days of Our Lives
⬥ B: General Hospital
⬥ C: All My Children
⬥ D: Young and the Restless
Tom eliminates D, though he's not a soap opera fan at all… he's more of a primetime TV fan, so he doesn't know. Since he's got nothing to lose, and for some reason he thinks it's All My Children, he'll make C his final answer, and it turns out to be right for $64,000.
$125,000 (12 of 15) - Not Timed
The 1985 book "Hammer of the Gods" is about the excesses of which rock band?
⬥ A: Motley Crue
⬥ B: The Who
⬥ C: Aerosmith
⬥ D: Led Zeppelin
Tom immediately says Led Zeppelin and wins $125,000.
$250,000 (13 of 15) - Not Timed
What country was founded in the 1820s as a refuge for freed American slaves?
⬥ A: Liberia
⬥ B: Jamaica
⬥ C: Haiti
⬥ D: Cameroon
Tom says A, noting that Liberia's capital is Monrovia (named after James Monroe) and the flag is similar to the American flag. Without hesitation, he makes A his final answer and wins $250,000.
$500,000 (14 of 15) - Not Timed
The actor who appeared as the "Crying Indian" in TV ads about pollution in the early 1970s went by what name?
⬥ A: Chief Dan George
⬥ B: Iron Eyes Cody
⬥ C: James Young Deer
⬥ D: Graham Greene
Tom immediately narrows it down to A & B. After thinking it over, he's 80% sure it's Iron Eyes Cody, but to risk $218,000, he wants to be closer to 100%, and decides to walk away.
With a little more confidence, he'd have won a half million. The answer was in fact B: Iron Eyes Cody.
Total Prize Money: $250,000
Champions WWTBAM Run[]
Fastest Finger Question[]
Fastest Finger Question
Put the following U.S. landmarks in geographical order, starting in the west.
⬥ A: Mammoth Cave
⬥ B: Hoover Dam
⬥ C: Mount St. Helens
⬥ D: Devil's Tower
4 of 10 answered C-B-D-A correctly, but Tom's time of 7.03 seconds was fastest.
Tom's Second Run to the Million[]
$100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed
Which fictional spaceship did Capt. James T. Kirk command?
⬥ A: USS Alamo
⬥ B: USS Avis
⬥ C: USS Enterprise
⬥ D: USS Budget
$200 (2 of 15) - Not Timed
What part of the body can be shrugged?
⬥ A: Nose
⬥ B: Shoulders
⬥ C: Elbows
⬥ D: Atlas
$300 (3 of 15) - Not Timed
What do you call four babies born during the same birth?
⬥ A: Triplets
⬥ B: Twins
⬥ C: Quadruplets
⬥ D: Second mortgage
$500 (4 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of the following is a term for a male witch?
⬥ A: Warlock
⬥ B: Copperfield
⬥ C: Gargoyle
⬥ D: Dream weaver
$1,000 (5 of 15) - Not Timed
For what purpose were the Egyptian pyramids believed to have been built?
⬥ A: Libraries
⬥ B: Schools
⬥ C: Tombs
⬥ D: Concert halls
$2,000 (6 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of these fruits is related to the plantain?
⬥ A: Grape
⬥ B: Peach
⬥ C: Lemon
⬥ D: Banana
$4,000 (7 of 15) - Not Timed
Which explosive substance is also used as a treatment for symptoms of heart disease?
⬥ A: TNT
⬥ B: Plastique
⬥ C: Nitroglycerin
⬥ D: Gunpowder
$8,000 (8 of 15) - Not Timed
What comedy group is known for the catch phrase, "And now for something completely different"? '50:50' and 'Ask the Audience' lifelines used
Tom doesn't know this, but he's got it narrowed down to two, so he uses the 50:50, which only takes away the two he eliminated.
He then asks the audience, and while they didn't give the answer he was leaning towards, he takes their advice and wins $8,000.
$16,000 (9 of 15) - Not Timed
In what country is the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" set?
⬥ A: Russia
⬥ B: Poland
⬥ C: Hungary
⬥ D: Israel
$32,000 (10 of 15) - Not Timed
What does a farrier do for a living?
⬥ A: Traps minks
⬥ B: Shoes horses
⬥ C: Carves wood
⬥ D: Polishes stone
After looking over the answers, and thinking that Polishes stone looks like the "oddball" of the four choices, Tom decides to take a flyer on D for his final answer.
While the oddball choice is sometimes right with tougher questions on this show, it wasn't here. B: Shoes horses was actually the correct answer.
Total Prize Money: $1,000
Trivia[]
Tom's brother, Robert, won $50,000 on the syndicated version of Millionaire in 2006.
Devil's Tower, Wyoming was an answer to a question in both of Tom's appearances on the show. In his initial appearance, it was an incorrect choice on his $16,000 question, and on his return, it was one of the answers to his Fastest Finger.
Tom's use of lifelines was particularly unusual, as he used his 50:50 first in both of his appearances on the show. Typically, players save that lifeline.
