“The wheel wasn’t very nice to me, but playing was a chance of a lifetime. Something I will never forget,” says Elisabeth Goodwin of Oakwood about her recent TV appearance on Wheel of Fortune.
Mrs. Goodwin has fond memories of watching the show as she was growing up, always trying to be the first in the family to guess the correct answer.
“I was really good at guessing the puzzles and always wanted to try my luck on the show,” she explains.
The 61-year-old has auditioned for the show several times, at least once every decade since 1984; and she finally got her call-back for a second audition in May.
“At the call-back audition, they were very specific, saying, ‘you will get a letter IN THE MAIL from us within two to three weeks if you are chosen to play.’ After two weeks with no letter, I assumed it didn’t make it,” she says. “But on week three, when I was out of town, my husband told me a letter had come in the mail from the show. I told him to open it right away, and it was my acceptance letter. I was so excited!”
At the end of September, Mrs. Goodwin and her husband drove out to Los Angeles, California where the show is filmed in studio.
“Boy was it a long day,” she explains. “We got picked up from the hotel at 7:00 a.m. and arrived at the studio at about 7:30. They tape six shows in one day. My episode was the last to be filmed and we didn’t start until around 5:30 p.m. All contestants for the day, together with their family members, served as audience for all the shows.”
Mrs. Goodwin’s episode aired January 5, 2018. She was player one, the one with purple hair! Yes, purple hair. “I’ve been dying my hair purple since before it was cool, I even used the best hairstyle for my face.” she says with a laugh.
As she mentioned, the wheel, which weighs in at a whopping 2,300 pounds, wasn’t very nice to her. She repeatedly landed on ‘Bankrupt’ and ‘Loose A Turn;’ but she didn’t walk away empty handed. In the second toss-up round, she won the $2,000 prize money with a correct guess of ‘Shopping Spree’ in the Event category.
“Everyone there on the show and set was so nice and supportive. They really wanted you to win big,” she says. “Vanna was so nice and very personable. She came to greet everyone before we began filming.”
“This was a very neat experience, one I’ll remember for a life time!”
This mother of four and grand-mother of five is a member of the East Texas Mounted Search & Rescue team based out of Centerville. This group has been instrumental in locating many missing persons throughout East Texas.
She and her husband, both retired letter carriers from the Houston area, enjoy riding their motorcycles and attend the world famous Sturgis rally each year in South Dakota.
They have had land in the Oakwood area for years and when both retired, decided to make it their home. “We love living in the Country,” she says. “Well, at least I do!”
Congratulations Miss Elisabeth for finally making it on Wheel of Fortune.
