By
Kevin Clerici
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Graduate student Max Fritz selected for popular game show, headed to New York tomorrow
He knew his final answer the moment the phone call came.
After calling the contestants' phone number for a nearly a year, UA political science graduate student Max Fritz will appear on the popular ABC game show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire."
Fritz leaves for New York City tomorrow. The segment will tape on Wednesday and is scheduled to air sometime next week.
"I have caller ID," he said. "I saw a number from New York and thought, 'Who in the world is calling me from New York?" And then it hit me. You always have that thought in the back of your head.
"The woman said, 'Hey guess what, you got on,' and I was like 'No way.'"
Fritz, 26, had to verify his address and birthday, and choose a guest to join him in the audience. He picked his mother, LaVonda.
"She, of course, thought I was messing with her," said Fritz, who grew up in Raritan, N.J., where his parents still live.
Fritz came to the University of Arizona last year after receiving a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Two years prior to that, Fritz earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Winthrop University in South Carolina.
As part of the show, Fritz can select five people to call in case he is stumped by a question. Included is UA political science assistant professor Kristin Kanthak and four of Fritz's friends, whose expertise range from religion and mythology to culture, science and financial issues.
Fritz started regularly calling the contestant's line last year and has gotten through several times. An automated voice asks five questions, which if answered correctly places the caller into a pool of candidates. But, until now, he was never randomly selected.
"I sit at home and yell at the TV screen when the person doesn't know what they're doing," he said. "The show looked like fun, so I figured why not try it."
Fritz's former roommate and childhood friend, Tom LaFauci, described Fritz as "a fountain of unnecessary information."
"He definitely has a shot," he said. "We lived together for a year in Charlotte. We'd watch 'Jeopardy' together, and he would blow me out of the water. He knew every little fact."
However, LaFauci won't get a shot at "Millionaire" fame himself.
"As soon as I heard he left a message, I called him right back and without saying hello, I immediately asked him, 'Am I one of your phone-a-friends?'
"He said, 'No way dude,' which kind of sucked. There's not a bit of love there."
Fritz said he only watches the show when he has a chance. He borrowed the computer version from a friend, but he's been too busy grading papers and studying for finals to practice. So what's his secret?
"I don't know. Being an only child, I guess, " he said. "It's always been easy for me to remember little, inane, useless facts. I guess they aren't that useless anymore."
ABC and its parent corporation, Walt Disney Co., said last week that "Millionaire," not even two years old, is already the most profitable program television has ever seen. The show has generated around $1 billion in revenue.
On Wednesday morning, the producers will run Fritz through the itinerary. They'll show him how the fast-finger game works, put him through make-up and then he will meet host Regis Philbin.
"We're supposed to talk to him for a bit so he will know a little of what we are about if we make it. It should be cool," Fritz said.
Winners usually get their money roughly two weeks later, he said.
So will he take his finals if wins the $1 million?
"Hmm, that's a good question," he said. "I will worry about that if I win. That would be a beautiful problem to have."
