| Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Written by | Jonathan Bourne |
| Directed by | Don Weiner |
| Presented by | Jay Thomas |
| Narrated by | Mark Thompson |
| Composer(s) | John Carta Danny Lux |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Don Weiner |
| Producer(s) | Chris Briggs |
| Location(s) | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Running time | 120 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | – February 15, 2000 |
Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? was a Fox network reality show in which "multi-millionaire" Rick Rockwell asked Darva Conger to marry him. The show was aired as a single two-hour broadcast on February 15, 2000, and was hosted by Jay Thomas.
Contents |
Host
Jay Thomas was not originally asked to host the program. While ridiculing it on his New York-area morning radio show, he was prodded by callers and other associates to call the individual at Fox in charge of casting the show and suggest that it should in fact be him hosting the show. It was intended as a joke, but the Fox executives took the request seriously, and eventually took the steps to remove the original host and replace him with Thomas.
Premise
In the show, 50 women competed to be the bride of an unknown multi-millionaire who was revealed to be Rick Rockwell, whom they did not see except in silhouette. He selected Conger and married her on the spot. In addition, Conger also received a three-carat (600-mg) diamond ring and more than $100,000 in prizes. More than 22 million people viewed the show that evening.[1][2]
Controversy
Shortly after the series, reports surfaced that Rockwell had failed to disclose to the series producers that a former girlfriend filed a restraining order against him for domestic violence.[3] Questions were also raised as to whether Rockwell was actually a multi-millionaire. FOX stated that Rockwell had $750,000 in liquid assets and a net worth just more than $2 million.[1][4] In fact, it was soon thereafter discovered that Rockwell was not even his original last name. He was born Richard Balkey in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 26, 1957.[5]
Conger quickly expressed regret in taking part in the show stating, "I am not married to him. In my heart I'm not married to him."[6] Conger admitted that the marriage was not consummated and during the couple's Barbados honeymoon, they stayed in separate cabins.[7] After the honeymoon, Conger sought an annulment and later sold the engagement ring and other prizes she won on the show on an online auction site.[2] The annulment was finalized on April 5, 2000.
Due to the controversy, FOX canceled a scheduled repeat airing of the show and future installments.[8]
In February 2001, Conger and Rick Rockwell appeared together on Larry King Live to discuss the experience and lay to rest lingering ill feelings.
See also
References
- ^ a b Smith, Kyle (2000-03-20). "TV's Reality Check". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20130638,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ a b "TV's Millionaire Bride Auctions Prizes for Charity; Darva Conger Offers Diamond Ring and New Car at BuyBidWin.com". Business Wire. 2000-07-07. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_July_7/ai_63198305. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Labi, Nadya (2000-02-27). "An Online Paper Trail". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,39942,00.html?iid=chix-sphere. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Rice, Lynette (ew.com). "Wedding Banned". http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,275582,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ http://www.famousfolk.com/real/names-r/ro.shtml
- ^ "Who wants to marry a multimillionaire? Not the bride". cbc.ca. 2000-11-11. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2000/02/23/millionaire000223.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ "TV bride dumps millionaire husband". news.bbc.co.uk. 2000-02-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/654346.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Carter, Bill (2000-02-22). "Fox Network Will End 'Multimillionaire' Marriage Specials". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E5D81530F931A15751C0A9669C8B63. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
External links
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