winner
In Fall 1979, a telephone directory assistant named Sheryl Svensson appeared on 2 episodes of Match Game. Her episodes were shown on Game Show Network in early July 2001. Sheryl was kind enough to answer a few questions about her Match Game experience.
MK: Why did you try out for Match Game?
SS: It was my favorite game show. I was asked to go on the Wheel of Fortune the same week. I chose Match Game.
MK: How long was it between the time you tried out and the time your episodes aired?
SS: 3 months.
MK: People have said that the later the episode is taped, the more likely a weird occurrence is to happen. Did anything out of the ordinary happen during your episodes (the 4th and 5th out of the 6 shows taped that day)?
SS: Yes. Gene Rayburn got nasty with me and was telling me to french kiss Dick Martin.
MK: How are Gene Rayburn, Charles Nelson Reilly and Brett Somers off-camera i.e. are they the same off-camera and on-camera? Were they funnier, grouchier, etc.?
SS: (I had) no contact (with them).
MK: What was going on in your mind after the first game? Did you lose confidence due to the defeat?
SS: No, the celebrities didn't like the woman I was playing against because she kept trying to promote a book she wrote.
MK: When you were playing for $5000 with Patty Duke Astin, an average Match Game player, what were you thinking? Were you nervous? Did you wish the wheel landed on a better player like Charles Nelson Reilly?
SS: No, I was thrilled it landed on Patty. She was my favorite actress at the time.
MK: Outside of winning $5500, what was the best part of your Match Game experience?
SS: When the audience saw me outside after the show. They congratulated me. I was queen for a day!
MK: Match Game came back in both 1990 and 1998. Did you consider trying out for either show?
SS: No. I wasn't aware of it.
MK: Did you ever try out and/or appear on any other game shows??
SS: I was on Wheel of Fortune in the early 80s on Celebrity Week.
MK: You were featured in several publicity photos for Match Game as well as ads that appeared in TV Guide. Did anybody ever recognize you from those pictures?
SS: I never knew about that. I'd love to get a copy of TV Guide (with a Match Game ad with her picture).
