Rick Rockwell
| Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Created by | Mike Fleiss |
| 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 |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Mike Fleiss, Don Weiner |
| Producer(s) | Chris Briggs |
| Location(s) | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | FOX |
| Original release | February 15, 2000 |
Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? Is a Fox network reality show in which a multi-millionaire named Rick Rockwell married the contest winner, Darva Conger, on television. The show was aired as a single two-hour broadcast on February 15, 2000, and was hosted by Jay Thomas.
In 2002, TV Guide ranked it number 25 on its TV Guide's 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list.
The special was structured as a beauty pageant-like competition in which 50 women (one from each U.S. state) competed to be the bride of an unknown multi-millionaire, whom they did not see except in silhouette. The competition included a swimwear portion and a question-and-answer portion. The millionaire, ultimately revealed as Rick Rockwell, selected Darva Conger of California and married her on the spot. In addition to the television wedding, 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's broadcast.
The special's name was a parody of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the popular game show that was airing on competing network ABC at the time.
Despite the program's high ratings, it was harshly condemned as exploitative. Both the liberal-leaning National Organization for Women and the conservative-leaning Media Research Center denounced the show.
Shortly after the program aired, 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. But Rockwell's ordinary-looking home, which had a discarded toilet in the backyard, did not burnish his image. Several of his other claims were called into question. For instance, Rockwell claimed to have given up his career as a comedian in 1990 in order to become a motivational speaker. However, he'd performed at a comedy club as late as 1998, and several organizations where he claimed to have spoken said they'd never hired him. Then, on February 19, The Smoking Gun discovered that one of Rockwell's former girlfriends, Debbie Goyne, had filed a restraining order against him for domestic violence in 1991. Goyne claimed that Rockwell assaulted her and stalked her when she tried to break off their engagement. It was later discovered that Rockwell was not his original last name. He was born Richard Balkey in Pittsburgh on October 26, 1957.
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