Las Vegan makes a killing on game-show circuit

Friday, Feb. 11, 2000 | 8:41 a.m.

Melissa Dill-Behnke plans to sell the Dodge she won on "The Price is Right" five years ago and drive the Chrysler she won in December on "The Hollywood Squares."

The 34-year-old model/showgirl/actress still tingles with fond memories of the cash and the trip to Hawaii she won on "The Dating Game" a couple of years ago.

And then there's the $1,000 she won on "Make Me Laugh," a Comedy Central game show.

She rejected an offer to appear on "Love Connection" because the newly-wed Las Vegan was engaged at the time.

"I'm kind of a game-show addict," the former Miss Norman (Okla.) said during a telephone conversation from Florida, where her Air Force husband is preparing to transfer to Nellis Air Force Base.

She and Maj. Tom Behnke, an F-15 fighter pilot and instructor, have been married almost a year.

It was because they are relative newcomers to the marriage game that she was selected to appear on a "Hollywood Squares" segment that was taped Dec. 4 and will air Tuesday (4:30 p.m. on KVBC Channel 3).

"It's sweeps week and they wanted to do a show with a newlywed theme," Behnke said. During the bonus round of the game, the one in which she won a Chrysler Sebring convertible, her husband was allowed to join her on stage.

Earlier in the show she had won $3,000, responding to answers to questions posed to such panelists as Whoopi Goldberg (also the show's owner-producer), Brad Garrett (the brother on "Everybody Loves Raymond"), comedian Gilbert Gottfried, comic writer Bruce Vilanch and talk show host Rosie O'Donnell.

"I didn't know this till I went on the show, but the stars do the taping on weekends," Behnke said. "They shoot two weeks' worth of shows in two days, six on Saturday and six on Sunday."

O'Donnell was the star responsible for the couple winning the car.

"The question was: Which state had the most shoreline, Florida, Hawaii or California?" Behnke said. "Rosie said Hawaii and we disagreed. It was Florida."

More than 200 people auditioned for the "Hollywood Squares" spot Behnke eventually won. "We had to take a written test and we were tested on how well we would play the game," she said. After her initial audition, three weeks passed before she was notified of her selection.

Behnke lived in Hollywood when she went on her first game show in 1995 -- "The Price is Right" with Bob Barker. "He was a perfect gentleman," the native of Columbus, Kan., said.

She was in Southern California pursuing an acting career at the time. "I was waiting to go on a set for a film when I met an actor who told me he did game shows to make extra money," she said.

She liked the idea. It was something to do between jobs. Very few actors make the game show circuit. Most contestants are not in show business. Behnke was among 300 people who auditioned for "The Price is Right" segment she ended up on.

"I told them I was a professional dancer in Vegas and they chose me to come on down," she recalled. "I won everything -- the whole showcase, a Dodge Avenger, and when I spun the wheel it landed on a dollar, which meant I won $1,000."

Behnke was not misleading them when she told the producers she was a professional dancer. She has a degree in performing arts from Oklahoma City University. After graduation she accepted a job that put her in musical revues at spots around the world, all the way from Tokyo to Monte Carlo.

In 1990 she settled in Las Vegas and appeared in several production shows around town, such as the "Follies Bergere" at the Tropicana hotel-casino. In addition to singing and dancing, she models and has had bit parts in a number of films shot here, including "Casino," "Hearts are Wild" and "Sgt. Bilko." She also had a small part in "Devil's Advocate," among other non-Vegas films.

She has moved back and forth between Las Vegas and Los Angeles during the past 10 years, but said this is her base of operations. Producers of the game shows, she added, have gotten to know her over the years and some have invited her to be a contestant.

"They look for people who are enthusiastic and have a lot of energy," she said. "How can you not be enthusiastic? It's so exciting once you're on the stage."

Behnke even auditioned to be a hostess on a number of game show pilots. Some of the pilots were rejected. She's waiting to hear back about one that is similar to the "Candid Camera" concept.

"Game shows have come back big-time," she said.

She was even able to get some of her friends on "Wheel of Fortune," a show that has about 30,000 guest applicants at any given time. "That's the big one," she said.

Behnke said that her various careers are on hiatus as she settles into her most important role -- that of a wife. But she hasn't set aside the game shows.

"I have my eye on 'Twenty-One,' " she said.