John knowing the final answer and using his free call to call his parents just to tell them that he's gonna be a millionaire is such a fucking power move
No need to be dropping f bombs like that how about showing some respect to other's watching hope you don't talk like that in front of your children that
Using his lifeline to tell his dad he was going to win the million and didn't need his help is probably the most legendary flex I have ever seen. Way to go John Carpenter!
Google was available at the time he won the show, but not wikipedia. Still, they can ask any number of obscure questions that few people will immediately know if they haven't studied in those areas. Like if you didn't study anything in the history of entertainment you could lose well before the million in this run.
@@MrsSlocombesPuddyCatNo some of them were come on. The Louvre, Devil's Tower, Vaccines, OK Corral, Laugh in, these aren't common knowledge, he just makes it look easy. The Phoenix and Monotheism questions, they were a joke yes. I may imagine Phoenixes weren't quite as common in pop culture in 1999 though, I'd know it from Final Fantasy or X Men or whatever at the time and I suppose for 125k it was absurdly easy but maybe not something everyone knew. Monotheism, for 250k, that's ridiculous, how could people not know the other three are all old testament religions? They are easier than they got later, the US early on was willing to use easy questions so they got a millionaire early on. That's not why this is cool, it's because he's cool. Even on other easy questions you see people freak out about the risk of the money in other episodes. He just never lost his cool or gets distrustful of himself. That's why people love this. John Carpenter just realises he's actually pretty cool.
Stark contrast to the British guy who cheated in the British version of the show. That bloke changed his mind and shuffled through the answers on pretty much every question while this guy was self-confident and knew what he was doing
Regis was great, totally gracious in his “defeat” immediately acknowledging John’s confident play as a win. The drama had already passed because the audience totally believed he was right and there was only the conformation needed to celebrate. Regis handled it like a pro.
the questions are not hard its just random, they could have ask who are the 3 starter Pokémon from the 1st season of the anime or who is the 8th president of the USA
People are saying the questions are easy, you have to realize this was 1999. No internet, no social media. All information was from life experiences, reading books and all that stuff. Now being online, you, like it or not, will randomly bump into things and learn new things. Back then, learning things must be a dedicated time and effort going through books, libraries, reading stuff and all. You have to dedicate time to learn things back then. now it's one google away from your phone. Shit you wouldnt even need to stand up and get a book by the shelf, or worse go to a library or whatnot. Information didn't come as easy back then as how it is now. Now it's all on our fingertips. Not to mention you have to be very lucky to get 15 straight random trivial questions and know all the answers. Give me a break.
Not to nitpick at what you're saying, because you are mostly right... The internet has been around since 1993. The "Wikipedia" of that time period were encyclopedia's, which were used often in schooling (I remember having to use them in the '90s, to start the process of research for a given topic). Social media was also around then, but definitely not to the degree that it is today. Much of the way of learning back in the '90s is still used today. You can still learn things via reading books - even fictional works, or media of varying kinds.... and no, you don't really have to put much effort into that either. It's just not as fast. Furthermore, while the internet is more readily available now, and thus information, discernment of fact from fiction is very important - even more so than reading back in the '90s. Needless to say, the luck of having these 15 questions doesn't make it any less impressive. It helps that he stayed calm; tension prevents clear thinking. ^_^ Cheers!
As a Brit the few hundred dollar questions were more difficult than the later ones. His phoning of his father to let him know he was going to win a million dollars was pure class.
@@opeth84 it's a mock language, used often between students. The premise is as follows: you take the first letter of any word qnd add "ay". You then say that "word"/syllable *after,* the 2nd syllable (correction: It should read the *last* syllable). So, for example, hello would be "ello hay". It doesn't work for all words, but that's the basic idea.I'm not sure if kids still use it. It was very common when I grew up in the 80s.
That sheer confidence throughout the show!! My man called his father and casually dropped the greatest and most badass moment in the history of reality TV and left silently!!
@@gibonzproject9710 There's only one or two here that I don't instantly know. I don't really find it unbelievable that someone who was actually good at this could know all of them.
@@gibonzproject9710 yes? I mean I've never told him I was coming home with a million dollars but under similar circumstances he'd probably try to act the same way.
@@yoker88 Yeah, no. No. Sorry, pal. "Intelligent" is the better word there. Not "wisdom". Although both words are practically synonyms, and either usage would be fine here (for all intents and purposes). "Wisdom" speaks to the quality or soundness of a particular action (ie. That wasn't very *wise* of you put your ignorance on full display to the world, when you clearly don't have a clue what you are even talking about). That said, I'm really not too interested in spending my Monday morning arguing over ridiculous semantics and nuances, so go look for attention somewhere else. Thanks anyway though, you goof
16:47 - I've seen this multiple times, and I've come to notice this: when the answer to the question comes up (Richard Nixon), his face slightly changes. John Carpenter knew at that moment that he was going to win $1 million. The fact that he came up with the swag move calling his dad to let him know that he will be a millionaire makes this moment all the more historic. There will never be another contestant quite like Mr. Carpenter.
@@davidwootton683 no it's correct, the answer to the choking question is around the throat. It's known as the universal choking sign, where the person who is choking grabs their throat, showing that they need help.
@@davidwootton683 chock, /CHäk/, verb: gerund or present participle: chocking... Definition: prevent the forward movement of (a wheel or vehicle) with a chock
Absolute madlad this guy. Never asked for 50:50 split, never asked for audience, just once at the end asked for a call, only to let his dad know he's about to win a million dollars. What a madlad! :D
It looked cool, but still it was stupid not to use all the tools you have. At the last question he should have used all 3 options, 50:50, poll, and call. Even if he was sure about the correct answer, the stakes were too high. He was balancing between 32.000 and 1 million. Imagine, he uses 50:50 and suddenly Richard Nixons name disappear)) that would have been quite a drama)
I could never believe in a million years that a man named John, last name Carpenter, works at the IRS and becomes the first person to win and become millionaire in a TV show.
@@avo_music Thank you all these clapping trds on here and.Really these questions were easy He went to the College at Rutgers Johnna Salk's he is a federal employee they asked easy ones that not only most can answer but were extra easy for him. Any person his age would know Richard Nixon was on laugh in and if not the other choices were after the show Johnson was the only real opposition and that was paper thin Look at any other top tier big money questions. They needed a winner because people were call foul they could do the 64,000 cheat so they made them easy. My nephew even said there will be a winner tonight because all the buzz and IRS agent just made it even more attention grabbing
Ah yes, back when being a millionaire meant something. The irony of an IRS collector winning the big bucks and about to be taxed is just too good. This man basically created the phrase 'like a boss'. People are being jealous, they said the questions he got are easy. But you all have to realize that this was from a time before Internet was as popular as it is today. People collected and retained information through papers and life experience. What John accomplished here is absolutely incredible and should be given respect for it!
No matter what he did, no one deserves insane amounts of money. Imagine having to work your arse off at the building site how much would you have to win to earn that much
Everything about this is pure gold whether it's real or not.. The little nervous laugh the dad did when he finds out his son is risking half a million for a whole million.. and he's the one who has to come up with the answer lol... Then what must have been his immediate relief when his son pulled one of the most baller moves ever.
Pretty sure it's real. You can tell Regis is trying to get him nervous before the half million question, but no no avail. The fakest thing about the show was some of the terrible questions they screwed over contestants with in later seasons
Look at John Carpenter's body language 2 seconds after 16:38 - the point when he already knew the answer, he's relaxed as he knows he's won the show! What an amazing display of confidence! 💯 Superb show, great man.
And the follow up sigh of relief when he sees that "Richard Nixon" is an answer. He must have had a little thought in the back of his mind, worried there might have been two president's that appeared and he wouldn't know the second.
What makes him such a badass isn't that he knew all the answers without using any lifelines, but that he was willing to take the risk of possibly being wrong.
Well he also apparently thought a drumstick is the thigh, not the calf. Like he would have gotten that wrong if they had both "thigh" and "calf" or "upper leg" vs "lower leg" in the choices for the answer. Weird how someone can know so much info, but still have a few random holes here and there. Dude dodged a bullet there at 5:20
15:04 the way he smirks when the correct question shows up because he knew it before it was offered, but of course he already knew what the correct question was. So badass
Yes, and nice of you to note HIM, his (Regis's) ability to improvise - to 'go with' whoever he is talking to, is so comforting, linvolving -as it does - (and I guess you know already), kindness and listening: what else do we ever want! ? J.
He could have been the only person ever to win a million without using a single lifeline but he used one anyway just for our amusement. Gotta admire this guy
I remember watching this on t.v. in its first airing of this episode. I've never seen anyone else BEFORE and AFTER this guy...be so confident in every answer. AND he didn't even have to use a single life line. That's incredible 👏
I don't know if it's because this is well after the Internet became such a thing, but a lot of these questions were very, very easy. Only three that I wasn't completely sure of, only two that I didn't have a clue.
It amazes me that people think it was so easy to win the Million Dollars on this show. First, you have to go through a phone screening questionnaire. Then, you have to travel to New York and answer a question faster than all people who also qualified for the show and get it right. After that, THEN you finally get the privilege to answer the questions in order. And, to do what John did, you have to know ALL THE QUESTIONS. I bet people saying how easy the questions were wouldn't get the 16k question or 8k question right even with the lifelines.
This is the first time I have watched this beginning to end. I knew every answer. He was great. I had seen the end but never from start to finish. He made them go back and rewrite phone rules about announcing they won to the caller. It was fantastic. He is exceptional at strategic moves.
@@kimong.161 No one is to know the outcome prior to release of the show. The show can air months later. You are only supposed to phone a friend if you need help. They never dreamed anyone would call their friend to update them, hence the new rule that you could not call specifically to tell them you are winning the game with no helped and lifelines used for the purpose of help.
@@TheZeotrix You are responsible as the audience to not talk about the show prior to being aired. It is in the waivers and explained to you as a guest. It is also common sense. Ask any show producer. I enjoyed he had the guts to outsmart them at their own game. I thought it was hilarious.
After watching this like 100 times, I just realised that John 'badass' Carpenter's laugh at 16:54 is exactly the same as his father's at 17:30. Like father, like son.
When he said: "I'd like to call my parents" and his laughter when Regis read this question. Love it. I watched it when it happened and I still enjoy seeing it. Hope you're doing well, John.
right? not an anxious "I'd like to use a lifeline," just a calm "I'd like to call my parents." I can't imagine the adrenaline rush surging through him at that moment.
I was only like 9 or 10 when this aired and I still remember it to this day as well, I remember it even being so young at the time and of course I didn't know most of these answers yet myself, in part from watching this but I did eventually do stuff like watch Close Encounters and I didn't know much about religion as a kid, I could have answered that question right now too even without having seen this. The only ones I would have had trouble with I think are the polio vaccine,the Louvre and Laugh-In but thats why hes a legend he didn't need help on any of them at all, eventually I learned most of this stuff anyway not just from seeing the answer on the show but his confidence is something I can't match he is a role model in that sense too, and I am 32 almost the same age he was when he did this so its a good comparison.
John Carpenter is Definitely the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) as a Contestant on Millionaire! Definitely the best moment of All-Time since Regis passed away
This show was such a national phenomenon when it was on in prime time. It seemed EVERYBODY watched it and talked about it the next day. I even got a Regis style tie, as did a lot of guys!
I thought that too, even though I didn't get all of them. IM PEI I should have known because I have been there, but I don't have an encyclopediac memory. I think this guy does. Some were just chance, he went to the university where that guy made the vaccine for polio, or at least had a center named for him.
This was aired in the 90's when Google and wikipedia were essentially non existent, there were no tik toks and youTube videos of gk or facts. All the knowledge you had those days were from books
@@chromosomecollector8310 He didn't cheat. :| In fact he returned later. Aside from that, most of these questions were not particularly difficult to answer, aside from a few.
This is the best Who Wants to be a Millionaire moment . No one can beat that guy's performance . In 1999 he won that prize right now if he had won the exact price he wouldn't buy things he would get in 1999 's :D
Was it though? Obviously a marathon is nothing compared to the others. The Tour de France literally is named the tour of France so you know that’s about to be long as hell, and if you know literally anything about it you will know it takes weeks to complete.. The only hard part was the Indy 500 or a dog sled race, both are known to be very long but not close to Tour de France length. So right off the bat if you have some pretty basic knowledge it’s a 50/50 question. I wouldn’t consider that to be the “hardest question” he saw.
He collected the money like a champ, no wonder he worked for the IRS! He definitely has nerves of steel and balls of iron...him calling his father to flex was the final nail in the coffin for the producers. I have seen the ending before, but the whole thing makes it all just better, especially the foreshadowing at 3:00 of "Needless to say, no one has reached the million-dollar mark yet. There always seems to be something that stops them cold. But out comes an IRS agent, and you know nothing stops them. Nothing." And man do I miss Regis. Not only do we get to see the brilliance of the contestant, but also Regis's brilliance as well. Regis's charm was one of a kind (the dude even appeared in animated things like Shrek the Third and Lilo & Stitch the Series) and TV's just not the same without him.
To anyone watching this video…you are watching a piece seminal TV history. This guy was an IRS inspector but still tore through all the questions flexed on the final one and the crowd were still cheering him throughout. TV history right here!
As a UK Millionaire fan, this is actually the first time I’ve watched a full run of the American version of the show, I have some interesting observations: - They did an AMAZING job at replicating the look and aesthetics of the UK show, it literally looks like the same studio and the music is pretty much the same. - Regis Philbin added a more comedic element to the show, and whilst Chris Tarrant was hilarious, he would really take his time building the tension even when the contestant was sure of something. - John Carpenter was a COOL customer. I think if there had been more players like this in the UK hot seat the first million would have been won earlier. The UK contestants tended to be very wishy-washy about whether to play a question or take the money, this guy doesn’t even consider a lifeline on the questions he’s not 100% on, him calling his father on the final question is a moment of pure television history. - I don’t know what other contestants on the show were like though as the only other clip I’ve seen from it is the one of the guy who got the first question wrong lol
The bar for the american version is pretty low. Having the cupid question so high up is just mind blowing, or the question about the religions. While I couldn't answer the football question for the life of me. ( I am not american)
