After appearing on a major syndicated television show, Peter Hayes admits that his 15 minutes of fame are pretty much over, for now anyway.
Hayes, a 26-year-old Hoboken resident, is a big fan of the show Hollywood Squares, which features such notables as actress Whoopi Goldberg and comedian Bruce Vilanch. In order to qualify for the show, Hayes called the Hollywood Squares contestant hotline in California and left a message with his name and telephone number. He watches the show often, but he never thought he would be an actual contestant some day.
"I came home one night and I saw a number to call to be on the show," Hayes said during an interview last week. "I never thought I would hear from them again and a couple of weeks later they called me. I just did it as a joke."
The assistant producers for Hollywood Squares contacted Hayes and asked him to come in for a taping in New York City in August. Hayes spent an entire Saturday in a little room at a venue in Times Square waiting for a producer to call his name out of a drawing for his chance to be a contestant. After almost 10 hours, nobody called his name, so Hayes went home without being on television. His big break never happened.
"I was a little disappointed, but at least I met some people," he said.
Then, a couple of weeks later, the producers asked him if he wanted to go to Los Angeles, Calif. for a taping.
"My brothers live in L.A. so I was psyched to go," Hayes said.
The show flew him to the West Coast and after several tapings in a studio in Hollywood, the producers called his name to be a contestant. Hayes was delighted to be on the show.
"It was cool to be on the set, even though I did terrible on the show," he said, smiling.
His appearance aired on Oct. 3 on CBS at 7:30 p.m. Hayes did not perform as well as he would have wanted to and failed to advance for a chance at a second appearance. But, he did manage to win a trip to Mexico and a cash prize.
"The whole thing was a lot of fun," Hayes said. "Some girl beat me bad, but at least I got a couple of free trips out of it."
Hayes, originally from Simsbury, Conn., is a pharmaceutical salesman for Sanofi-Synthelabo in North Jersey. He attended Clemson University in South Carolina and enjoys playing hockey and lacrosse during his free time. He has lived in Hoboken for four years.
Hayes watched the show several times to prepare for his appearance. He admitted that he was excited to meet Jenna Elfman, the star of Dharma and Greg. And when asked if he would do another show again, Hayes said, "Only if they ask me."
Hollywood Squares is co-produced by King World Productions, Inc. and Columbia TriStar Television in association with Moffitt-Lee Productions and Goldberg’s One Ho Productions. For more information on the show or to be a possible contestant call 323-850-0707 or visit them on the web at www.hollywoodsquares.com.