Search is so hot, Tony Danza wants in!

Search is hot, very hot and everyone wants in on the party, even Tony Danza. (Why there are two mentions of Tony Danza this morning on AdFreak, we really can't explain—see below.) Anyway, the TV-housekeeper-turned-talk-show-host helped Ask Jeeves give away $1 million to Ronald Kinsey, a software engineer on an air base in Norman, Okla., for using iWon.com, Ask Jeeves’ gimmicky portal that rewards searchers with prize entries for using its site. Danza, whose first-year talk show gamely battles soap operas and Montel Williams for the attentions of the housebound, surprised Kinsey on Thursday with the news he was a new millionaire. Kinsey was lured to New York thinking he was the winner of a $10,000 prize, only to find Danza with an oversized check for $1 million. We’re happy for Ronald, who was cagey in an interview with AdFreak—“I haven’t won anything like this before, anything remotely”—“Most likely, there will be a house involved”—“Tony seems to be a pretty nice person.” But whatever he decides to do with the money, we would warn him to learn from other sudden TV millionaires like Survivor’s Richard Hatch. As you might recall, the oft-nude winner of the reality TV show’s first season forgot one thing after receiving his prize: paying taxes. The IRS sent him a reminder in the form of five felony tax evasion charges.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

April 29, 2005 in Morrissey | Permalink