Racine family won about $21,000 on the game show
By Lindsay Fiori
Journal Times | Posted: Thursday, July 24, 2008 12:00 am
RACINE - What local family was recently on the Family Feud game show? Survey says: the Schiros.
The family traveled to Los Angeles in December and taped three episodes of the show, walking away with about $21,000 in prize money. The shows aired in May and will rerun today and next week.
The Schiros auditioned in July 2006 at Southridge Mall in Greendale. Though they did well at the audition, when they arrived in Los Angeles there was no guarantee the family would actually be on TV. They had to play two practice games along with 10 other families to see how they appealed to the audience, said Mike Schiro, a 57-year-old electrician from Racine.
"In the first game, my daughters all had feather boas and I had a big green plastic martini glass," he said. "It's a tradition in our family at weddings to wear boas at the reception. I didn't know what to wear with their boas so I brought (the glass). We were hoping for a huge reaction from the crowd, which we absolutely got."
The family brought props because a Family Feud worker at their Greendale audition mentioned the idea, Schiro said.
"In the second game, I wore my cheesehead and the girls had pom pons," he said. "The Sunday before, the Packers had played Oakland and won. We were the first family picked to play the defending champs."
During the televised games, Schiro kept the enthusiasm up by dancing.
"The girls answered a good question and I did a little dance. Host John O'Hurley called me out and made me do the dance again," Schiro said. "I didn't even know I did it. He made me do it a couple times."
Schiro competed on the show with his wife, Kathrine, 56, and his three daughters - Jenny Sandkuhler, 37, of Racine; Melissa Diener, 33, of Racine; and Megan Clark, 28, of Stoughton. The three girls attended St. Catherine's High School, 1200 Park Ave.
"It was better than I could ever have expected - the whole family camaraderie, being on a couple shows, cheering each other on," said Clark, a nurse. "We were jumping around really excited."
The experience was a dream come true, she said.
"I've always loved game shows and it's always been a dream of mine to be on one," said Clark, who has been watching the show since age 7. "Every summer, my cousins and I would watch, playing along."
In their first televised game, the family won overall but lost the Fast Money final game. In their second game, they kept the other family from scoring any points and won Fast Money. In their third and final game, they lost on the last question, Mike said.
One question the family did well on was about drinking, which Mike said was funny because the family is from Wisconsin. The question asked what people have a hard time doing after they've been drinking. The Schiro family got all the answers, which included driving, talking, thinking and walking, he said.
When can people watch reruns of the Schiro's Family Feud performances? Survey says: Friday, Monday and Tuesday at 1 p.m. on WMLW Milwaukee.
On The Air
To watch the Schiros on Family Feud, tune to channel WMLW Milwaukee on Friday, Monday and Tuesday at 1 p.m.