Linda Crabtree of Homewood will have 30 minutes of fame on Tuesday, March 3, as a contestant on “Wheel of Fortune” airing at 6:30 pm. on WLS-ABC 7.
A member of the Wheel Watchers Club, she got an email announcing tryouts in Chicago. Her husband, Kevin, encouraged her to apply.
She filed a video application and interviewed during the Chicago talent search event.
“I didn’t think (the video) would do anything, and I got an email a few days later asking if I’d like to try out,” she said. Her response was “Absolutely!”
“It went pretty quickly. From the time I submitted the video to trying out was maybe two to two-and-a-half weeks,” she said. That was back in October 2019. Once she got word of her selection, she and her husband flew to Culver City, Calif., for the taping.
“We did rehearsals so we got to practice everything, and get the lay of the land, went through the studios, saw how the wheel works and get some of the nerves out of the way a little bit,” Crabtree explained. “It was a lot of fun. I was definitely nervous, but it was more fun nervous, because I watched the show forever, and to be on the set was just crazy!”
Crabtree said she’s always been good at solving puzzles, and has watched “Wheel of Fortune” since she was a kid. Now it’s TV entertainment while the family eats dinner. Her five-year-old daughter, Evelyn, calls the show her “letter game” and calls out the letters to contestants.
Under regulations, Crabtree can’t share whether she was a top winner on the show. That’s been one of the hardest things for her as family members ask how it went. In a matter of hours, they and the rest of the viewing audience will learn how she did on the show.