Randy Amasia

Anybody who is not a game show fan has probably never seen or heard of Randy Amasia. Yet, those involved in the game show world itself consider him one of the genre's biggest fans and insiders. Born Alan Randy Amasia in 1957, he was a game show addict from day one. In 1978, while attending Cal State Northridge (where he eventually got his degree in computer sciences), he landed a job as an intern on a brand-new NBC game show, "Card Sharks". A year into his internship, he tried out to be a contestant on a brand-new CBS game show, Whew! (1979). His tryout turned out successfully as he became a contestant in August 1979. As a two-day champion, he triumphed in its bonus round, "The Gauntlet of Villains", and retired with $26,190. For the next five years, he tried out for and became contestants on several other game show pilots, almost all of which never became regular series, the lone exception being a new syndicated program called "Jeopardy!" In the first season of the syndicated "Jeopardy!", he became a one-day champion, winning $6,800 in cash and another $1,200+ in consolation prizes. The name "Randy Amasia" would not become public again until ten years after his win on "Jeopardy!" In 1994, Game Show Network premiered on several satellite and cable outlets, and, with the explosion of the Internet, the Usenet group "alt.tv.game-shows" (or ATGS) was created by "Family Feud" consultant and friend Aaron Solomon. Randy immediately became a frequent contributor to the newsgroup, where he eventually earned the nickname "The Overlord of ATGS" and referred to all of his best friends as "his minions". Soon after, he created the only website dedicated to the game show "Whew!" Listed in Yahoo's Game Shows directory, "The Whew! Fan Page" is complete with rules, photos, and sounds, and attracted hundreds of new visitors each month. He also co-produced the two longest-running Netgames in ATGS history, "'Net Match Game" (1994- ) and "'Net Price Is Right" (1995-), and sometimes had a hosting gig on the former. In February 2000, he co-produced and co-wrote a bi-weekly satire with David Zinkin, "Who Wants to Be a Moronionaire?", which showcased the more annoying and lack-minded members of ATGS and also featured ATGS contributors (including the author of this biography) and special celebrity guests (game show personalities, athletes, even Judge Judy) participating in the slugfest. In late 2000, it had been discovered that Randy, three other ATGS contributors, and a frequent "Moronionaire" victim took part in a conspiracy against a rival Netgames host/producer. While the revelation somewhat hurt Randy's character, he persisted on the newsgroup, giving his unique brand of humor every day until his untimely death on December 12, 2001, at age 44. Through triumph and tribulation, his trademark wit and sarcasm was and always will be a part of ATGS' history. His "Whew!" website will also live on, thanks to Michael Klauss incorporating the pages into his own game show website.