"Instant Celebrity"

James Dickson has a way of making the women scream. Well, at least he did one night while ordering dinner at the "ESPNZone." The waitress recognized him and was instantly star-struck. No, James is not a sports hero or rock star, but he was a TV celebrity for about half an hour last January on "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?"

You'd be surprised how often the Chicago native is recognized.

"My dad thought she was hitting on me," said James, who told the waitress about the stint on Millionaire. "She starts screaming in the middle of the restaurant. I guess she watches the show with her mom."

While he didn't get the waitress' phone number, James did get to watch his father's jaw drop, which he says was probably just as well. Dickson is most often recognized by a question Regis Philbin asked him while in the hotseat:

What do most monkeys have that apes do not?

  • A. Tail
  • B. Extra Digit
  • C. Nasal Cavity
  • D. Curly Hair
"I blanked on that one," explains James on the $8,000 question. "I thought, if I miss here, I'm going to feel pretty stupid." So James didn't take any chances, even though he thought he knew the answer. Instead, he used the 50/50 lifeline, guessed the answer right -- Tail -- and moved on.

Afer 30 years, which of the following bands had the first Billboard No. 1 hit single in 1999?

  • A. Aerosmith
  • B. Grateful Dead
  • C. Los Lobos
  • D. Santana
Again, James wasn't feeling completely certain, so he used another lifeline. He polled the audience, which was split four ways. He guessed "D" and got it right.

Question 3: What measurement is supposedly based on distance from King Henry I's nose to his fingertips?

  • A. Rod
  • B. Foot
  • C. Meter
  • D. Yard
By now, James says he was feeling pretty sure of himself, so he guessed "meter." It was wrong. The correct answer was "yard."

If he could go back, James would have saved his earlier lifelines and used one on that last question. "You know what they say, 'hindsight is 20/20.'"

He may not have made it to the big bucks, but James did walk away with $1,000 of what he calls "found money" that he used to pay for his Christmas gifts. Not bad, but just think of how many more women would scream if he had won a million.