DeKalbites make TV debut on game and reality shows
- 5/12/12
- Categorized in: Lifestyle
“Are you ready for your close-up?”
Apparently the answer was yes for several DeKalb residents who had their 15-minutes of fame recently through appearances on television game and reality shows.
In April, at least three local families had their appearances broadcast on popular game and reality television shows. Coincidentally, the trio of shows with local faces aired on consecutive nights, April 26 and 27.
On the television game show Wheel of Fortune, Sherika Little of Lithonia spun her way to a $12,250 pay day, which included landing on the coveted $10,000 space. She solved a ‘Before and After” puzzle with “Who’s afraid of the big bad Wolf Blitzer.” Though she wasn’t the biggest winner of the day and did not make it to the bonus round, she, no doubt, walked away richer and quite a bit happier.
On the TV game show Family Feud, Decatur’s own Mathis family faced off against the Auger family of Alpharetta. The Mathis clan includes Kavisha, a nurse; cousin Felicia, a nurse; cousin Trieves, a nurse; dad Henry, a consultant and Baptist minister; and sister Dearica, an IT professional.
“We decided to go on Family Feud because it is a challenging and thought-provoking game and Steve Harvey [the host] is so entertaining,” said Henry Mathis.
Money isn’t the ultimate prize of the television show Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids, it’s finding just the right dress as a supporting member of a wedding.
Bride-to-be Cynthia Niako, formerly of DeKalb who now lives in Florida, went shopping for bridesmaids’ and maid-of-honor dresses along with her mom Eusebia Niako of Stone Mountain, her younger sister Doris Niako and two of her best friends.
The episode, filmed at Bridals by Lori in Atlanta, involved one of her friends declaring, “I will not under any circumstance walk out paying for a dress I do not like.”
Five hours of trying on dresses, snide remarks and pouty lips ensued.
“These bridesmaids need to take off the track shoes or else nobody wins,” said store owner Lori Allen during the episode, referring to the women who met while competing in track and field in college.
Despite some drama, the trio reached a decision that seemed to satisfy them all—settling on two different chiffon dress styles.
The bride-to-be said she watched it with her fiancé Jerry McDowell and called her maid-of-honor Sharneka Brown during the commercials.
Cynthia Niako said the portrayal of what took place among her friends and family was true to form.
“It was really exciting,” she said of being on the show.
Niako and McDowell plan to marry in Clearwater Beach, Fla., on Sept. 22.