GENTRY — Derek Jech, of Gentry but now living and working in New York City, was a $50,000 winner on The $100,000 Pyramid, an ABC television game show, which aired June 26.
Anthony Anderson and Sherri Shepherd competed, along with contestants Derek Jech and Lori Burkhoff (of Great Neck, N.Y.), for prizes. The show is hosted by professional football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.
"The two celebrities on my episode were comedian, host and actress, Sherri Shepherd, and star of ABC's Black-ish, Anthony Anderson," Jech explained. "The rules state that you have to play a round with each of the celebrities for a chance at winning money in the Winner's Circle. I got to the Winner's Circle when I was partnered with Sherri. She was calm, competitive and clever. She gave great clues, and we instantly had a connection that I knew was going to be hard to beat," Jech said.
"We got a perfect score for the rounds that we played, and then we went to the Winner's Circle and blew through each category. I couldn't have been paired with a better partner," Jech said.
"After winning $50,000 in the Winner's Circle with Sherri, it was my time to play with Anthony Anderson," Jech said. "He didn't have a great first round with Lori, his first contestant, so I was nervous; but when he and I were partners, we did pretty well. I was proud of our performance, and he genuinely wanted to win. It just wasn't in the books. He was very gracious, apologized for not doing better and helping this Arkansan win."