'Nothing has changed' for guy who won all that money

John Carpenter of Hamden won $1 million on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" on Nov. 18, 1999. (Brad Horrigan/Register) John Carpenter of Hamden won $1 million on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" on Nov. 18, 1999. (Brad Horrigan/Register) Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 'Nothing has changed' for guy who won all that money 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

JOHN CARPENTER, the man who people still think is a millionaire, ordered a slice of cheesecake and a decaf cup of coffee when we sat down to talk at the Hamden Town House a few nights ago.

He said he and his wife don't go out to eat very often, maybe once a month. "We go to Chili's or something like that."

When I expressed some surprise they don't treat themselves to a more expensive restaurant, he said, "That's just not my lifestyle."

Ten years after becoming a national celebrity by being the first contestant to win $1 million on the TV quiz show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" he is resolutely, defiantly middle class.

"Nothing has changed," he told me more than once. "It didn't change me."

Another refrain during our conversation: "I don't want to talk about money."

He still works for the Internal Revenue Service as a group manager for a collection group. Every weekday, just like any other working stiff, he packs a lunch and commutes down the highway to his office in Norwalk, gnashing his teeth about the traffic.

At age 41, he doesn't think about retirement any more than any other 41-year-old would.

I had suggested we meet at his house, off Ridge Road in Hamden, but he said he didn't want to risk waking up his 5-year-old son.

A decade after his big splash, things have settled down. Occasionally somebody will recognize him, or will say, "You look like somebody."

"I like to say I'm a curiosity, not a celebrity," he told me.

Those who do recognize him often say, "Oh, it's the millionaire." This irritates him.

"I wasn't a millionaire a second after I won the money," he noted, "because I had to pay taxes on it." (That year he paid about $400,000 in federal, state and local taxes.)

There's another thing he doesn't like that people sometimes say. They ask him, "Why are you still working?"

He always answers: "Because I live in Connecticut."

Carpenter said of his winnings, "It's not enough money, especially living around here, to just drop out and have fun and not do anything. It's not like (major league) ball player money."

He quickly added, "It's a lot of money. It makes things more comfortable than they would be. But it's not like what it used to mean when you said $1 million."

After his win, he didn't splurge, but he did buy a new car, a BMW. "I needed one. I had an old Honda with a big dent in it."

He and his wife, Debbie, also moved out of their small house in Hamden's Spring Glen neighborhood and bought a bigger place in the Mount Carmel section. Two years ago they moved again, to Ridge Hill, to be closer to his wife's parents.

No matter the size of his lawn at those three properties, he almost always did the mowing and other grounds maintenance himself. "One summer I did hire people to mow the lawn."

Oh, and last year he traded in that BMW for a Volvo. When I asked him if the new car was new or used, he said, "I'm not going to talk about the money."

He was happy to talk about his appearances on national TV shows after his win. He was on "Good Morning America," "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" and "The Late Show with David Letterman."

But the biggest shock was the invitation to appear in the opening skit of "Saturday Night Live."

"I got to say, 'Live! From New York! It's 'Saturday Night!'" he said with a little smile.

The people running "SNL" had given Carpenter the option of bowing out. "But when I saw how Jimmy Fallon was playing me in the rehearsal -- he made me appear meek and mousy -- I said, 'No way!'"

Ten years later, Carpenter is modest about winning the jackpot. "I consider myself lucky I didn't get any questions I didn't know. I know a little about a lot of things." (The final question, the one that won him a million bucks: Which U.S. president appeared on the TV show "Laugh-In"? It was Richard Nixon.)

Carpenter said people ask him why he never competed on "Jeopardy!" His reply: "I'd have to pay my own way. And it's in L.A.!"

Carpenter has made some sizable donations to charities. But when I asked him, "Would you say you are a frugal man?" he answered, "I would. That's what I would say."

"Nothing has changed. I still never have cash when I go out with my friends. And they always make fun of me for it."

Then he figured out what I owed for my cup of coffee, what he owed for his cheesecake and decaf and we divided the bill.

Randall Beach can be reached at rbeach@nhregister.com or 203-789-5766.