Celebrity 'Millionaire' Update

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday September 23, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

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With last night's celebrity version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" blacked out in several areas (thanks to a skirmish between Disney-owned ABC and cable supplier Time Warner, which is the parent company of PEOPLE), an estimated 3.5 million viewers were deprived of last night's show. In a nutshell, here's what happened: Kathie Lee Gifford won $32,000 -- with the help of some fellow celebs. Asked a question about poker, Gifford heard Dana Carvey ask Rosie O'Donnell, "Hey, didn't you just go to the bathroom?" "Yes, I did," Rosie responded. (The correct answer was "flush.") David Duchovny walked away $500,000 richer. Asked what Italian city houses the Duomo, he called his lifeline, wife Tea Leoni. Her answer: "Oh, honey, you are SO screwed." (Duchovny correctly guessed Florence.) Dana Carvey (now at the $32,000 level) was the final contestant. He'll be back tonight.

• On Sunday, CBS's top-rated "60 Minutes" went head to head with "Millionaire" -- which ended up drawing nearly twice as many pairs of eyes as the news program. There were 19 million viewers for Regis Philbin and 10.6 million for Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley and company, according to fast-track Nielsen national ratings.