By Janice Malone
NASHVILLE, TN —How many of us have sat in our living rooms with our loved ones and had a blast watching and playing along with the hit game show Family Feud with funny man host Steve Harvey? For one Nashville area family, that long awaited dream has finally come true. The Ellis family, parents Richard and Susan, along with their children Jeremy, Savannah, and Emily will make their grand premiere on the syndicated game show May 2, 2017 on FOX (WZTV) at 11am.
Even though the show was taped last summer, the fun and memories everyone experienced is still exciting for this family, as if it happened yesterday.
The Ellis family’s journey to play “the Feud” actually began when brother Jeremy was still a little boy. When he was 7-years-old, Jeremy was diagnosed with cancer. While in the hospital taking his chemotherapy treatments, Jeremy couldn’t wait to watch his favorite show Family Feud. Eventually, the whole family became regular fans of the show too. Today, Jeremy is now age 35 and doing fine. When he heard the announcement for Family Feud auditions in the Atlanta-based show, this was his family’s shot. His sister Savannah was in charge of submitting information to the show, which included a letter sharing details on how much her brother loved watching the show when he and the family were going through a tough time during his recovery from cancer. “Savannah was working hard to compile everything but honestly, we never really thought the producers would actually call us but low and behold we got a call from the show, asking us to come for an actual tryout in Atlanta,” Emily and Savannah shared with the Tribune earlier this week.
Several Ellis family members wanted to be on the show but some were camera shy. It seems that dad Ellis was initially a bit reluctant about being on the team. “We had to drag dad to do the show because at first he didn’t want to do it,” says Savannah with a laugh. “But he did it anyway because he’s such a good dad,” adds Emily. It turns out that dad was a big hit on the show, according to his daughters. “Our parents had the best moments on the show because they were just so funny laughing, back and forth with Steve Harvey, especially our dad,” says Savannah. “Steve was laughing so hard at one point. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him laugh that hard. It was just hilarious. We hope they don’t edit out that part,” she adds while also laughing.
To further speak of the superstar host, just what was it like meeting Family Feud’s award winning front man Steve Harvey? “OMG! “We just loved Steve. He was just so funny,” recalls Emily. Savannah adds, “They tape several shows in one day, so between tapings, Steve Harvey keeps the in-studio audience laughing in stitches with jokes, answering questions. It was such a fun time for everybody.”
Emily and Savannah can’t reveal too much about the outcome of her family’s appearance on the upcoming May 2nd show, but they did reveal there will be a lot of funny and hilarious moments that made them blush. “There were some thoroughly embarrassing questions that were really kind of risqué, so we had to respond accordingly. I was just a little nervous about it,” says Savannah. “We can’t say much but it will be very funny. Just tune in to see it,” reminds Emily.
