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Ex-comedian looks to make serious money
Ed Mitchell knows what it’s like to be alone in the spotlight.
After all, the Austintown man was a touring comedian for many years.
But doing stand-up is nothing compared to the pressure of being on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” he recently learned.
Mitchell, 52, will appear as a contestant on the quiz show next week. His episodes will air Tuesday and Wednesday at 4 p.m. on WKBN-TV 27.
“There’s something different about being in that hot seat,” he said.
A 1974 graduate of East High School in Youngstown, Mitchell works in the banking industry and is also a civilian SCUBA instructor for the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department’s search and rescue team.
In the 1980s and ’90s, Mitchell was a professional comedian who toured the country with his stand-up act.
He recalled a show he headlined in the late ’80s at the Funny Bone in Pittsburgh, where the warm-up act was a young and then-unknown comic named Drew Carey.
“Yes, Drew Carey once opened for me,” he said with a laugh.
Mitchell has performed on bills with the likes of Howie Mandel and Dennis Miller. He also worked as the promotional manager for the Funny Farm comedy club about nine years ago, when it was located in the Holiday Inn MetroPlex in Liberty.
Although he stopped performing about five years ago, Mitchell said he still writes material and hasn’t ruled out a comeback.
“I might put together a show one day,” he said. “I pay attention to the new comedians, and my material fits right in with what’s coming out today.” He noted that his act is “clean” — he doesn’t do raunchy humor.
Mitchell and his fiancee, Denise Poulakos, were audience members at a taping of “Millionaire” in New York in September. He took the show’s test for potential contestants at that time and was selected. He returned to New York with Poulakos in October to tape his segment.
Contestants are allowed to keep three people on standby to serve as “Phone a Friend” helpers in case they are stumped by a question. Mitchell chose Deneen Poulakos of Youngstown, Mark Marucci of Canfield and Jim Evans of Boardman.
He isn’t allowed to say how much he won. But he did say he will use a portion of his winnings to benefit a charity.
In the early ’80s, Mitchell’s mother, the late Mary Mitchell, had started and operated a local nonprofit program called The People Are Hurting. It offered food, clothing and educational assistance to those in need.
Mitchell, a 2004 graduate of Youngstown State University, said he will watch next week’s episodes at his home.