Suburban sisters claim spotlight on 'Family Feud' tonight
Five sisters from the Northwest suburbs will be featured on Friday's episode of “Family Feud” after winning $20,500 in the first round Wednesday.
The show, which airs at 5 p.m. on WPWR-TV Channel 50, features sisters Tina O'Donnell, 42, of Mount Prospect, Lisa Altmeyer, 40, of Elgin, Denise Spallone, 37, of Park Ridge, Nicole Dubak, 35, of Des Plaines, and Joanna Molnar, 32, of Park Ridge. The siblings will appear on the show again at 5 p.m. Friday.
The family had a viewing party with more than 100 people at Chasers Bar & Grill in Niles for Wednesday's airing of the show.
The sisters auditioned for the show in April in Schaumburg and were flown to Atlanta in July for the taping, with parents Charlie and Linda Molnar of Des Plaines watching from the audience.
“It was such an awesome experience,” O'Donnell said. “We got to meet (show host) Steve Harvey. He's a really nice guy. He was very funny. The fact that we won was even better.”
O'Donnell said she and her siblings grew up watching game shows, including “Family Feud” and “Wheel of Fortune.”
“I was even on 'The Dating Game' when I was 16 years old,” she added.
Years ago, mother Linda Molnar was a contestant on “The Price Is Right” when the family had briefly relocated to California.
“I guess we are a game-show family,” O'Donnell said.
O'Donnell said the siblings knew they had to bring their “A” game to the audition to be selected.
“We just were energetic,” she said. “We all got along, no fighting. We were friendly. We interacted with the host.”
O'Donnell said she doesn't like being in the spotlight, but Harvey made them feel at ease.
“He knows the questions to ask you to make you comfortable,” she said. “Each one of us he knew exactly what to ask. Even if we hadn't won money, it wouldn't have mattered. We just got to share a great experience.”
Leading up to the show's taping, the sisters prepared with a “Family Feud” smartphone app.
Having gone through the experience herself, Linda Molnar said she was anxious with anticipation for her daughters. “I know how overwhelming the experience can be,” she said.
Linda Molnar recalled that she was in the audience during a taping of “The Price Is Right” when she was selected to appear on the show.
“It was all very spontaneous,” she said. “I was sitting in the audience and they randomly called out my name. As you can imagine when the spotlight hits your face, I was terrified.”
Linda Molnar won $15,000, which she split with an elderly gentlemen in Florida who was on the phone playing with her.
“We've created kind of a little history here,” Linda Molnar said about her daughters' carrying on the family tradition. “Now we've got to get some of the guys, the spouses, to get out there and do it. Hopefully, the grandkids will carry on our tradition of being on game shows.”
Molnar was especially proud of how her daughters performed on “Family Feud.”
“They more than exceeded my expectations,” Molnar said. “They are very close sisters, and as they have matured, they don't have the opportunity anymore to travel just by themselves without their husbands and their children. It was a great bonding experience for them. It was really very rewarding for all of us as a family.”