While most of us have midterms and homework on our respective minds, Ohio State freshman Greg Walsh’s head is full of visions of tic-tac-toe boards and movie stars as he becomes a contestant next week on the “Hollywood Squares” college tournament.
“No one could believe I was on the show,” Walsh said. “My parents thought I was lying.”
In December, the 19-year-old Walsh walked past a flier that his resident adviser had hung on the wall about Hollywood Squares’ visit to the Schottenstein Center. The purpose of the visit was to recruit OSU students to compete on the show. Alongside his buddies, Walsh went to the Schott to see if he could beat the odds and become a contestant on the show.
After filling out various trivia sheets testing his knowledge, Walsh continued into the second round of questioning, where he was put into a mock show to see how his personality and performance skills were while under the spotlight.
“There were two tryouts with about 75 people in each,” Walsh said. “I was lucky enough to be picked.”
“Hollywood Squares” flew Walsh to California in January to tape the shows and to make promotional commercials.
“I got to spend a weekend in Hollywood all expenses paid,” he said. “We went everywhere and saw all these famous actors.”
The “Hollywood Squares” college tournament airs on television from Feb. 12 to 23. Walsh plays on three of the seven shows, appearing in the preliminary rounds, semi-finals and the finals.
“The first show was really nerve racking,” he said. “The box I was in was really high, and there were four different cameras in my face and lights everywhere.”
After the initial stage fright, Walsh said he became more comfortable and started to have a really good time.
Students from 13 other universities joined Walsh in the college tournament, including Indiana, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Pennsylvania and of course, OSU’s favorite rival, Michigan.
“I actually played against Michigan,” Walsh said. Walsh couldn’t say whether or not he beat Michigan, but the smile on his face hinted toward a victory.
Walsh played against college students as well as famous entertainers including Jason Alexander, Martin Short, Vitamin C and Kermit the Frog.
“It was so cool hanging out with all the celebrities,” Walsh said. “Kermit and I had a little interview.”
Walsh majors in biology at OSU when he is not in Hollywood hanging out with movie stars. He can also be found playing on the club soccer team as well as in intramural basketball.
Walsh’s first appearance is on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
