LeBron James is taking a shot at the game show universe, and an Akron couple will play an important role in the venture.
NBC is offering a sneak peek of the James-produced, prime-time game show The Wall at 10 p.m. Monday, with Akronites John and Angel Whorton competing to win up to $12 million.
While he stands at some 6 feet, 9 inches tall, Angel said her husband looked like a “toddler” next to the giant electronic wall that’s about four stories tall and held their financial fate.
John and Angel had to work together to correctly answer questions so a green ball would fall from the top and bounce around before landing in slots with cash prizes — one worth as much as $3 million.
Give an incorrect answer, and a red ball drops deducting money based on the value of the slot below.
While they can’t say just how they fared, John and Angel said they are still as much in love today as they were when they married some 13 years ago.
“We made a pact,” said Angel, who works for Akron Public Schools as a special education teacher. “No matter what happened, we would remember that we went out there with nothing and knew we might return home with nothing.”
John, who works for Key Bank, said it was fun to be able to travel out to Los Angeles to be on TV and meet the show’s host, Chris Hardwick.
“The show is like a roller coaster,” John said. “There are a lot of up and downs.”
It’s also special, Angel said, that the show has the Akron connections with LeBron’s SpringHill Entertainment, which he created with his St. Vincent-St. Mary fellow alum Maverick Carter, as one of the producers.
“He gives back to the community so much,” she said. “It is just great.”
The couple plans to watch the show Monday night with their children John Ramon, 9, and Kara, 11, and family and friends at a watch party at City of Joy Life Enrichment Center at 610 W. Exchange St. in Akron.
“This was like a dream come true,” Angel said. “I can’t put into words how exciting it was.”
Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3547.