Family Feud – Memphis Flyer

Steve Harvey isn’t terrifying, says Cassie Smith Ellis. In fact, he’s pretty easygoing. Ellis and four of her Tennessee relatives (two of whom — Natalie and Ryan Jeans — are from Memphis) recently competed on the long-running televised game show Family Feud. The episode airs on February 19th at 2 p.m. on WHBQ, and Ellis was barred from giving away too many details. Ellis did, however, tell the Flyer that despite the pressure of having to think on her feet, the show was a rewarding experience. And she said Harvey, the broad-grinning comedian and host of the show, offered an array of “teachable” moments.

— Joshua Cannon

Cassie Ellis (far left) with the Ellis family

Flyer: How did the opportunity to be on the show come about?

Cassie Smith: [My cousin] heard there was an audition in Nashville. We were the first contestants of the day [at the audition]. Immediately after we got off of the stage from the mock Family Feud, they called us right back to meet the producers. They just wanted to know about our personalities and a little more about us.

How did you prepare for the auditions?

We watched a lot of Family Feud. We downloaded apps on our phones and played the games together. We just kept our minds wrapped around the whole concept of the show and thinking out of the box.

Did you guys talk about how you would use the prize money if you won?

We would all just split it up among the family and do what we need to do for our own families. If I were to win, depending on how much I win, I would probably pay off my house and put a little back for my son. He’s 7 years old, and his name is Jordan William.

What was your favorite aspect of being on the show?

We got to be a part of the studio audience as well. There is a guy who comes on before Steve Harvey to get everyone warmed up. Throughout the whole show, even while we were in the audience before it started, there was always singing and dancing. We were clapping or we were yelling and chanting something. It was a lot of fun. But meeting Steve Harvey was what topped it off.

Do you have a memorable experience from meeting Steve Harvey?

He’s very easygoing actually. He’s comedic and liked to joke with the audience a lot. It was like he was part of the family. He would give advice to the audience as a whole. He would have a teachable moment where he would tell about his life and things he had gone through.

What was the most challenging aspect of the show?

Thinking on your feet — if you have so many answers on the board and your family has gone through them, if you’re here, and all of your answers have been called out. It’s hard to think on the spot to get something a little different from what [was already] said.

Are there any other game shows you’d like to be on now that you’ve got Family Feud on your resume?

I’ve always wanted to be on Whammy. I’ve watched it since I was little.

Lord have mercy. I’ve taken a couple of ass-kickings in my life, but nothing like this. Whatever this bug is that’s going around, I got it in spades. My wife caught it first, and although I tried to be a dutiful husband, I kept what I thought to be a safe distance. No such luck. In fact, my holiday gift from Melody was the flu.

I self-medicated for a New Year’s Eve gig with Eddie Harrison and the Shortkuts and then forgot the words to “Brown-Eyed Girl,” which I’ve probably performed more times than Van Morrison. At midnight, I hid behind some equipment cases to avoid any drunken sloppy kisses — and that was just from the men. But I shook a lot of hands. The next day, wham. You’ve heard the old story about the man who was so sick, one minute he was afraid he was going to die, and the next minute he was afraid he wasn’t?

I didn’t mind the hallucinations. I dodged the flying monkeys, but then a leopard came into the room, leaped up on the bed, and started going for my ears. It took a second to realize that it was just Nancy, our giant, speckled pup. Then I began to cough. I coughed so hard that I was reminded of the funeral procession that was going down Lombardy Street in San Francisco. The hearse hit a bump, the doors flew open, and the casket began toppling end over end until it crashed through a drug store window and rolled right up to the pharmacy counter. The lid sprang open, the corpse sat up and asked the druggist, “Got anything to stop this coffin?”

In honor of Elvis’ 80th birthday, my wife went out and bought some cough syrup for me. Back in the day, Elvis used to drink a little syrup. I remember sitting on the porch at Graceland, swilling cough medicine with Elvis while advising him on his career. Wait a minute, that might have been a dream. Speaking of Elvis, what possible reason could Graceland’s new owners have for selling his planes? The Memphis Belle is gone, the Zippin Pippin is in Green Bay, and the Mid-South Coliseum has a date with the wrecking ball. Please leave Elvis’ air force alone. Do they need the room for another gift shop selling Elvis shot glasses? This is why we can’t have nice things.

But enough about Elvis … What was that? I thought I saw light creeping through the blinds, so it’s either dusk or dawn. I’ve lost track. The other night, the only thing that felt good on my throat was Pepsi, so I drank three cans. The sickness still enveloped me, but I was so jacked up on caffeine, I was able to stay wide awake to enjoy every moment. I’ve also been having wild dreams and earworms, which are songs that creep into your head and won’t leave. I woke up in the middle of the night and had to go, but I was too weak to stand. So, I’m sitting there with my head in my hands, when suddenly the theme from Rocky starts to play in my brain. I hate that song. All day, I’m hearing, “Feeling strong now,” but the song only made me sicker. The next day, all I heard was Dolly Parton singing, “9 to 5,” which wasn’t quite as bad. I thought I might be getting a touch of that Eisenhower’s disease. That’s when you feel an unquenchable desire to go out and build interstates.

The flu has been rough, but we’ll continue to binge-watch episodes of the Family Feud with Steve Harvey until we’re better. And through all of this, I haven’t lost my faith. I saw the Cowboys lose to Green Bay on a controversial last-minute call, sending Johnny Jones back to his billion-dollar football palace, and that horrid person, Chris Christie, and his lucky orange sweater back to either hell or New Jersey. So there is a God.