Since “Family Feud” first aired in 1975, viewers have enthusiastically played along with the TV and dreamed about a chance to win the grand prize. For one Plant City-based family — the Houstons — watching the show was not enough. They were determined to play live.
Their endearing family bond and gregarious personalities landed Janet Johnson-Wright, Angela Johnson, Angela Vickers, Kiara Dickens and Chris Bonner a spot on the show, which will air Monday, Sept. 22.
Johnson-Wright, Johnson and other family members were gathered one night last December to watch “Family Feud,” when a plan was set in motion.
“I looked at my mom, and I said, ‘I’m going to get us on ‘Family Feud,’” Johnson said. She emailed the producers of the show and told them about the Houston family’s history.
Ida Bell Houston and Butler Houston, known as Big Mama and Big Daddy, had 12 children in Plant City around the turn of the 20th century. Eleven of those children survived to adulthood. Although today’s decedents are spread throughout the country, they always return to Plant City for reunions.
“All family trees have roots that begin and spread in all directions,” Johnson-Wright said. “Our tree is rooted in Plant City, Florida.”
All five of the Houston “Family Feud” contestants currently live in the Tampa Bay area.
The producers loved the family’s identity, and Johnson-Wright got a response inviting her family to audition.
Their January audition was in Tampa, where thousands of other families also auditioned in the course of just one weekend. Later, Johnson got an email again, inviting her team to film an episode.
The family practiced to prepare for the show.
“We always came together in prayer, and we always ended in prayer, so no matter what the outcome of the show, it was done in God first, love and just a lot of fun,” Vickers said.
In June, the family traveled to Atlanta for filming.
“Every person that we met that was part of the ‘Feud,’ no matter what their role, they treated us with extreme care and made us feel like we were royalty,” Vickers said.
She appreciated how the show’s staff had made the atmosphere so enjoyable and welcoming.
Steve Harvey has hosted “Family Feud” since 2010, and Bonner said he was just as fun and entertaining off-screen as he appears on the show.
“I remember watching him when he had ‘The Steve Harvey Show’ a long time ago, so it was almost surreal meeting him,” Bonner said. “The whole process was fun.”
Although Bonner is generally a calm person and remains stoic for his career in law enforcement, his charisma fully came out during filming.
“Steve Harvey picked up on that and said, ‘I’m going to marry you off!’” Vickers said about her son.
The Houston family colors are red and white, but the producers of “Family Feud” did not allow contestants to wear white. Instead, the family substituted the color purple for white.
Some of the family’s other favorite moments from filming included dancing the “Cupid Shuffle” and doing their team cheer. At one point on the show, Vickers said she had 600 children — but, you’ll have to tune in to find out what she meant by that, she said.
Contestants on the show are not allowed to reveal their results to anyone until after their episode has aired. But, even before they competed, the Houston team had a plan for what they would do with the $20,000 prize if they won.
The family at large is actually incorporated as the Houston Family Club. Every year, they collectively donate money to the family members who are graduating high school and headed to college. That $20,000 would be used for tuition if it ended up in the Houstons’ possession.
“We all had different strengths, which made the perfect team,” Vickers said. “One without the other, you cannot do. That’s why our family motto is ‘One for all, and all for one.’”
To see the Houstons on “Family Feud,” tune in to WTTA at 6:30 or 7 p.m. Sept. 22, in Plant City, or at 7 or 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22, in Tampa.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.