Fox’s Forgotten 2000 Male Beauty Pageant: Who Won, Who Became a Star & Who Got Accused of Murder?
Two years before The Bachelor joined our TV landscape, viewers at the turn of the millennium were treated to a bachelor contest of a very different (and very odd) sort: On October 2, 2000, Fox aired The Sexiest Bachelor in America, a competition with the glitz of a Miss USA pageant, but this time featuring males and hosted by Caroline Rhea. Fifty-one single men — one from every state plus Washington, D.C. — paraded across the stage in swimsuits and tuxedos, showed off their “talents” and answered interview questions for a shot at $100,000 and the title of Sexiest Bachelor in America. Though the contest itself was a bit strange, the strangest part was what some of the contestants went on to do with the rest of their lives — one became a TV star, one wrote a book that inspired one of the biggest films of the 2010s … and one was arrested for murder.
How did contestants get selected for The Sexiest Bachelor in America?
TV GUide
According to an August 2000 Los Angeles Times profile of the pageant, contestants were sourced at radio stations, clubs, online, and in casting calls at Hard Rock Cafes around the country. “There are tapes they showed me that, as a man, I would say, ‘That guy would never be on the show,’ but the women love him, because he really opened up about who he was instead of just having a great look,” contest producer Don Weiner told the Times. “They’re looking at the whole personality.”
Who won The Sexiest Bachelor in America?
The winner was Tom Gill, a high school teacher from Virginia who won the judges over with his personality. Gill later admitted that some viewers wrote to him saying he was not the most handsome man on stage, but his answers had won people over. “I hope the term sexy now is not just how you look,” Gill told Education World in 2000. “It’s a lot about the mind and what people think. I hope people are inspired to be well rounded. I like the fact that some people said maybe I was not the best-looking guy there, but they talked about my answers.”
His plans for the prize money were pretty practical: He wanted to buy a house, have some fun and use some of it for good causes. Unfortunately, not much is known about his whereabouts these days.
Who else competed on The Sexiest Bachelor in America?
Teddy Sears (Michael Desmond/ABC/Everett Collection)
Looking back now, what makes this odd one-night special unforgettable is not just the winner but the surprising names tucked among the contestants. Representing Maryland was Teddy Sears, who went on to become an actor with roles on One Life to Live and other television projects.
Massachusetts sent Ben Mezrich, who would later write The Accidental Billionaires, the book that inspired the movie The Social Network, which follows the rise and early lawsuits of Facebook.
Ben Mezrich (Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection)
In 2024, Mezrich poked fun at his past as a contestant in the pageant.
The latest issue of NY Magazine has a wild, and yes, snarky profile of my writing journey. I think a lot of mainstream journalists will hate me even more after reading this, but I also think @svzwood is a heck of a writer, and liked me despite himself. And I’m pleased he couldn’t… https://t.co/1MchIAFS1k
— Ben Mezrich (@benmezrich) November 1, 2024
A 2024 Vulture profile of Mezrich noted that “In 2004, a publicist successfully submitted his name for People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue on the logic that ‘the author category is the easiest category.’ This triumph came after Mezrich’s equally unlikely turn as a contestant in the Sexiest Bachelor in America pageant, for which Tonya submitted his name, even though they were a couple. Massachusetts being the ‘author category’ of sexy states, he was once again accepted, before bowing out in round one.”
However, some contestants went on to not become famous, but rather, infamous. The creepiest story to come out of the show was that Nebraska’s contestant, Brian Lee Randone, made headlines years later when he was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend. He was later found not guilty and acquitted of charges. In 2014, their relationship and Tang’s death was the subject of a 48 Hours investigation.
Why was there never another The Sexiest Bachelor in America?
So, why did The Sexiest Bachelor in America never return? The ratings did not justify the cost and the whole idea felt more like a stunt than a tradition waiting to happen. By the year 2000, even traditional beauty pageants were being questioned for their relevance, and a male version may have seemed too much of a gimmick. Whatever the reason, the pageant vanished after its debut and was never brought back. Do you remember watching the special?
Remind 
Classic Hollywood Hunks
September 2019
Cary Grant, Sean Connery, Rock Hudson and Paul Newman, smoldered onscreen and, in addition to being smokin’ hot, they were effortlessly cool.
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