Fettis gets a square

Deepa Bharath

Costa Mesa Police Officer Larry Fettis has never had much luck with

luck.

Until he applied to get on “Hollywood Squares” during the game

show’s Crime Fighters Week, which features law enforcement officials.

Fettis, 33, a bike patrol officer with the police department, won

a 2004 Jeep Wrangler and $2,000. He also got to meet television stars

who played lead roles on cop shows he watched as a child.

But above all, Fettis finally managed to slap those handcuffs on

Lady Luck and bring her home to his garage.

“I usually don’t win anything,” Fettis said, with a laugh. “I had

no expectations when I walked into that studio.”

But once he was in the hot seat, the answers came to him. A few

were wild guesses and a lot of it was common sense. And of course, it

was always nice when he knew the answers for sure.

“The shocker came when I got picked for the bonus round,” he said,

still sounding thrilled about it.

To get there, he got five out of eight correct in the rapid-fire

round. He had a chance to the win the Jeep, but first he had to put

the key in the ignition and start it. If the car made a whining,

complaining noise, the Jeep was gone. But if it started and purred

like a kitten, Fettis had won.

The officer stuck the key in the ignition and attempted to start

it.

“I was hoping to hear some noise, but I couldn’t hear anything,”

he said. “And I thought to myself that I had lost.”

But then suddenly he saw the audience get up on their feet,

clapping and cheering. The celebrities were smiling. And the host

walked up to him and said: “Congratulations! You won!”

“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Fettis. “I’ve never been lucky

enough to win anything. But this was just unbelievable.”

The taping was done in November, but the show will air at 7:30

p.m. on Thursday on CBS. Most celebrities who played the game were

actors from cop shows such as Erik Estrada of “CHiPs” and Martin

Milner and Kent McCord from “Adam 12.”

Fettis entered the game show reluctantly just because of his

unfavorable track record. But his friends pushed him and he went

through the interviews and test.

“Their written test was kind of interesting,” he said. “They had

questions in there like, ‘Where does Route 66 end in California?’”

Fettis was perfect for the part, said Fern McMillan, the show’s

supervising contestant coordinator.

“He was outgoing and he had the energy and what it takes to handle

the situation,” she said. “He did incredibly well.”

It’s not an easy game to win, McMillan said.

“Most people think it’s like tic-tac-toe on paper,” she said. “But

it’s a lot more than that.”

Fettis said he understood the game and strategy as soon as it was

explained to him.

“I had to figure out if someone was lying to me, right?” he said.

“Well, that’s easy. I do that for a living.”

Fettis kept a pretty serious facial expression throughout the

program, McMillan said.

“But when he won that car, that’s when he really let go and cut

loose,” she said. “He seemed so excited. He was adorable.”

Fettis is planning on selling the Jeep to fund his pet project --

restoring his classic Mustang.

And he’s open to entering more of these contests.

“All it takes is some self-confidence and that willingness to make

that phone call,” Fettis said.

And a lot of luck.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.