MechSE sophomore wins big on the Ellen DeGeneres Show

2/26/2014 Julia Cation

Written by Julia Cation

Logullo in his Joker costume after his big win.
Logullo in his Joker costume after his big win.
Logullo in his Joker costume after his big win.
The excitement began the week before, when Ellen DeGeneres sent out several tweets about planning a big surprise for the University of Illinois on Monday, February 24. Then she told everyone to come to the Quad dressed as their favorite movie character. A crowd of about 2,000 people from the university and community showed up to witness a handful of lucky people try out their movie character impersonations for Ellen.

MechSE sophomore Tad Logullo, dressed as the Joker from the Batman movies, was selected by Ellen herself. "I wasn't going to go, because I had class, until I heard there was a costume contest, so I skipped class, threw on the makeup, came out here and froze for an hour or so. And it was totally worth it," he told WIXY 100.3 FM's Orion Buckingham. Logullo was standing in the crowd, not on the stage with the originally selected group of contestants. "I was about to give up, I was almost walking away, and [the producers] pulled me back and said 'What's your Joker impression like?'"

When Ellen selected Logullo as the winner of the contest, he said he didn't believe it. "I was freaking out." His prize includes a trip for two to Los Angeles on March 3 and tickets to a taping of the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The episode featuring the contest on the Quad aired Wednesday, February 26 on CBS.

Logullo was one of a handful of contestants selected to compete.
Logullo was one of a handful of contestants selected to compete.
Logullo was one of a handful of contestants selected to compete.
Photos courtesy of Tad Logullo.


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This story was published February 26, 2014.