Milliardaire malgré lui

The movie is based on the true story of Phyllis Penzo and Officer Robert Cunningham. For twenty-four years, Penzo served as a waitress at Sal's Pizzeria in Yonkers, New York. Cunningham, a thirty-year veteran of the police force in nearby Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., was a regular customer at the restaurant, well-liked by the staff there. (His favorite dish was linguine with clams.) One day in March, 1984, Cunningham asked Penzo for help picking his weekly lottery numbers. Penzo suggested three numbers, and Cunningham came up with three more numbers on his own. Cunningham jokingly promised that if he won, he would split the winnings with Penzo as a tip. The next day, to Penzo's surprise, Cunningham and his wife came to the diner with the winning lottery ticket in hand. Cunningham's ticket had won $6 million, which he split with Penzo, giving her $3 million. In real life, however (as stated in a disclaimer at the end of the movie), Cunningham and Penzo were both happily married to other people for many years.

After the night at the Plaza, we see the reporter standing reading a newspaper with "Night at the Plaza" as the headline, and a picture of Charlie and Yvonne exiting the Plaza. The view then pans to the elevator, and we see Charlie and Yvonne exit the elevator, and walk out the front door of the Plaza, where their picture is taken - the same picture that the reporter was just looking at. So, the reporter was looking at a picture in the paper that hadn't been taken yet.

This film was inspired by the generosity of detective Robert Cunningham (ret.) and his wife, Gina. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham have been happily married for 31 years. The waitress and her husband have been happily married for 37 years.

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Client/Lassie/It Could Happen to You/North/Barcelona (1994)