‘Claim to Fame’ eliminates two: Who's gone, and why?
Two “Claim to Fame” contestants’ stay in the house was just a little shorter than “Forever.”
This week's double elimination on ABC’s summer series (Wednesdays, 9 EDT/PDT and streaming next day on Hulu) resulted in the ousting of Jill Kurlfink and Gracie Lou Hyland, two ladies with famous uncles. Kurlfink is the niece of “Full House” star John Stamos, and Hyland calls actor Jon Cryer “Uncle Johnny.”
Both competitors, designated as guessers for the weekly ceremony, were wrong about who their fellow housemates were related to. Kurlfink incorrectly believed Miguel’s famous family member was Antonio Banderas, while Hyland thought Adam and Dustin Hoffman belonged to the same family tree.
Cryer picked up Hyland from the “Claim to Fame” house in a limo bearing the license plate “DUCKMAN,” referencing his quirky character “Duckie,” from 1986 film “Pretty in Pink.” Stamos cheered on his niece from afar, and was a great supporter, Kurlfink tells USA TODAY.
The magic Kurlfink performed during last week’s talent show “was actually 100% his idea,” she says. “He ended up putting a bunch of tricks in an Uber the night before I left and sent it down to my house.” Stamos, known to Millennials simply as Uncle Jesse from ABC's "Full House," also helped his niece with negotiations for “Claim to Fame.”
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“I was sending my contracts to him to be like, ‘Is this legit? Is this right?’” she says. “He was just so supportive of me the whole time.”
The 60-year-old actor, the brother of Kurlfink’s mom, Alaina Stamos, advised his niece to “not be afraid to show who I really am because he loves me for who I am, and the world is going to love me, too,” Kurlfink, 23, says. She dishes on what being a “Claim to Fame” contestant is really like and growing up with the “Full House” cast as “part of my family.” (Edited for length and clarity.)
Question: How does the experience of “Claim to Fame” compare to what you thought it would be?
Jill Kurlfink: It's honestly completely different than what I thought. I didn't expect it to be so high-paced, constant stress, constantly trying to figure things out. I thought there (would) be some times where I could just get to know everyone. But straight off the bat into the game we were like, “OK, who could this person be related to?"
Throughout the game, did you recognize any clues to your uncle's identity?
The two biggest were on the Clue Wall, the Greek yogurt being right in the middle. (Stamos, of Greek descent, appeared in Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt commercials.) And then another one was the trolley on the Clue Wall (making a) San Francisco/“Full House” reference.
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You mentioned the “Full House” cast feeling like a part of your family. Which stars were around?
Kind of everyone. One of the main people who was always there was Bob (Saget, who played the widowed father of three girls on the ABC sitcom. He died from head trauma early in 2022.) It's weird, because being at family functions, it does still feel like there's a piece missing. He was always with us at Thanksgiving and cracking jokes with us from when we were younger.
Bob was almost like an uncle to me, and to my uncle, he was a brother. He was my uncle’s ride or die. (John) definitely struggled with (the loss), and it was just so sad to have to watch him. Seeing him cry would make me cry. I'm super close with my uncle, so it was just terrible.
What is your relationship with your uncle like?
I talk to him probably at least once a week. He is my biggest supporter. I go to him for any advice that I need. He's definitely been through a lot more life than I have, and is not afraid to tell me the hard truth about certain things — definitely about boys. The most recent thing we talked about is, I just recently went through a breakup. And I was telling him some of the things that (my ex) did, and all of my exes to (my uncle) are pieces of (crap).
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Yes! After crying about exes, I’ve realized they're never worth it. Back to “Claim to Fame": Who is the contestant to watch out for?
I would say that Mackenzie has a lot more knowledge than people think. We got close while I was in the house, so there were a lot of times where it was just me and her talking at the end of the night, and she was just spitting out facts. It was crazy to see how smart she was.