Fox Cancels Rebroadcast of ‘Multimillionaire’ Show

In less than a week, Fox’s “Who Wants To Marry a Multimillionaire” has been transformed from an instant hit into a major embarrassment for the Los Angeles-based network, whose executives are scrambling to explain their failure to uncover the unromantic fact that a former girlfriend once obtained a restraining order against “groom” Rick Rockwell.

Fox moved quickly to cancel tonight’s rebroadcast of the show, which was watched by 23 million viewers last week. One high-ranking executive, who asked not to be identified, said that the show’s allegedly wealthy groom “omitted a key piece of information. If we had known this piece of information beforehand, we would not have selected Mr. Rockwell.”

Network executives said Rockwell had confirmed the existence of the 9-year-old order, but denied the allegations that a onetime fiancee presented to obtain it.

Rockwell, best known in San Diego for playing the part of Skippy, a beach-nerdish figure on a short-lived local TV show, emerged from seclusion Monday night to speak briefly to a group of reporters that had been camped out most of the day in front of his house. Rockwell brought eight boxes of cheese pizzas that had just been delivered to the modest home in the affluent San Diego suburb of Encinitas.

“Thank you for caring so much about us,” Rockwell joked as he distributed the pizzas to the reporters who had been waiting outside the home, despite a driving rain.

Asked about his bride, he said, “I think she’s at the [Santa Monica] hospital where she works. She’s doing great. I talked to her a few minutes ago. We had a very good time on our honeymoon. Things are great.”

As he handed out the pizzas, Rockwell was asked if and his bride plan to remain married. “I don’t know. But you know what? She’s a great person. I like her a lot.”

Asked about the restraining order obtained by the former girlfriend, Rockwell said he would like to discuss it but has been advised to remain silent.

He then returned to the house, flanked by two security guards.

“Enjoy the pizzas,” he said.

The firestorm facing Fox is sending a chill throughout an industry that has increasingly turned to so-called reality programming to fill prime-time schedules. Fox has said it is pulling back from what are termed “shockumentaries,” while other networks are waiting to see how quickly the “Multimillionaire” scandal will dissipate before making any adjustments to their own programming.

Controversy over last Tuesday’s broadcast escalated over the weekend, following reports that Rockwell, who Fox initially described as “a successful self-made millionaire,” was once accused of hitting and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend. According to documents posted on TheSmokingGun.com Web site, Debbie Goyne, a Redondo Beach resident, made the allegations against Rockwell in legal papers filed in early 1991 in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained a restraining order against him.

“On several occasions, the defendant Rick Rockwell threw me around and slapped and hit me in my face,” says the handwritten, two-page declaration published on the Web site. “. . . He said he would find me and kill me.”

Rockwell, who married emergency room nurse Darva Conger during the Fox broadcast, denied the charges Sunday after returning alone to his home after his Caribbean “honeymoon.” “At no time have I ever struck any of my girlfriends, ever, for any reason,” Rockwell, 42, told reporters in San Diego. “I don’t condone it under any circumstances. You know, relationships have ups and downs, but getting physical for me is not an option.”

One Fox executive conceded that the selection process for the “Multimillionaire” special was “flawed,” saying: “We’re not going to be doing a special like this again. Despite what the best intentions are, you simply can’t find out all the background of everyone involved. If someone wanted to hide something, they certainly could have done it. It raises the issue of what it means for reality series. You just can’t know if someone would wind up being a psycho of some kind.”

Rockwell’s new wife, Conger, could not be reached for comment, although Rockwell said in his television interview that she was “doing well” and was “getting some much needed rest right now.” The couple were accompanied by chaperons on their trip, and separate rooms had been booked for them. The executives said the two were friends, but “but as for now, they are living separately.”

High-ranking Fox executives were taken aback by the controversy, particularly since Rockwell had undergone five weeks of interviews by the special’s production company, Next Entertainment. During that investigation, Rockwell did not disclose the Goyne accusations or that he had been served with a restraining order, according to Fox executives. Next Entertainment had also hired a private security firm to check into Rockwell’s criminal, civil and credit background, and had not turned up the restraining order.

However, “Rockwell was not asked, ‘Have you ever abused anyone?’ ” said a Fox executive. “We still don’t know if he has. And he denies it.”

In a statement, Next Entertainment said it “was not aware of the allegations against Mr. Rockwell. A good-faith background check performed prior to the show by a reputable independent investigator did not reveal any information that Mr. Rockwell was anything other than a decent, successful man.”

Goyne alleged in the declaration that she made a videotape of Rockwell admitting that he had damaged her car and would do so again. “His temper is short and he will randomly throw anything in his path,” she alleged.

Meanwhile, an Orange County woman said in an interview that she saw flashes of temper, but never violence, when she dated Rockwell from August to December of last year.

The 30-year-old woman said she met Rockwell through an online dating service and that they were frequent companions, even traveling to his home in Vancouver together.

“He was nice,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified and characterized Rockwell as “exerting a little too much control for me. . . . He is very tight. He is a person who never took me out for a nice dinner,” the woman said. “He wouldn’t go out unless he had a coupon and then only to places like Souplantation.”

Next Entertainment is preparing another Fox special, “Street Magicians: Secrets Finally Revealed,” which will air later this month. Fox executives said they were not considering canceling the “Magicians” special.

Although the “Multimillionaire” special drew huge ratings for Fox and there were suggestions of a possible May installment, the network had not committed to broadcasting any more. Fox Television Group Chairman Sandy Grushow said last month that he was dedicated to steering the network away from the “shockumentary” specials, which he said have taken a toll on the network’s reputation.

“I would rather fail with quality than succeed with garbage,” Grushow said at the time.

Such programming had come under fire from industry insiders. “I suppose there’s no limit until somebody does something so offensive that they’ll stop,” said former NBC Chairman Grant Tinker.

Times staff writer Tony Perry contributed to this story.