Throwback Thursday: Donald Trump’s Apprent-Ace

Hard to believe, but it was more than a decade ago when Bill Rancic was a contestant on “The Apprentice,” a reality TV show hosted by a real estate tycoon named Donald Trump.

Rancic went on to the win the contest, earning him a job at Trump’s company: The Trump Organization.

In the March 20, 2006 issue of Home Channel News, the forerunner of HBSDealer, a photo of Rancic addressing the Ace general session in Dallas carries the caption: “As part of its high-profile deal with NBC’s The Apprentice, Ace has signed season one winner Bill Rancic as a spokesman. The show is popular among the younger demographic that Ace wants to reach.”

The article explains that Ace Hardware played a prominent role in one of the second-season episodes of the Apprentice.

Rancic eventually moved on to other reality television gigs, and other celebrity spokesman duties.

What happened to the real estate tycoon who hosted the show? Haven’t heard.