If you can remember the price of a 30-ounce jar of mayonnaise, what an Armani purse goes for and how much to pay for an iPhone 12, thereB次元官网网址檚 really only one place to shine B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭he Price Is Right.B次元官网网址�
The longest-running game show in television history is celebrating its 50th season this month and offering viewers a chance to, as always, B次元官网网址渃ome on downB次元官网网址� to win by guessing the correct retail price for various items.
Some rival game shows reward their contestants for esoteric knowledge, others physicality. With some shows, contestants need luck, a friend to phone, strategy or an ability to cook or sing. On B次元官网网址淭he Price Is Right,B次元官网网址� the value of things is itself valued.
B次元官网网址淭his show is about how much a can of creamed corn is. ThatB次元官网网址檚 whatB次元官网网址檚 great about it. Because whether you are just scraping by or youB次元官网网址檙e Martha Stewart, you probably bought a can of cream corn,B次元官网网址� says George Gray, the showB次元官网网址檚 announcer since 2011.
B次元官网网址淭he Price Is RightB次元官网网址� is a remarkably sturdy thing, surviving the retirement of beloved host Bob Barker in 2007, a turnover in models B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� the introduction of male models in 2012 and even out-witting COVID-19.
It has subtlety evolved, with sturdy grandfather clocks as prizes replaced by electronic gadgets. High-definition TV monitors make exotic trips in the showcases pop these days, and the packages themselves have become more experiential, with scuba gear or golf clubs added to packages to Belize or Scotland, respectively.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e really been able to keep up with the trend of new prizes and what people want today. But itB次元官网网址檚 still the same game show B次元官网网址� you still need to know the price of that laptop or that iPhone,B次元官网网址� says Rachel Reynolds, a model from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who joined the show in 2003.
If thereB次元官网网址檚 one word to describe the typical contestant, itB次元官网网址檚 ebullient. When their name is called, thereB次元官网网址檚 usually a squeal of excitement and a smiling rush-hop to the stage, jumping up and down with barely-contained glee.
They are mostly regular people, nursing aides or home renovators or book store managers. B次元官网网址淕ood luck, man,B次元官网网址� current host Drew Carey will say. Or, B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 see those great prizes back there, Heather.B次元官网网址� Contestants are overjoyed to be there. One recently wore a partially bedazzled T-shirt that said: B次元官网网址淒rew, LetB次元官网网址檚 party like itB次元官网网址檚 $19.99.B次元官网网址�
Potential contestants are briefly interviewed at the Los Angeles studio, with producers looking for personal stories, along with enthusiasm. The showB次元官网网址檚 300 audience members have about 20 seconds each to make an impression.
The dozens of games B次元官网网址� from Double Prices to Five Price Tags and Plinko B次元官网网址� test the receipt-minded prices of things like a 12-ounce tin of corned beef, a pair of stainless steel patio heaters and a six-night stay in Philadelphia with a cheesesteak tour. The show is so kind that even contestants who make it on stage but donB次元官网网址檛 get to play a pricing game leave with a $300 consolation prize.
Carey, who had been host of B次元官网网址淲hose Line Is it Anyway?B次元官网网址� and did some fill-in hosting in late night TV, was warned that B次元官网网址淭he Price Is RightB次元官网网址� was more complicated than he anticipated. It requires keeping track of time, engaging with contestants and the camera, guiding everyone through the games and knowing what the contestants, models and crowd are doing at all times.
He compares it to his days waiting tables B次元官网网址� knowing when food was coming out, checking who needed a refill, when the check was needed. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 kind of the same skill set for B次元官网网址楾he Price Is Right,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 just a lot going on all the time.B次元官网网址�
To celebrate its milestone, the show this week will feature a game each day where contestants can win up to $1 million. A two-hour primetime special on Sept. 30 will include a look back at the biggest winners, never before seen outtakes and a salute to Barker.
B次元官网网址淭he Price Is RightB次元官网网址� made itB次元官网网址檚 debut on NBC in 1956, with Bill Cullen as host and consisting of four people bidding auction-style on items. The show was canceled in 1965, but the current version was revived in 1972 at CBS, with Barker as host, influencing a nation with his sign-off advice to get B次元官网网址減ets spayed or neutered.B次元官网网址� Carey has kept that slogan in his honor.
Since 1972, producers say over $300 million in cash and prizes has been given away. More than 2 million audience members have attended a taping over those years and 68,000 of them have become contestants. More than 8,400 cars have been given away.
The show has been on so long that a woman B次元官网网址� Jeanne Deters of Lexington, Kentucky B次元官网网址� won the $16,000 showcase in 1977 (a Porsche, a grandfather clock and tickets to the 1977 World Series) and then later watched her son, Patrick, walk away with the $31,000 showcase in 1998 (a sailboat, a spa bathtub, a womanB次元官网网址檚 watch and a collection of 43 B次元官网网址渟cary videosB次元官网网址�).
Reynolds, who has gotten married and had a child during her tenure, calls the show her B次元官网网址渟econd family.B次元官网网址� Her daughter has made multiple appearances, and her husband has been on B次元官网网址淭he Price Is RightB次元官网网址� for wedding shows. But it started with a baptism by fire.
She was about six months into modeling prizes when she was asked to pilot a Ford Mustang onto the set. It was in neutral when stagehands pushed it into view and her job was to B次元官网网址渨ave, smile and hit the breaks.B次元官网网址� She hit the clutch instead.
By the time she realized her mistake, the muscle car was drifting into the set, finally bumping Door No. 3 with a nudge. B次元官网网址淚 was like, B次元官网网址極h, IB次元官网网址檓 getting fired,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she recalls. But Barker was gracious and didnB次元官网网址檛 skip a beat B次元官网网址� and neither did she.
She credits the show for also making the Barker-Carey transition seamless . Barker had an unflappable regal elegance, but Carey has his Cleveland blue-collar wit and kindness.
Reynolds credits producers for not trying to fill BarkerB次元官网网址檚 shoes with more of the same, which would have been foolhardy anyway. B次元官网网址淚 couldnB次元官网网址檛 have gotten luckier with two better hosts,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淭hey really are two totally different people.B次元官网网址�
The prospect of regular folk winning big prizes seems to still captivate the cast and crew. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檝e got stagehands in the back watching the monitors, rooting for our contestants,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淲e all really want the contestants to win and to do well.B次元官网网址�
She has a tip for all would-be contestants: Make sure to check out the prices for various items in Los Angeles, which is where producers get all their retail info. B次元官网网址淧rices are a little bit more expensive in Los Angeles,B次元官网网址� she confides.
Gray says heB次元官网网址檚 always heartened that contestants cheer each other on, even of they just lost. B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e the Red Sox, you donB次元官网网址檛 cheer for the Yankees,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淏ut when somebody else gets to play instead of you, you cheer for them.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚 love the fact that B次元官网网址楾he Price is RightB次元官网网址� is always a positive show,B次元官网网址� he adds. B次元官网网址淓verybody pitches in and wants everybody else to win. I think that really is always a bright spot in peopleB次元官网网址檚 days.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擬ark Kennedy, The Associated Press
