Priceless Memories - Bob Barker [16]
Then I’d say, ”Now, wait a minute here, is your name Harry Brown?”
“Yes.”
And to the other, “Is your name Harry Brown?”
“Yes.”
And then I’d turn to Roger Dobkowitz, our producer, or someone who knew which Harry Brown we wanted as the next contestant. “Which one was the one chosen?” I’d ask.
And he’d point out the right Harry Brown.
I’d turn to the other one and say, “Maybe next time,” and we’d go on, but it was all on the air.
I remember a show when we called the name of a contestant, and I don’t remember if we said “Senior” or “Junior,” but they were both in the audience, and they both got up, father and son, and came down. It was the senior that we wanted. I turned to Junior. “What a thing to do, to try to ace out your own father to get on The Price Is Right!” I said, “You should be ashamed of yourself. Now, you go back there and sit down.” The audience roared with laughter.
Another time, a model accidentally drove a car into a wall. We rolled out this beautiful car with a model at the wheel, smiling into the camera. She smiled and smiled some more as the car rolled —bam— into the wall. We just kept going, and I said, “I’m going to give you a chance to win that beautiful car with the dented fender!” and the audience cheered the idea. There were so many moments like that, so many comic episodes and mishaps that we encountered, but we always left them in, and the show was much richer for it.
Of course, the all-time on-air mishap, the one everyone always talks about, was the show with the lady in the tube top. When her name was called to come on down, she jumped to her feet and began jumping up and down and her breasts popped out of the tube top. She didn’t even know it. She got into Contestants’ Row, and a lady in the front row told her. She dropped down and pulled her tube top back up. She came on down and “they” came on out on CBS, and no one has ever forgotten it.
I actually didn’t see it when it happened. I was waiting behind the doors to be introduced, and when I came out onstage, the audience was roaring with laughter and applauding thunderously. At first I thought it was all for me. I thought: “This audience really loves me!” Then I decided that no audience had ever been that fond of anyone.
I turned to Johnny Olson and asked, “What is going on out here?”
Johnny said, “Bob, this girl has given her all for you.”
We left it all in as it played. We put a banner across her chest so you couldn’t see anything, but the viewers at home knew full well what happened. That is undoubtedly the most talked about incident in The Price Is Right history.
Speaking of Johnny Olson, he was a great announcer and a beloved part of our show. The audiences in the studio and the fans at home loved him. He deserves the credit for the very popular slogan “Come on down.” “Come on down” was just three words in the script, but Johnny came up with this delivery, this tone and excitement, and it was magical. It really took off. I am often asked, do I mind or do I get tired of hearing it when people call out to me on the street? The answer is, never. I love it. It means they watch the show. People are always saying “Come on down” to me, and I don’t mind at all. I consider it a tribute to the show.
• • •
When people ask why The Price Is Right was so successful, my agent always said—as I would expect him to say—that it was all because of the host. But in truth, it was a combination of things. In addition to the spontaneity and the live atmosphere, the basic premise of the show was strong. Everything we did on the show was based on prices, and everyone identifies with prices. You can be a policeman, a doctor, a writer, a cabdriver, but you identify with prices. When we brought out something for the contestants to bid on, the person at home played right along: “Oh, that’s a good bid” or “That’s not enough” or “That’s too much.” The viewer at home might be standing at an ironing