Priceless Memories - Bob Barker [17]
On the subject of prices, I have to confess, I would have been a terrible contestant. I don’t know the price of anything. One time a reporter came to do an interview with me, and he brought a grocery bag of items. He said, “OK, you’ve been asking the questions all these years, now we’re going to see how well you know prices.”
I did terribly. I didn’t know what anything cost.
He said, “No refrigerator for you. In fact, nothing for you, and you better stick to your side of the microphone.”
Why should I pay any attention to prices on the show? I couldn’t win anyway!
We also had beautiful models—beautiful women who displayed the prizes, demonstrated merchandise, and provided ample grace and beauty to the show. The models were extremely popular with our audience, and along with announcers Johnny Olson, Rod Roddy, and Rich Fields, they became a valuable part of our success. People felt they knew them also. Both our announcers and our models did a fantastic job.
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The Price Is Right was a fast-moving show. We played six games per show, and we constantly developed new ones. We had about eighty games at the time of my retirement. I used to say if you don’t like what we’re doing right now on the show, wait about four or five minutes, and we’ll be doing something completely different. People ask me how I could do that show for so long, and I say because it was always something different every day. Different contestants, different games, different prizes, different audiences—they all had their own unique attraction. Every show was different because you never knew what was going to happen. We played Plinko and some other games once a week. We played some games every other week, and there were others we played less frequently. Our format was so flexible that I could spend extra time with a contestant who was particularly entertaining or funny. If we were having fun and getting laughs, I’d stay with that contestant and make up the time somewhere else in the show.
Someone once said about me that I make my living making other people funny. I think that sums it up. I helped them be funny. I never try to get a laugh at their expense. As a matter of fact, I played straight man for the contestant. I deliberately set them up for a laugh. I think I was able to establish rapport with guests quickly and got them to open up and reveal themselves a bit because they felt they knew me already. I never played any other part on television. I was never a doctor or a detective. I was always Bob Barker: what you saw was what you got. When people would see me on the street or in a restaurant, I was the same guy. People always felt they knew me because they may have watched me for years on Truth or Price, and I was always just Bob Barker. Also, I had my wife on my shows occasionally. I talked about my pets, and I had them on my shows over the years, too.
After a while, you have established a bond with your audience. I never wanted a contestant to leave with his or her feelings hurt. I wanted them to enjoy every moment of the show, and I wanted them to look back on it as a fond memory in their life. I tried to treat them just as if they were guests in my home. I never tried to put them down. I know there are comedians who do and make a huge success of it, but that’s not my style. I tried to have fun with the contestants, and I kidded them, but I hope in a loving way. And we got letters, plenty of them, from people who said being on the show was one of the highlights of their life, one of the best things that ever happened to them. It was always rewarding and encouraging to receive those kinds of letters. I can’t take all the credit