Priceless Memories - Bob Barker [60]
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Eventually, we had about eighty different games in rotation on the show. I came up with several. Roger Dobkowitz developed the most games. Our director, Bart Eskander, was very creative. Anyone who worked for FremantleMedia could submit an idea for a game, and sometimes they worked. The inspiration for game ideas came from various sources. For example, Plinko was based on an old arcade pinball-like game called pachinko. Created by Frank Wayne, it had its debut in 1983. Plinko went on to become one of the audience’s all-time favorite games on The Price Is Right.
Everyone has his or her favorite games. Cliff Hangers was a big hit with audiences and contestants. People also loved the Clock Game. One of the games always associated with a huge prize was Golden Road. People would scream at the very mention of Golden Road. It gave the contestant a chance to win three prizes, and the third prize was always something in the category of a Viper. Naturally, that game elicited tons of excitement from audiences and contestants.
I didn’t have a favorite game, but I particularly liked the games that gave me an opportunity to interact with the contestants a lot and, in so doing, to create excitement and laughter. Three Strikes, Triple Play, and It’s in the Bag fit in that category.
In addition to the games, the prizes and the showcases were an important part of Price’s appeal to audiences. Cars were the most popular prize, and every year the cars got bigger, flashier, more glamorous, and more expensive. The first car I gave away on The Price Is Right was a Chevrolet Vega with a price tag of $2,650. As time went on, we had to remodel game props to accommodate five numerals instead of four because we couldn’t get cars with a price of less than $10,000. At Price, we knew a thing or two about inflation.
But we still gave away new cars—sports cars, convertibles, and all kinds of expensive luxury cars that were unusual—and people went crazy over them. We gave away Lincoln Continentals, Cadillacs, and Chevrolets. We gave away that popular, expensive Dodge Viper. As I mentioned earlier, we had made the decision to give away only American-manufactured cars. This may have cost the show a little more, but we felt it was the right thing to do, to show support for the nation’s industry and to help promote American cars. Some of the foreign car companies were offering cars at lower prices and offered us substantial discounts on cars, but we stuck to our guns and it all worked out. And there were plenty of beautiful American cars that were ecstatically received by our contestants.
As my animal rights activism and concerns became more intense, I was able to implement certain changes on The Price Is Right. By the early 1980s, the show was no longer giving away fur or leather products as prizes. We stopped giving away aquariums and fishing equipment. And for years I ended the show with: “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.” These were not critical changes or modifications to the show, but it was a by-product of my increased awareness and involvement with animal rights. Out of respect for my beliefs and my vegetarianism, the staff stopped putting meat on the grills and barbecues that we gave away. They would have vegetables sitting on the grill. It may sound like a minor thing, but it was a wonderful gesture, a subtle statement, and a sign of the consideration on the part of the staff.
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The showcases were often elaborate set pieces, and our staff did a superb job putting these displays together. People look at The Price Is Right and think that the show is simple and relatively easy to produce, but there is a great deal of preparation (far more than most people imagine) in bringing everything together to produce the show. It is a fast-moving show, which makes it difficult for the cameramen and a challenge for the stagehands, who are constantly shuttling props, games, and prizes around the set. The cameramen and other technicians, announcer,