Senior competes on The Price is Right
Sam Allen stood in line outside the CBS headquarters in Los Angeles on the Tuesday during spring break, eagerly anticipating his turn.
He knew nearly 350 people would talk to The Price is Right producer before he would. But he had also read the many blog posts with tips on how to get on the show, and he knew he had the qualities the staff looked for in contestants.
Allen, a senior family science major, is outgoing. He’s friendly. He’s genuine. And he knows how to play to those strengths. But would it be enough to gain a spot as one of nine competitors chosen from such a big audience?
His group of 16 friends stood opposite the producer’s stand, face to face with co-producer Stan Blits — a short man with graying hair who, that day, wore a brightly colored scarf.
“Oh, hey, Sam,” Blits said.
“Hey, Stan,” Allen said, as if catcalling.
“What’s your favorite game on The Price is Right?” Blits asked.
“‘Step Up’ because I’m a Zumba instructor,” Allen replied.
“Oh, a Zumba instructor,” Blits said. “That’s fabulous.”
“No, Stan,” Allen said, “I’m fabulous.”
Soon afterward, Allen would “come on down” to be the next contestant on the longest-running game show ever. He would win several prizes and spin the wheel for a chance to compete in the “Showcase Showdown.” The Price is Right would post pictures of him on its Facebook page, and the Baltimore Jewish Times would publish a story about him — all because he had a big smile and a free day in California.
The modern-day Price is Right debuted on Sept. 4, 1972, under the name The New Price is Right (the original, more basic version of the show ran from 1956 to 1963).
The host was Bob Barker, a broadcaster with leathery skin and an undulating voice. Barker would become much more well-known for his quirks on The Price is Right, from his absurdly skinny microphone to his sign-off phrase, “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.”
Although Barker retired in 2007, his personality helped to catapult the show to nearly 41 years of success during his 35 years as host. The show’s simple premise — estimating the retail price of objects and winning prizes — also guaranteed a widespread following.
“It’s sort of fun for everyone,” Allen said. “A lot of shows that have a little bit more content and substance to them target a certain audience and then go out of style, but free prizes and guessing prices? There’s always prices on things, and it’s cool to know how much things are and test that ability.”
In the first phase of the show, a contestant wins by guessing the closest number to the actual cost of a prize without overestimating. The winners move on to play one of 74 different games, some of which require them to choose the exact cost of the object to win.
Finally, six contestants spin a wheel for two spots in the “Showcase Showdown.” This wheel is covered with numbers in increments of five, which represent cents. You can spin the wheel up to two times and add your spins together, trying to reach as close to $1 as possible without going over. The person with the highest total in each of the two groups of three people competes in the Showcase Showdown, with one person guessing the cost of a grand package of prizes and the second guessing the cost of a different one.
Winning doesn’t require vast amounts of knowledge, like it does on Jeopardy! or other trivia shows. Unless a contestant memorizes the costs of both average household objects and luxury items — the only strategy a player needs is instinct.
Allen had traveled to California with his a cappella group, Rak Shalom, for a tour. The group kept busy, singing at several venues around Los Angeles and San Diego for the majority of the week.
But Allen and his friends had one day off. On that day, Rak Shalom member Abby Koplow had reserved tickets for The Price is Right based on her longtime love of game shows.
“I feel good about myself when I get the answer before someone else does,” said Koplow, a senior public health major. “It’s like a free quiz — like extra credit.”
As they waited in line, Koplow quizzed her friends on the price of washing machines, and the group serenaded the rest of the audience members with songs such as “21 Guns” by Green Day and “Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Bublé.
They passed through security and received yellow name tags. Inside, they saw the set. With its flashes of orange, blue, green and purple light and sparkling objects, the stage was a “little bit too colorful,” Allen said. Everywhere, someone was yelling, whether it was a cameraman, a production assistant or the tightly-packed crowd.
Koplow said she always thought there were three or four different stages, but in reality, staff merely changes the sets every so often. She was disillusioned and sad.
“It was like my balloon was popped or something,” she said.
But it was still The Price is Right, where everyone spurts happiness while wearing shirts covered with dollar signs and the face of current host Drew Carey. Rak Shalom watched as three people played games: Carol, a grandmotherly-looking woman; Lora, a redhead who won a trip to Greece; and Gerald, a middle-aged man with glasses. Then it was time for a new contestant.
When Allen was called, he said it was the “most surreal experience of his life.”
“I don’t remember walking out of my row,” he said. “I must have jumped or flew, apparated, I don’t know.”
In reality, he did a little bit of walking, running and Zumba to show off the skills he had mentioned to producers.
“We were excited that he called on the University of Maryland and mentioned Zumba and represented CRS in a way while he was on television,” said Emily Schmitt, Campus Recreation Services coordinator of fitness programs. “I feel great that it’s a significant enough part of his life to talk about it on national television.”
But his Zumba prowess wasn’t going to help Allen estimate pricing. He’d only watched The Price is Right when he was home sick as a child, and he wasn’t overly price-conscious. When the first item — an exercise bike — was shown, Allen just had to guess.
His estimate was $650. Another contestant, Paul, guessed $700. The actual retail price was $699. Allen won the bike, as well as a chance to play another game and win even more.
He half-ran, half-danced onstage.
“Drew, I’m from the University of Maryland, and I’m here with my a cappella group,” Allen yelled, gesturing out at his screaming friends.
“I’ll tell you what: You win your prize, I’ll get every one of them on stage to sing while you spin the wheel,” Carey said.
Allen’s potential prize was revealed: a hot tub and an outdoor high definition TV. His mouth dropped open, and he grabbed his head with both hands.
The game was Double Cross, which involves an interactive screen with numbers arranged in an X formation. One leg of the X contained the price of the hot tub, the other the cost of the TV. Allen had to touch the screen and move a strip of color to highlight the numbers he thought corresponded to the prices. He could win both prizes or nothing — besides the exercise bike, of course.
Allen moved the strip of green color forward, testing out different combinations. He looked at the audience, scrunching up his nose, shaking his head and wagging his finger back and forth. Finally, he moved the green line back to its initial placement: $4795 and $5813.
The buzzer went off. Allen had won two more prizes.
The Price is Right is still going strong, but it’s evolving.
Koplow, who has watched the show for years, said the sets look much more modern than they used to, and the prize packages are no longer standard objects. There are far more vacations and cars than blenders and lawnmowers.
The cast has changed, too.
“There used to be these really beautiful women who looked like they were really nice,” Koplow said, referring to the group of models once referred to as “Barker’s Beauties.” “Now, there’s this girl who seems really bitchy and this male model who takes his shirt off and just seems really slimy. He stands there winking, and his teeth are sparkling.”
Carey emphasized the male model on Allen’s episode, singing a little ditty that went, “Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, the wonderful Rob.” When a contestant won a prize, he remarked, “It feels good, doesn’t it? It’s kind of like being Rob.”
Barker has criticized Carey, telling TMZ in 2010 that he “tried to make the show really exciting, and [Carey] doesn’t do that. He just plays the games.”
But Barker himself has triggered plenty of disapproval and has had several lawsuits filed against him, including ones dealing with sexual harassment. When he left The Price is Right, rumors swirled that a claim of potential racial discrimination was being held over his head.
“The producers and stage hands are just telling you to yell at the people,” Koplow said. “Sometimes I would just be like, ’12, 7, 9, 5.’ You feel like everyone’s trying to help, but that’s not the case.”
Because Allen won his game, Rak Shalom was allowed to sing the words “Closed captioning provided by” in harmony. And when it was his turn to spin the wheel, the group sang, “Spin the wheel, Sam.”
Another contestant, Debra, who competed after Allen in the initial rounds, had already spun the wheel and earned 65 cents. Allen gave the heavy wheel a shove and landed, too, on 65.
He could enter into a sudden death spin-off with Debra or spin again and hope the number he landed on didn’t put him over $1. Allen didn’t hesitate; he spun again. His number: 75. Way over.
Debra went on to win a telescope and trips to Hawaii and Finland.
“In retrospect, I probably wouldn’t have [spun the wheel],” Allen said. “I was encouraged by people in the audience to do it. But I’m perfectly content with my hot tub and HDTV. You win some, you lose some.”
