The Price Is Right/Funny

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Bill Cullen and Bob Barker were quite infamous for being Deadpan Snarkers (although Bill was snarky towards himself far more than at the expense of the contestants), and Drew Carey is a comedian. Further, the original 1956-65 series aired live on the East Coast.

So naturally, The Price Is Right has created a ton of Funny Moments.

In General...

  • On a handful of occasions, a contestant that has bid $1 higher than the person before them will have the next person bid $1 higher than them. On one such occasion, Drew quipped "So how does it feel?" to the second bidder.
    • Or when the opposite happens and a contestant who bid, say, $899 gets one-upped by another contestant bidding $900, only to find out their bid was on the nose, meaning they get a $500 bonus while the punk who pulled that cheap shot gets to wallow back to their seat.
  • Double Showcase Winners. Most contestants will bid conservatively, limiting how often these big wins come along... but when they do, the reaction on their faces is always spectacular.

Bill Cullen (1956-65)

  • Circa 1959 (daytime): A promotion for the Barnum & Bailey Circus had an elephant brought onstage, who then proceeded to relieve itself of its...um..."burden".

Bill: Tune in on Monday, when we give equal time to the Democratic Party!

  • January 27, 1960 (nighttime): The first IUFB was a midget car. As Don Pardo described it, he began to break up laughing because model Toni Wallace couldn't get the thing started. She finally did after the description and cruised the car to stop in front of the contestants. Bill assured the contestants that the car they win "will have a motor".
  • June 29, 1960 (nighttime): Contestant Kenneth Jones returned after a week off, following a "Honeymooners Special".

Bill: Did you see the show last week?
Kenneth: Yes, and I'm glad it was a special because I didn't get a damn-er, darn one right!
(audience laughter)
Bill: And you didn't start off well tonight, either!

    • Jones won the first item, a dining room set, and got so excited he fell off his chair and the curtain, raised at the start to show the item, was lowered over him.

Bill: Normally when somebody wins a prize I say "Here is your price tag", tonight that's changed — (to Kenneth) champion, here is your membership to the Blue Cross.

  • October 5, 1960 (nighttime): Bill entreated all the Yankees fans on the staff to give him his moment of glory as his team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, defeated New York in Game 1 of the World Series, 6-4 (the Pirates would win the series in seven games). The first IUFB was an ensemble of costume dresses modeled by twelve girls, all of whom surrounded Bill after being described. Bill passed on some sage advice to males across the country:

Bill: When you bet on a team, it doesn't have to be for money.

    • The first contestant, Paul Nordlund, saw the girls and this exchange took place:

Paul: Holy cow, my wife is watching!
Bill: Holy wife, my cow is watching!

  • December 25, 1961 (nighttime): A blooper which remained dormant until resurfacing in August 2011 involved a bonus prize of an evening gown. As the model (Judy) turned around to show the low-cut back, everyone could see a tear right at the "back" of the gown.

Bill: Judy, dear, your hair is lovely tonight, would you turn around again-let's see the back of your hair (she does so)-beautiful.
(Judy looks down, noticing the tear, and covers it up with a shocked look on her face)
Bill: To our wardrobe mistress here, I said "low cut", but don't overdo it! Judy, I'm sorry-don't catch cold!

    • Bill then mentions that the contestant will have to have the gown repaired, and the show will send her to a seamstress they know...in Paris.
  • November 26, 1962 (nighttime): The contestants were bidding on a dry heat sauna. Thomas Linge was the fourth contestant, and bid $1,300 on his first turn. Upon his second turn...

Thomas (to Bill): Does that take weight off you?
Bill: Um, I don't know if it takes weight off me, but...er, yeah, it takes weight off you.
Thomas: I think I'll freeze.
(audience laughter)

    • (On the original Price, "freeze" meant the contestant wanted to stay at his/her current bid and was out of further play. The audience took Linge's comment as wordplay.)
  • March 13, 1963 (nighttime): At the start of the show, Bill introduced the fourth contestant (Anthony Kochinski) and asked who he had in the audience to see him. His reply? "The original tranquilizer twins — my mother-in-law and my wife!"
    • Later, Zip the chimpanzee had the audience rolling as he demonstrated a pair of roller skates as an IUFB (it had a bonus attached to it) — twice, Zip fell on his fanny.

Bill: He practiced all day doing that!

  • July 26, 1963 (nighttime): The third-to-last NBC episode had Bill starting right off describing a bonus a contestant had won the previous week (a role as an extra in a movie) and followed that by going straight to the first IUFB. Somewhere during the prize description, it dawned on Bill that he forgot to interview the contestants.

Bill: And everyone here in the theater knew it but me! The contestants knew it, the audience knew it...and now I'd like to introduce Hugh Downs who will come out and finish the show![1]

  • August 28, 1964 (nighttime): The third-to-last nighttime episode of the original series saw Bill plugging the Home Game (Bid It Right: The Price Is Right Card Game), only to discover that the returning champion didn't get her second copy the previous week.

Bill: This outfit gives away thousands of dollars worth of prizes and they are the chintziest bunch with this game! You know, I've been trying to get one for-let me see... (opens up the box and looks inside, then closes it back up again) ...I don't want it. Now, let me explain how the game is played — first of all, someone comes in here and takes my place.

Bob Barker (1972-2007)

  • September 4, 1972: The first episode of the revival had several of these.
    • Connie, the very first contestant to play a pricing game (that being Any Number), was loud and somewhat jumpy. Bob also had this little gem before the game:

Bob: How would you like to be driving around in that [Chevrolet Vega] in your fur coat? Dragging your range behind you?!

    • During the Showcase Round, Connie was the Top Winner and told Bob to his face that "I don't trust you!" Presumably, she thought the Showcase was akin to the Big Deal (Price and Let's Make A Deal were similar in some respects) and that she would lose her car and fur coat. Bob reassured her this was not the case.[2]
    • Following the very first Showcase, which featured a trip to Acapulco:

Bob: And you can get there in your new car-
Connie: You can't drive to Acapulco, can you?!
Bob: Sure you can! Just go out to the Pacific Ocean and turn left!

  • September 8, 1972: Boo Boo Cooper, the second person ever to play Grocery Game, didn't completely understand its rules. Bob more than makes up for it.

Boo Boo (points to soy sauce): What is that?
Bob (over audience laughter): This is soy sauce. Soy sauce.
Boo Boo: I've never had it.
Bob: Trust me, it's great on the rocks.

    • Her performance there caused the rest of the show to be somewhat rushed. She managed to get to the Showcase, and showed that she wasn't paying attention to Johnny Olson's prize descriptions:

Boo Boo: Is that [trip to London] by plane, or boat?
Bob: By airplane.
Boo Boo: Is that just for me at one?
Bob: Is it for one or two? Two.
Boo Boo: Oh, good. Bring my boyfriend.
(silence)
Bob: ..."Are the [six] clocks wound or unwound?" I know, I know...

  • Circa 1973, when it was still the New Price is Right: A contestant is about to play Clock Game and voices how she doesn't like the game and she wanted to play a new pricing game. Bob got "offended" and the rest is history.
  • In general, pretty much every time the show did something weird for April Fool's Day:
    • 1974: A No Budget "Every Room In The House" Showcase with such "prizes" as paper plates and an eggbeater; the real Showcase was a Cadillac (or something similar). Apparently, the contestant who got this rare opportunity bid a mere $100 because "I didn't want to go over!"
    • 1975: "Your Showcase begins with a new dining room!"...and goes downhill very quickly. (Clips of it were used in this promo, which we had previously thought to be from 1977.)
    • 1976: A "Bicentennial Salute" Showcase (done sporadically during the 1975-76 period for obvious reasons) honoring Dr. John Barrett Clapinger (played by a very young Roger Dobkowitz), a famous American physician and author who had a wife and a mistress; the real Showcase was a Cadillac El Dorado.
    • 1977: There was very clearly some sort of prank done, as there's a title card at the end of the previous video which assembles just enough to say "April 1, 1977".
    • 1981: As Johnny Olson introduced Bob at the top of the show, Door #2 opened to reveal...a small stand with a white card reading "APRIL FOOL'S!" Bob was then shown making his very first audience entrance.
    • September 29, 1982: Holly vs. an uncooperative Gibson refrigerator (starts at 3:00).
    • 1983: Exciting Decorating Ideas For Your Home, where everything gets broken and "a one-of-a-kind classic reproduction of a 1964 Valiant" plows through a wall. The real Showcase was a pair of Chevrolet Camaros.
    • 1987: The most blatant example of a Friggin' Random All-Trip Showcase, with said trips being to places that don't actually exist. The real Showcase was a pair of Ford Thunderbirds.
    • 1988: A prank is played on Holly.
    • 1999: A Showcase with six cars. The real Showcase was three Chevrolet Metros.
    • 2005: A Showcase where Teri plays some pranks...and then one gets played on the contestant for about two seconds.
  • Circa 1974: A Range Game contestant named Saba pressed stop way too early and lost. Bob's interaction with him was classic. (it's not on YouTube anymore.)
  • 1975: A lady playing Shell Game asks her mother for help.
  • September 14, 1977: This episode featured the debut of Secret X...and opened with Yolanda Bowsley, a contestant whose tube top also "came on down". Bob had no idea what was going on, so after he made his entrance, he saw the excessive amount of cheers and applause, got confused, misinterpreted it, and said things like "Whatever brought this, this is the way I want it from now on!" Bob would be informed of the incident after the first commercial break.

Bob: Wait a minute! ...I know you all truly love me, but you don't really love me this much, do you?

    • Before the last One-Bid, the final contestant called down almost had a similar incident. Of this, Bob said that she was "the best thing to happen to this show since Yolanda!"
    • Years later, Bob would hang a lampshade on the whole thing by saying "She came on down and they came on out!"
  • February 27, 1980: A funny segment all-around, but Squeeze Play just isn't cooperating. And Bob insists on neatness.
  • November 10, 1980: The first Grand Game win (long believed to be the debut, but was actually the eighth playing) in which Pauline (a Samoan) chased Bob around the stage.

Bob: I would have let you grab me sooner, Pauline, but I didn't want to have you pay for my hospital bills.

  • 1981: A game of Cliff Hangers in which all sorts of things go awry. Most notably, after the contestant guessed on the last prize, the mountain climber was shown falling off the cliff... but then the winning bells were heard and the price revealed that she had missed it by just enough that the mountain climber should have stopped on the very last step. This causes Bob to bring Roger Dobkowitz out from behind the prop to give an explanation.
  • April 20, 1982: A contestant bid $1, thinking that his opponent had gone over; his opponent not only didn't overbid, but was a mere $9 off, winning both Showcases. This incident is a good example of why you shouldn't bid an intentionally-low amount in the Showcase (current Showcases begin at around $15,000), but to be fair there was little chance of him winning no matter what he bid.
  • February 8, 1983: An entire episode where pretty much everybody was drunk.
  • Christmas 1983: Toward the end of a Temptation playing, the concealer for the last number in the car's price was stuck partway. Bob tried pushing the button several times to no avail, then the contestant started hitting it herself; the concealer finally dropped upon her third or fourth hit, revealing that she had won.
  • January 10, 1984: During the open, Johnny Olson called for Susan Derbeck. She, expecting to hear her future last name of Dupont, didn't stand up for 35 seconds. After she finally came down, Johnny introduced Bob, but he wasn't there...and didn't appear for 15 seconds.

Bob: Welcome to The Price Is Right — if it's good enough for you, Susan, it's good enough for me!

  • February 8, 1984: Ethel.

Ethel: I had a dream about you so I had to come down here.
Bob: What were we doing in the dream?
Ethel: You were chasing me in the hayloft.

  • December 1984: An incident shortly after One Away debuted had Bob under the mistaken assumption that the "correct number" horns would be used after the contestant's second turn as well. Upon asking for the first horn, the standard bell sounded instead and the first number of the price was revealed; Bob, after asking if she had "one number right" (noting that the first number was already revealed), hit the flat part right above the price — i.e., the signal to move the price reveal another digit down. Bob continued to ask for horns, not noticing any of this, until the price had been fully exposed.

Bob: But... I wanted to ask for another horn!

    • Making this a little weirder is that none of Bob's shenanigans were necessary — the game had been won immediately after the first number was revealed, as it was the only one left unchanged.
  • Christmas 1984: In a game of Pick a Pair, the contestant didn't make a match on his first try. Bob then told everyone the correct match and started explaining that he knows because the cards hiding the prices stick far out front that you could look in from above and see the price, then he realized that the contestant still had a second chance! Needless to say, the contestant won.
  • 1985: An older lady about to play Clock Game really didn't want a computer.

Contestant: I can't even balance my checkbook, what the hell am I gonna do with a computer?
Bob: After you make a remark like that, what the hell are we gonna do with no computers on this show in the future?

  • August 21, 1986: On the second nighttime special, the fourth number accidentally revealed itself during Lucky $even. As the contestant had been asked to give the third number, and the fifth was revealed at the outset, this resulted in a win. (The fact that the last number was revealed at the outset during an era of $10,000 cars, which in turn meant the player really only had to guess three numbers, didn't help matters.)
  • October 6, 1986: The Shell Game cheating incident had several of these through Bob — his reactions to the contestant (Deborah) and, later, playing up the rather anti-climatic reveal. Upon winning her first chip, she lifted one of the four shells (which didn't have the ball under it), and saw that the ball wasn't there. After Bob scolded her, she put her chip next to the shell she just looked under, to which Bob said that she was sweet for doing it but added "that's dumb". After Deborah won the last two chips (and marked all the shells except the one she lifted), the audience applauded the upcoming win. ("You know, I'm pretty sure she's won this...").

Bob: You know, you've ruined my show. You've ruined my game. This [reveal] would be exciting, but everybody knows the damn thing's not there! It's here, you win!

  • 1987 (or thereabouts): Dian makes a Freudian Slip.
  • February 26, 1988: After the sixth item up for bids was shown, Bob notices there's a book of The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows as one of the books. When he noticed that his picture wasn't on there... he ordered that book be thrown away.
  • September 15, 1988: Rod Roddy gets through a Showcase skit full of tongue-twisters without slipping up once...then fluffs his own name at the end.
  • 1991: The fourth contestant's shirt says "LEAVE ME ALONE"...so Bob does just that.
  • November 30, 1992: A younger contestant named Cherish spins the Big Wheel backwards. Bob quickly stops the wheel.

Bob: Have you ever seen anyone spin in reverse?
Cherish: I wanted to be different!
Bob: Well, you were different. Now be normal.

Bob: Do you know what she has done? I will be haunted with this for years to come — people'll come, they'll say "I wanna spin it backwards, then I'll get a dollar!"

  • 1990s: An extremely-excited contestant named Ruby Jean got called down, but she instead ran past Contestant's Row and onto the stage, shrieking as she embraced Barker.

Bob: Now, Ruby Jean? You wanna play a pricing game, don't you?
Ruby Jean: Yes! AAAIIIEEEHOOHOO!
Bob: And you wanna play it right now, don't you?
Ruby Jean: Yes! Yes! YES! OHHH!
Bob (pointing to Contestant's Row): Will you explain to them why you get to play and they don't?
Ruby Jean: I'm up here. (realizes her mistake, then shrieks in embarrassment before scampering for Contestant's Row)

    • A similar moment when a very old lady named Lily got called down and went up onstage next to Barker.

Bob: Now you want to play a pricing game?
Lily: Love to.
Bob: Now, how am I going to explain it to these people down here [in Contestant's Row]?
Lily: Well, they're young and they'll understand it.
(Bob laughs)

  • January 20, 1998: A contestant playing Clock Game gave several slow, random guesses and, with about 15 seconds left, backed her way into the right answer of $749. Bob was stunned and sat down for a few seconds to "regain [his] composure".

Bob: I hope you realize...that we are in the presence of a miracle!

  • February 11, 1999: Brian makes his first Clock Game bid on a dinnerware set — $89, then $105. Bob soon caught on and reprimanded him for bidding so low on dinnerware. "You couldn't buy those saucers for $89!" Brian proceeded to bid $45, then claimed he said $485 when Bob asked for clarification. The game continued until Brian made a bid that sounded like "eight or nine hundred". Bob's stunned silence right before time runs out is priceless.
  • November 1, 2000: The easiest playing of Ten Chances ever. (Oh, and a few minutes later? Automatically qualifies for the Showcase.)

Bob: This young man has won a car, an oven, a shredder, and he's in the Showcase...and he has done nothing!

    • The logical inverse was this playing, mostly because the contestant was a Brainless Beauty who staggered through every chance she was given. At the end, when she wins, Bob sits down in shock and starts talking away from his mic.

Bob's inner monologue: "I can't believe this stupid bitch won a $20,000 car."

  • June 6, 2002: The big reveal in Flip Flop was averted by a stuck price cover. Although the price was revealed enough that the outcome was known, Bob and the contestant ended up ripping the cover in half, shaking the game board considerably in the process.
  • October 2, 2003: Bob spins the Big Wheel for a wheelchair-bound contestant...and fails to get it all the way around. His response? "This is the most humiliating moment of my life." And then Bob hands the microphone to the contestant and spins the wheel with both hands.

Drew Carey (2007-Present)

Craig: That's why you do well in this country. That's a great show. You got a hot-looking girl, a couple of great motorcycles, and a guy inhaling helium. There's no more entertainment possible!

  • 2009-10: April Fool's Day got much weirder following the departure of Roger Dobkowitz. See the Moment Of Awesome page for more.
    • Special mention should be made to the Cliff Hangers music playing during one contestant's Showcase Showdown spin...and said music slowing down as the Big Wheel did.
  • April 20, 2009: This Spin-Off. First spinner gets the dime, the second gets the nickel. (Bonus points for the winner looking an awful lot like Santa Claus.)
  • September 23, 2009: A contestant playing One Away claimed that she had practiced the game beforehand, then went on to do...Bob Barker's "Ladies, do I have at least one number right?" routine — a routine that had been ousted in favor of "Oh, mighty Sound Effects Lady" when Drew became host two years earlier.
  • January 2011: One IUFB was an automatic pancake maker, to which Drew asked "Where were you when I was fat?!"
  • March 4, 2011: More Cliff Hangers wackiness when the stagehand is just a bit late in stopping the mountain climber...
  • April 3, 2012: One of the small prizes used for a game is introduced as a "non-stick waffle maker". When it is opened to show the waffles inside, a waffle sticks to the top.

George Gray: (mockingly angry) I said, "Non-STICK!"

George Gray: ...a used SUV!

Dennis James (nighttime, 1972-77)

  • (Nothing as of yet, but here just in case.)

Tom Kennedy (nighttime, 1985-86)

  • (Nothing as of yet, but here just in case.)

Doug Davidson (nighttime, 1994-95)

  • (Nothing as of yet, but here just in case.)
Back to The Price Is Right
  1. ↑ (Bill's reference to Hugh Downs alluded to the Tonight Show incident where host Jack Paar stormed off the set after having the term "water closet" censored. His announcer, Downs {then also the host of Concentration}, took over for that telecast.)
  2. ↑ (This is also something of a Funny Aneurysm Moment, due to all the scandals that Bob got himself in during his tenure as host.)
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