My co-blogger Libby and I share many things in common—including having grown up watching Bob Barker on “The Price Is Right.” So it is with a touch of sadness that we collectively mourn his final days on the popular TV game show. Come June 15th Bob Barker will no longer be a part of daytime TV.
It is a loss that millions of Barker fans have been preparing for since the Emmy Award-winning host announced his retirement plans last year. Today has been dubbed “Black Wednesday” on the series’ set—it is the day that Barker tapes his farewell show. And interest in the momentous occasion has not been lost on die-hard Barker fans. Hundreds of fans have been camped outside CBS Television City in California since Saturday hoping to get the chance to say goodbye to the daytime TV legend in person. Some have traveled from as far away as Canada and Alaska for today’s finale.
CBS issues more tickets than its 325-seart studio can accommodate so fans who want to be assured a seat need to get in line early. According to news reports, close to 100 fans pitched tents to hold their place in line. They are likely the same ones whose cell phones play the show’s theme song, or who have studied price charts to better their chances of getting out of contestant’s row.
That’s if you are asked to “Come on down.” Did you know that potential contestants have just 15 seconds to impress producers during individual interviews in an attempt to become one of the “lucky ones” who may go home “with a brand new car?” According to show producers, they are looking for someone who’s “not going to get flustered, who will be enthusiastic and a good promoter of the show.”
For 35 years Barker has been asking contestants to bid on prizes ranging from grandfather clocks to dining room sets and convertible sports cars. Barker is now 83-years-old and says he has lost count of the number of times he has been kissed on the cheek by contestants and how many times he has uttered his trademark – “Have your pets spayed and neutered.”
Regardless of what transpires at today’s last taping (there have been rumors flying around that Barker’s last show would feature a rare million-dollar prize or that every audience member would be given a car), the show’s legendary host can be assured of his place in pop culture history.
One fan who flew in from Texas for today’s taping told a news reporter: “I’d rather win a couch from Bob Barker than a million dollars from Howie Mandel. He’s part of American culture.”
Barker’s replacement has yet to be announced, though I don’t envy the person who has to fill the icon’s shoes.
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