The Price is Right
Host: Bill Cullen, Merv Griffin
Announcer: Don Pardo
Premise: How high will you go?
Version one:
Four contestants, one a returning champion, bid on items Bill presented. Whoever was closest without going over won the item.
The first player would be given a minimum bid, but could go higher than that. Then, the next player would have to make a minimum raise, drop out, or go under the high bid, but that would mean the player froze.
After the players froze or a bell rang to give each player one last bid, the player who was closest without going over won the item, and any bonuses attached.
Part of the fun of the show was seeing what bonuses would be given away. Sometimes it was straight forward like a new car or coat, othertimes it was strange, like a mile of hot dogs, a dress for every week for the woman of the house, and so forth. Sometimes the winner would play a game for extra stuff.
One game had the players overbid on a vaguely described diamond ring valued at $30. The bonus for that item? A check from Bob Stewart in the amount of $10,000. Oops.
The fourth item of the night was usually very expensive, and common items would be a luxury car, trip around the world, diamond necklace, boat, or motor home (that particular item was so big it could not be placed behind the curtain of the theater, and was instead parked out front. I believe it retailed for $14,000 or so.)
After the fourth item, the scores were totaled, and the high scorer was invited back next week.
One of the popular features was the "Home Viewer Showcase." The showcase was shown for four weeks,
and the person who sent in the card with the closest guess without
going over won the showcase, and sometimes
the opportunity to appear on the next show.
If there was a tie for being exactly right or equidistant, those in the tie were asked to send a telegram to the production company with their bid on one of the items. This continued until someone won the showcase, usually valued between $15,000 and $25,000, once centering around a fast food franchise.
When it became apparent that there were 70-way ties for the exact price (the amounts could be researched beforehand) and it was impossible to break the tie, the way to determine the winner was changed. The postacrds sent in were placed in five bins, and one was drawn from each. Whichever card had the closest bid without going over would win the showcase.
Travis' Review:
Cast: Bill Cullen hosts the show masterfully; as you would expect. The suspense when the actual price is revealed is enormous, along with the bonnuses being shown. Bill also plays up the humor of the game along with banter with the contestants; but he can also keep the game moving, asking for contestants' bids he he plays it just right, especially when the show is running long. Merv was great as a substitute for the vacationing Bill, and Don Pardo is a wonderful announcer.