Come on down.
Game show host and comedian Drew Carey, 66, is spilling secrets about “The Price Is Right.”
The former host of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” has hosted “The Price Is Right” since 2007, and in an interview with TV Insider, he revealed, “That happens here all the time,” referring to contestants taking “liquid courage.”
“They’ll have a gummy or I’ll smell alcohol on their breath. Not unusual,” he continued. “There was a guy here that was tripping on mushrooms. He came with a bunch of friends. He was a sketch [comedy] guy. I found out later when I went to UCB [sketch improv theater, United Citizens Brigade] to hang out and they were like, ‘Did you see that guy who claimed to be a skateboarding rabbi?’ I asked him what he did for a living. And he goes, ‘I’m a skateboarding rabbi.’ He didn’t think he was going to get picked, and he totally tripped.”
Carey, who took over “The Price is Right” after original host Bob Barker retired, kept Barker’s sign off recommendation to spay and neuter your pets, but also added, “Take care of yourself, especially your mental health; it’s so important, and I love you!”
Carey said he added that last part because, “I went through a rough couple of years, and I needed to put my mental health first. It was such a help for me to do that and not succumb to sadness or grief. My therapist and my doctor helped me find tools to not go completely under. …You can go into an addiction of feeling depressed and not knowing how to get out.”
“Life can be so much better with love, forgiveness, boundaries, speaking your mind, saying your truth, and living your truthful life,” he went on. “I feel better from being here. So I pass it along.”
Barker, who hosted the show from 1972-2007, died in 2023 at age 99.
“Ever since the beginning, I wanted to be a good steward. I learned that from when I was a church kid,” said Carey.
“You got to be a good steward of the Earth and good steward of your family and a good steward of your money. And I want to be a good steward of the show, so I don’t screw it up and wreck it from the very beginning. I was like,’“Don’t mess it up.’ I just wanted to make sure it was always on.”
Carey, who is also known for “The Drew Carey Show,” said that there are several prizes on the show that he wishes he could win.
“Oh, tons of them. Cooking trip to Italy, tour the Vatican. I’ve been to Rome a couple of times, and the tour of the Vatican is amazing. It’s so beautiful,” he told the outlet. “The Vatican Museum has some of the best art in the whole wide world. Trips to different islands. I like to travel.”
He said his ambition is to go to Seoul, South Korea, to “do a USO show.”
“Maybe do a whole week and have K-pop bands on as special guests to help play the prizes,” he explained.
“Korea is one of our strongest allies, and I think it would help put a dent in some of the Asian hate that’s out there right now. I talked to people at USO, and they’re all for it.”
He ultimately wants to beat legendary “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak – who just retired earlier in June, after earning his place in history as the longest serving game show host of the same show for his 41-season reign.
“I do have a goal: I want to keep going until I die. This is my 18th season. I’ve got to get the 35 and 41 so I can catch Bob Barker and Pat Sajak,” he said.
“Before, I was like, ‘Can I make it to five years? Can I make it to the end of my contract? Can I make it 10 years?’ The longest I’d been on TV was ‘The Drew Carey Show,’ nine years. Once I hit 10 years here, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s the longest I’ve ever had a job in my life,’” he added. “It’s such just a great part of my day, my year, my life. I can’t imagine giving it up.”