What Really Goes On Behind The Scenes Of 'The Price Is Right'

Pretty much everyone who comes to The Price Is Right hopes to win a car (except this guy). But just think: in any given show, a few different cars get offered as prizes, and the Showcase Showdown typically includes at least one car as well. With five shows a week, that's a lot of cars.

You never see the same car twice, and they always happen to be the latest, shiniest models. That's because the show keeps 37 to 45 vehicles on the studio lot at any given time, and the inventory rotates every week.

Sure, the games make for enjoyable viewings, mostly because they're as much about chance as they are about strategy, which makes for good entertainment. And the contestants can be a hoot. But the real draw of the show lies in getting a gander at those amazing prizes. Over the years, they've offered some showstoppers. Like the $285,716 Ferrari 458 Spider that no one won, and a $157,300 Audi R8 V8 Spyder that Sheree Heil won in 2013. Heil also won $10,000 in cash and a $3,045 pair of Prada shoes, beating the previous Price Is Right record of $147,517 won by a single contestant.

But the biggest winner of all time was Adam Rose, who took home $1,153,908 during The Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular primetime special. 

The Big Wheel debuted when The Price is Right expanded to an hour-long format in 1975. Former producer Roger Dobkowitz admitted it was due to the popularity of the game show Wheel of Fortune, which aired at the same time on competitor NBC. "They had a wheel and we also had to have one!" he said.

Some players truly hit the jackpot with the Big Wheel. The goal involves landing on the highest dollar amount closest to $1 without going over in order to proceed to the Showcase Showdown. But if you land on the $1 slot, you get $1,000 and the chance to go for $10,000 on the second spin. In 2017, contestants hit the $1 spot five straight times, resulting in a total cash payout of $80,000 and causing Drew Carey to go up and down in excitement.

For decades, Bob Barker sported deep, chocolate-y-brown hair. It sounds a bit hard to imagine now, given that his silver mane became one of the things for which he is most known. But initially, The Price Is Right felt reluctant to let him go from brown to gray. Barker told BookPage the decision to stop dyeing his hair was a big deal to the show's producers. 

“I was the only guy on TV with gray hair," he said. "I had to get approval from the head of daytime programming!”

By the time Bob Barker retired from The Price Is Right in 2007, he existed as nothing short of a legend. Replacing a legend makes for a tall order, especially when said legend is the affable, silver-haired Barker.

CBS knew they needed to try, and it appears they considered practically every host in the country for the gig. Potential replacements invited to audition included George Hamilton, John O’ Hurley, and Mario Lopez. Rosie O'Donnell campaigned for the job - Barker even gave her his endorsement - but the show never even extended O'Donnell an invitation to try out.

Also left off the audition list: Marc Summers, former host of Double Dare. In the end, it went to Drew Carey.

The fantasy most of people have of winning on a game show usually ends with walking out of the studio laden with our newly-acquired prizes. But it's not quite that easy, and no one leaves The Price Is Right with their winnings, whether they won a new car or a can of baked beans.

Obviously, winners must fill out a lot of paperwork. The show's prize department starts working with the contestants to get them their prizes after the show airs - and that may be months after taping. Non-vehicle prizes get shipped to the winner's home. Vehicles must be picked up at local car dealerships, but the dealer may not have your winning model in stock, meaning you have to wait even longer until they do.