The Price is Right

The people associated with the show:

Host: Bill Cullen

Substitute hosts: Jack Clark, Bob Kennedy, Johnny Gilbert, Sonny Fox, Sam Levenson, Merv Griffin, Robert Q. Lewis, Jack Narz, Arlene Francis, Don Pardo

Announcers: Don Pardo, Johnny Gilbert

Substitute announcers: Roger Tuttle, Dick Dudley, Ed Jordan, Jack Clark, Vic Roby, Edward Haeffor

Models: Beverly Bentley, Toni Wallace, June Ferguson, Carolyn Stroupe, Maryann James, Gail Sheldon

Airdates: NBC daytime November 26, 1956-September 6, 1963; NBC Primetime September 23, 1957-September 6, 1963; ABC daytime September 9, 1963-September 3, 1965; ABC primetime September 18, 1962-September 11, 1964

Origination: Hudson Theater, New York (NBC); Colonial Theater, New York (NBC); Ziegfeld Theater, New York (NBC); Century Theater, New York (NBC); Ritz Theater, New York (ABC)

The premise:

The Price is Right premiered on NBC on November 26, 1956 with Bill Cullen at the helm. Don Pardo announced. The object of the game was to come as close as possible, without going over, to the manufactuer's suggested retail price of a merchandise prize.

Four studio contestants were shown a merchandise item. Some items were one-bid items, where each player was given one guess at the actual price. Other items were part of open bidding, where one player bid, and the following players had to bid higher than the previous player. The bidding moved through the contestants several times before each player made their final bid. A player could freeze at any time when the feeling was that the next guess would put him or her over. The player who came the closest to the price won the item. Occasionly after the winning bid was announced, a bell would ring. This indicated that the player had won a bonus prize. At times the player would outright win a prize (i.e. A TV Set to go with the living room they just won). Other times a mini game would be played. These winnings were added to the player's total winnings. The player who had the highest total (prizes and any bonuses) won the right to come back on the next show.

One of the popular features on the show was the home viewer contest, in which viewers sent postcards in with what they believed to be the EXACT worth of a showcase of prizes.

In September of 1963 the show moved to ABC.

Misc Stuff:

The stone-age version:

In 1962, "The Flintstones" aired a parody of "The Price is Right" titled "The Price is Prized". Barney Rubble competed on fred's behalf. On the show and won a fishing rod. But then the famous "bonus prize" bells rang, and he won a houseboat as well. Then the two families begin to feud...

Board Games:

Two board games were released in conjunction with this version of "The Price is Right". The first game was very similar to the TV show. It was manufactured in 1958 by Lowell toy company. The second version was a strategy game based on the tv show titled "Bid It Right". That version was made by Milton Bradley in 1964. Both versions can be seen on Ebay quite frequently.

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