It was known as the Bob Barker Theater, but Studio 33 had a rich showbiz history dating back to the beginnings of TV itself: Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, the Smothers Brothers, Sonny & Cher and Carol Burnett all shot there. A colleague went wandering in search of ancient swatches of curtains with CBS eye logo patterns.
It was amazing to think of the studio as being shot in HD, since it’s not exactly tattered and worn, but certainly well used. The purple carpet in one corner has felt the feet of hundreds of contestants jumping.
My mother would have had a heyday here. She was such a fan of Barker, dating back to “Truth or Consequences.” When I invited her to a arena road show version of “Price is Right” back in the ’80s, she embarrassed me by chasing after him with a boater she called a barker’s hat (Barker and that famed pompadour was having none of it).
The glitter and corniness of the studio was the kind of thing on which she’d thrive. The bedroom of the lifelong contester was in similar tones of orange, pinks and yellows. Sure, she’d want to play Plinko, Hi Lo and the Showcase Showdown, but to be here among the lights, with big IDs for names, hearing that corny theme music and hearing that announcer’s voice would be prize enough.
They allowed the visiting reporters to spin the big wheel, which was heavier than it would seem, and impossible on one spin to figure how to a revolution to 100. Alas, I could only get it to 75.
I felt kind of bad about the people first in line outside, a family from Southwest Missouri who had been waiting eight hours so far to get inside. But they had a chance to win a car.
Barker used to end his “Price is Right” shows by reminding viewers to spay and neuter their pets. But I preferred his longtime sing-off to his previous run: “Hoping all your consequences are happy ones.”