David Barth of Los Altos was stunned when Rick Fields, announcer for the long-running CBS game show “The Price Is Right,” bellowed at him the famous mantra: “Come on down!”
The Boston University freshman arrived one week ago in Los Angeles with his college track team for a weeklong competition. The circumstances that led to his appearance on the television show were unusual, he said.
During the semester break, Barth, 19, said he received an e-mail from a friend on the track team, a self-proclaimed “die-hard ‘Price Is Right’ fan.” With 20 tickets reserved, she solicited friends to accompany her to the show’s taping, but Barth wasn’t sure whether he wanted to wake up at dawn to complete a track workout before leaving for the TV studio.
To be considered a contestant on the show, he also needed the necessary paperwork. So at midnight the night before, he enlisted the help of his mother.
“She wasn’t too happy about being woken up,” he said.
The next morning, just two minutes before the team prepared to leave, his mother’s urgent fax arrived.
Barth grabbed it and made the two-hour journey to the studio by train, subway and bus. When the team arrived, they were surprised to find hundreds of eager people already waiting in line, some since 3:30 a.m.
“It was crazy,” Barth said. “I didn’t know the show had such a major following. People are obsessed with it.”
Although the show makes the selection process seem random, producers actually handpick contestants before the show. After a quick interview, they selected Barth to appear on the air. But as the tapes rolled, he didn’t expect to be the first contestant to be called onstage.
Game show host Bob Barker asked Barth to guess prices on several household items in a “grocery bull’s-eye” game. Barth turned to his screaming university teammates for help with the bidding. He now laughs at the miscommunication that led to his victory.
“I looked at the BU track team and thought they were telling me to bid a dollar below the list price; but they were actually signaling me to bid $1. Well, I bid $7 and I won,” Barth said.
Before running offstage, Barth said hello to his mother and thanked her on national television.
“The whole experience was surreal,” he said.
His friend, the “die-hard fan” was happy for him, but also disappointed that she wasn’t chosen. As a consolation, he gave her his autographed photo of Barker.
Due to confidentiality agreements he signed, Barth is not allowed to disclose his prize to the public before the show airs, but, he promised, “It was a good prize.”
