It's True, Fan Says: Bob Is Priceless

Lifelong 'Price Is Right' fan Phil Barrett, 24, camped outside the CBS studios in Los Angeles for 120 hours to get a seat at Bob Barker's final taping.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Barrett

By LINDSAY WILKES-EDRINGTON The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 8, 2007

TAMPA - As a child, Philip Barrett watched "The Price is Right" with his grandparents and now TiVos the show in his Brandon home every day it airs.

Hopelessly hooked, he knew what he had to do.

He and his wife - who is four months pregnant with their first child - boarded a plane for Hollywood on Saturday determined to be part of the studio audience for Bob Barker's final taping.

What happened was more magical than they ever imagined.

Barrett was chosen as a contestant and made it onto the stage, becoming one of the last people to spin the iconic wheel for Barker's final showcase drawing.

"I couldn't even think," he said Thursday, a day after the taping. "I tried to keep it together, but you're not thinking about the numbers. You're thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm on television.'"

He made it to the final showcase but walked away with a grand total of $7.31, a check he never intends to cash.

Barrett, 24, has been watching "The Price is Right" for as long as he can remember. When he was growing up in Pittsburgh, the television in his home didn't pick up a lot of channels, so "The Price is Right" quickly became his favorite show.

In 1985, the show's announcer at the time, Johnny Olson, died. Barrett, then 2 years old, held a vigil in his memory.

"I don't remember what I did exactly," he said. "But I remember being really sad."

Barrett moved to Brandon four years ago. Now he tapes the program while at work as a television producer at Revival Ministries International. When possible, he takes his lunch break at 11 a.m. and returns home to watch the show.

"For a lot of people, watching 'The Price is Right' is one of the highlights of their day," Barrett said. "You start out in your life thinking, 'This is a fun show.' But then you find you're shouting out the numbers, and then the next thing you know you're in line for five days waiting to get in to see it live."

A Show Of Devotion

A year ago, Barrett attended a "Price is Right" taping and barely made it into the studio. This time, he wanted to make certain he was part of the audience to watch the 83-year-old Barker end his 35-year run on the show.

He hadn't planned to get in line until sometime Sunday, but when he went by the studio Saturday and realized no one was there yet, he couldn't resist the chance to be first.

Elizabeth Barrett drove to a nearby Wal-Mart and picked up her husband's "Price is Right" camping gear: two lawn chairs, a flannel blanket, a black sleeping bag and snacks.

Because she's pregnant, she decided to spend the night in a hotel four miles down the road. In the mornings, she drove to the studio and sat in for her husband so he could leave to take a shower.

It wasn't until around noon on Sunday that anyone else got in line.

In total, the Barretts camped out for 120 hours. A producer told them they broke the previous record of 92 hours for the longest time fans have waited outside.

The devotion was no surprise to Atom McCree, one of Barrett's co-workers at Revival Ministries International.

"He called me three times Sunday to tell me he was first, and how excited he was that he got to meet the producer," McCree said. "It was a dream come true for him."

At 6 a.m. Wednesday, two hours before the show's taping, a producer passed out gold, numbered wristbands to the crowd of hundreds. The Barretts were awarded No. 1 and No. 2.

Come On Down!

The long hours outside were well worth it, Barrett said, when he realized he'd earned front-row seats, just left of Contestants Row and in front of where Barker stands when he first walks on stage.

Only a few minutes after they took their seats, the music started playing, the crowd started cheering, and the announcer called Barrett to "come on down!"

"I almost passed out, but then I started jumping up and down and going crazy," he said.

Throughout the hour, he tried to guess the actual retail price of a TV, a necklace, a jukebox and a motorcycle.

But it wasn't until the final item of the day - a green sofa - that Barrett's guess of $1,501 was closest to the actual retail value - without going over - and won him the right to appear on stage.

While he made it to the Showcase Showdown, his guess of $61,000 wasn't close enough to win the top prize.

Barrett said he's not sure what his life will be like after June 15, the day the final show airs.

But before he can think about a future without "The Price is Right," he said he still has to calm down from the excitement he feels from being there for the last time.

"Just the fact that I had the honor of being there, literally in the producer's arms, watching Bob say for the last time, 'Have your pets spayed or neutered.' I got teary-eyed," he said. "He's just like a friend of the family."

Reporter Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington can be reached at lwilkes-edrington@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7621.