Long before Drew Carey began starring in The Price is Right, there were already several great television hosts. While Survivor’s Jeff Probst has been celebrated, a lot of people don’t recognize how hard being a TV host can be. After all, even though The Traitors has earned Alan Cumming new fans, hosting the show is very hard for him. On top of that, Padma Lakshmi revealed what was so hard about hosting Top Chef.
Considering how hard hosting a show can be, it makes sense that Drew Carey initially turned down The Price is Right. Even though the game show has made Drew rich, he only agreed to host The Price is Right for a shocking reason.
The Shocking Reason Drew Carey Agreed To Host The Price Is Right
Starting in 1972, generations of viewers watched Bob Barker host The Price Is Right on weekday mornings. As a result of Bob’s incredible longevity, it was a really big deal when People published an article on October 31st, 2006 about the announcement that Bob was retiring from The Price Is Right. As a part of his announcement, Bob revealed he was going to give up hosting The Price Is Right in June 2007.
As of October 2006, that meant that Bob was only going to host The Price Is Right for another eight months. With Bob retiring, the decision could have been made to end The Price Is Right. Fortunately for fans, however, Drew Carey was eventually tapped to host the beloved game show.
Now that Drew Carey has been hosting The Price Is Right since 2007, it may seem like he was always destined to work on the show. However, as it turns out, Drew only agreed to host The Price Is Right for a shocking reason.
In March 2024, People published an article after they interviewed Drew Carey about taking over as The Price Is Right’s host.
Screen Rant’s List Of The Longest Running Game Shows | |
|---|---|
Game Show | Tenure |
Let’s Make A Deal | #10 |
Family Feud | #9 |
Countdown | #8 |
Wheel Of Fortune | #7 |
Question Of Sport | #6 |
Sábado Gigante | #5 |
Jeopardy! | #4 |
University Challenge | #3 |
Des Chiffres Et Des Lettres | #2 |
The Price Is Right | #1 |
While speaking to the outlet, Drew revealed that he ultimately agreed to take over hosting The Price Is Right so he could be generous to more people.
“One of the show’s producers asked me what my favorite thing to do was. I go, ‘I love leaving big tips when I go to restaurants.’ ‘Well, if you work on The Price Is Right, you’ll be able to do that all the time for a living,’ they said. ‘Just give out things.’ That was the light bulb that went off in my head.”
Drew went on to elaborate on why he agreed to host the beloved game show.
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While he was still talking to People for their article, he explained the revelation he came to because of the producer’s question.
According to TheRichest, Drew Carey has a $165 million personal fortune. While that figure is fascinating, it is important to note it is solely an estimate. That said, it is revealing about the level of fortune that Drew is believed to have.
After talking about how much he loves giving people big tips, Drew realized that being The Price Is Right’s host would give him the chance to make money helping people.
I could just make a living giving prizes to people and being around happy people all day.
In an ideal world, it would be typical for people to take jobs so that they can be kind to others. In reality, however, most people make their employment decisions based mostly on what will be the most financially rewarding for them.
In September 2017, Entertainment Weekly published an article about Drew Carey’s favorite moments from his time hosting The Price Is Right. While talking to the outlet for that article, Drew explained why his second favorite moment from his game show tenure was when he began hosting The Price Is Right the first time. “Very emotional, I felt my life changing.”
In everyday life, it is rare for people to choose their job based on how much they can help people. In the entertainment industry, it is much more shocking to learn a celebrity took a job so they can be kind to other people.
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As People’s article revealed, when Drew was approached about hosting The Price Is Right, he wanted to buy a Major League Soccer team. While talking to the outlet, Drew revealed that when he told his agent he wanted to host The Price Is Right, he got an amusing response.
“I met [my agent] at a steakhouse… And I go, ‘I think I want to be the host of The Price is Right.’ He shook my hand and goes, ‘Well, there’s your soccer money.’”
People‘s article reveals that after taking the job hosting The Price Is Right, Drew accomplished his goal by becoming the part owner of Seattle Sounders FC.
By the time Drew was asked to host The Price Is Right, he’d already enjoyed a staggering amount of success. On top of being a comedian, Drew had already starred in two shows that had aired for a long time.
TV Shows Drew Carey Has Starred In | ||
|---|---|---|
Show | Role | Tenure |
The Drew Carey Show | Drew Carey | 1995-2004 |
Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Host | 1998-2007 |
The Price Is Right | Host | 2007-Present |
As a result, it makes sense that Drew told People that he initially had no interest in hosting The Price Is Right when he was approached about the job.
“I said, f*** no. I just wanted to be able to do things that were fun and interesting instead of having a ‘job-job’ or something I had to do every day, because I just had, after being on The Drew Carey Show and everything, I was done with the idea of just being on a show forever.”
Drew Carey Used His The Price Is Right Salary To Feed Many People For Many Days
From May 2nd, 2023 until September 27th, 2023, members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike. While fighting for their future, many members of that union suffered severe financial hardships. At that moment of suffering, Drew Carey used his personal fortune to help a lot of people who were struggling.
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In April 2024, The Hollywood Reporter published an article about how kind Drew was during the long-lasting work stoppage. That article stated that throughout the work stoppage, Drew paid to feed members of the Writers Guild of America at two restaurants for 148 days.
The Hollywood Reporter’s article also stated that when a deal was struck to end the strike, Drew had an amazing response. Instead of instantly ending his act of generosity, Drew posted on X/Twitter that striking writers still had some time left to eat on him.
“Yoooo @WGAWest members!! 💔 Congrats! ❤️ If the strike is officially over tomorrow you’ll have til midnight to have one last meal at Bob’s Big Boy or Swingers! GO CELEBRATE! Love you all!”
The Hollywood Reporter’s article went on to detail just how much they believed Drew spent on feeding the striking workers. The outlet estimated that Drew spent roughly $1 million, which is a staggering figure.
The article also revealed that Drew publicly argued that he shouldn’t get so much credit for feeding the striking workers. Instead, Drew believed that it was the striking workers who deserved to be praised.
Drew Carey
- Birthname
-
Drew Allison Carey
- Birthdate
-
May 23, 1958
- Birthplace
-
Cleveland, OH
- Height
-
5’10”
-
@DrewFromTV
-
@drewfromtv
- Notable Projects
-
The Drew Carey Show, The Price is Right
- Siblings
-
Neal Carey, Roger Carey
- Parents
-
Beulah Carey, Lewis Carey
- Net worth
-
$165,000,000
- Professions
-
Host, Actor, Comedian
- Nationality
-
American
