Barker used an iconic stick microphone with a long cord that followed them around the stage. Those coming out to the live show may be slightly disappointed that the same prop isn’t used in The Price Is Right Live.
“In the early days of the live show, we did use it, but it would either get lost, which is my polite way of saying stolen, or it would get broken in transit,” Newton said. “We are in a different city every night. So to pack that up, I mean, you could be as gentle as you want to be with that, but it was a very delicate microphone.”
The television program’s producers would do a quick 30-60 interview with studio audience members to screen for folks who might make the most entertaining contestants. This isn’t the case with The Price Is Right Live. Newton couldn’t offer any advice on how one can increase their chances of getting on to the stage because the selections are 100% random. Considering this, some contestants may have no clue how to play the games.
“People know the strategies because 95% of the people in the audience have been watching the show for as long as you and I have. So on those rare occasions where we do get the friend that came along because there was an extra ticket or somebody that just thought it might be a fun night out, and they get up on stage, if they’re a little in the dark; a little unsure about what strategy to incorporate into their special moment, the great thing about The Price Is Right, and it’s just like it is on TV, the audience is yelling and encouraging and contributing their expertise,” Newton said. “We do get people to come down and they get in Contestants Row, and they’ll throw that one-dollar bid out there right at the beginning when they probably should not be bidding one dollar, but I think they bought their ticket so that they could have the opportunity to say ‘one dollar’ in Contestant’s Row. And if that’s what they were hoping to achieve, then that’s what we want to happen for them. But I like to say, and I’ve been saying this for years, that at the live stage show, anything can happen, and it usually does.”
Any strange or funny stories about contestants during your tenure as host, Todd?
“There have been so many over the years. So it’s the recent greatest hits that really stand out in my mind,” Newton said. “Right before the spring tour wrapped, we were in North Carolina, and this woman got called down the Contestant’s Row, and she had a T-shirt on that said, ‘I’ve been watching the show for 50 years,’ And it had a picture of Bob on the front, and all of her grandkids were in the audience, and they were yelling and screaming for grandma. And sure enough, she gave the winning bid on a computer. She came running up those stairs, and as she hit that top stair and was about to greet me on the stage, and I was standing there waiting for her to help her up, her teeth fell out! They fell right out of her mouth. Everything was on the big screen so the audience could see it, and the whole audience just erupted.”
As for the most expensive prizes Todd has seen given away during his time hosting the live show…
“The biggest prize would be the Showcase, which always consists of the same things that you see on television: cars, trips, money along the way. We’ve got everything that you would expect: kitchen appliances, things of that nature,” Newton said. “The prizes are real. The prizes are the same as you would see on the TV show, and we’ve got them for you. We’re produced and created by the same people that produce and create the TV show. So, authenticity is key to all of us. We’re all game show fans first, and I guess game show employees second. So we want to give the audience what they’re hoping to see and hoping to win.“
Barker ended each show with the famous closing stanza, “This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population – have your pets spayed or neutered!” Newton carries on that tradition, no doubt to the delight of audiences.
“Mr. Barker asked me, and when Mr. Barker asked, I always obliged. That was one thing that he wanted to carry on throughout the live show: ‘Help control the pet population; have your pets spayed or neutered.’ So, every night, that is the sign-off,” he said. “And one step further, before Mr. Barker passed, my family and I founded our own 501C3 nonprofit pet rescue. He has done so much for me in my life. I mean, The Prices Is Right Live stage show raised my children, it bought my house. It’s been my life for 23 years, and it’s all because of Mr. Barker putting me in that position. So if his one request in return was to encourage people to take care of animals and give them a voice because they don’t have a voice of their own, then I was not only happy, but honored to carry that torch.”
Newton’s best sales pitch on why Clevelanders should attend the show on September 19?
“There are a few things more American than The Price is Right! I would put this up there with apple pie and baseball any day of the week,” he wrapped up. “Cleveland knows The Price Is Right. You’re right in the heart of America, you’re Drew Carey’s hometown, you know exactly what this has contributed to Americana. If you have ever sat next to your grandparents, or your parents, or your grandkids, or your children, and shouted prices back at your own television and wondered what it was like to hear your name and then the three most famous words on television, ‘come on down,’ this is going to be your night. This is what the show is all about. It happens live before your very eyes, and we want it to happen to you. So we hope to see you in a couple of weeks.”
© 2025 CleveRock Music Portal. A PROUD SHAPE CLEVELAND PRODUCTION