'The Price Is Right' Host Drew Carey Admits Contestants Are Usually Drunk or High on TV: 'Not Unusual'
June 27 2024, Published 1:41 p.m. ET
Drew Carey is spilling secrets about his time on set of The Price Is Right, including how contestants might be under the influence when on camera.
“Oh, that happens here all the time. They’ll have a gummy or I’ll smell alcohol on their breath,” Carey, 66, told TV Insider in an interview published on Monday, June 24. “Not unusual.”
The TV host even recalled one person who was "tripping on mushrooms" when he was on the game show set.
“He came with a bunch of friends. He was a sketch [comedy] guy. I found out later when I went to [United Citizens Brigade] to hang out and they were like, ‘Did you see that guy who claimed to be a skateboarding rabbi?’” Carey shared. “I asked him what he did for a living. And he goes, ‘I’m a skateboarding rabbi.’ He didn’t think he was going to get picked, and he totally tripped.”
Carey said he enjoys seeing how everything plays out.
“They’re normal people that live normal lives. This is average America right here. There are no CEOs, ultra-rich upper management,” Carey said. “These are middle class, working class. Every religion. It’s a cross-section of America. Regular people are more interesting than celebrities.”
He continued, “They’ve all had their own problems to overcome and their own demons, to get their own special lives. I learn more from them than I do from anybody.”
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Carey has been hosting the show since 2007, but he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon.
“I just show up and punch the clock and hope I have a job every day,” he revealed. “I don’t think in terms of I’m the longest one. I do have a goal: I want to keep going until I die. This is my 18th season. I’ve got to get the 35 and 41 so I can catch Bob Barker and Pat Sajak.”
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“Before, I was like, ‘Can I make it to five years? Can I make it to the end of my contract? Can I make it 10 years?’ The longest I’d been on TV was The Drew Carey Show, nine years,” he added. “Once I hit 10 years here, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s the longest I’ve ever had a job in my life. It’s such just a great part of my day, my year, my life. I can’t imagine giving it up.’ I don’t like CBS to know that, but it’s going to be a few years ’til my next contract negotiation. So maybe forget I said this. I can quit anytime I want!”