Tyler Mowe, COME ON DOWWWN (while there's still time)
As soon as Tyler Mowe learned that Bob Barker was retiring as host of "The Price Is Right" after 106 years, he knew he had to go see the show.
"My daughter Alexis just graduated from high school and it was always her dream," said Mowe, who co-owns Black Tie Formal Wear with his wife Stephanie.
He put in for a ticket in January. Three weeks ago, he got the call: If you can make it to California, you're in.
But it went much better than that. You'll see what happened when the broadcast airs Wednesday, the antepenultimate "Price Is Right" under Barker. Here's a slightly spoilered behind-the-scenes account of what went on. I'm not going to reveal exactly what happened, except to say he got picked and he got on stage and he broke the losing streak of "TPIR" contestants that day by winning a game.
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No doubt you've seen video of the hellaciously long lines outside CBS Television City in Los Angeles, as expectant fans wait for tickets for the scarce few remaining tapings. But Mowe said, actually, it wasn't that bad. On line at 4:30 a.m. Number of arrival issued at 7. Back to the hotel to rest up at 8. Back to TV City at noon. And shepherded into the tiny "TPIR" studio an hour early (even by the show's standards, the previous taping was efficient).
While on line, a producer for the show came up and interviewed the Mowes. Tyler started talking about formal wear. The producer, who went to prom in the early 80s, mentioned that he wore a powder-blue tuxedo to it. "I told him that'd be cool now, because that's the kind of tux the kids want," Tyler said.
The producer moved on. Alexis elbowed him. "Dad, I think you just got picked," she told him. As did others in line. Sure enough, when round two came around, "Tyler Mowe, COME ON DOWN," and the head-spinning experience began in earnest.
Tyler lost three bidding rounds, but on the fifth, he guessed close enough to the actual retail price of a diamond and sapphire necklace to earn himself a trip onto the stage. In between rounds, Barker stayed right on stage, interacting with his audience. Someone asked him what his retirement plans included.
"Well, in a word, I'd have to say tequila," said Barker.
Next break, someone asked Barker what was the secret of life. From his miked-up box Tyler blurted out, "Tequila!" "Who said that?" Barker demanded, mock-testily.
"For an 83-year-old guy I can't believe how with it he is," Mowe said.
Once on stage, he won, and from the description he gave me, it sounded like the kind of win you don't see every day on "The Price Is Right." I'll let you watch and enjoy it for yourself. We can tell you this: Tyler got to give the showdown wheel two big long spins, and that, he said, "gave me the chance to say Hi to each of my 4 kids while the wheel was spinning."
