Winning a New Ice Cream Truck on Price Is Right in 1962

Mikl-em
January 2, 2013

You were wondering what The Price Is Right game show was like 50 years ago, right? Now you know: this clip from New Years Day 1962 shows a very different game where players guess the cost of expensive jewelry instead of a box of Rice-a-Roni. This first version of the show debuted in 1956 and was hosted by Bill Cullen with announcer Don Pardo (later famous as the voice of Saturday Night Live).

The final round has a Jolly Roger Ice Cream truck up for grabs instead of “a new car” which became the pinnacle of prizes on the Bob Barker-hosted “New Price Is Right” starting in 1972. The clip also includes ads for show sponsors Newport cigarettes (“the soothing coolness of menthol”) and Anacin (“Fast fast incredibly fast relief”).

Mikl-em

Actor, nerd, poet, producer, writer mikl-em made his name short so you wouldn't have to. In addition to his blog you can find his writing in "Hi Fructose" magazine and witness him almost life-sized in various plays at The Dark Room Theater in SF's Mission district.

He tends to write about theater, humor, San Francisco culture and history, and stuff that's just plain weird. He thanks Scott for sharing the keys to the Laughing Squid virtual HQ and promises to uphold whatever it is that the mirthful cephalopod would prefer to be uplifted.