'The Price is Right' was so wild in the 1950s it even brought live elephants to the studio
"The Price is Right" has achieved iconic status as one of the longest-running game shows on American television. But it was probably one of the craziest shows on air in its early days. These days appliances, cars, and trips among others are the standard prizes for contestants, but there was a time when the show offered them weird rewards. In the 50s and the 60s, the prizes included two live elephants, in addition to things such as submarines and raccoon fur.
The Elephant in The Studio
When the show first debuted in 1956 with Bill Cullen as the host, there were doubts about its success. However, The Price is Right proved to be an instant hit following its pilot and it became a weekday regular on TV, as per Mental Floss. The show featured both in-studio contestants and at-home participants who were invited to guess the price of a 'Showcase assortment' by mailing in postcards.
However, the producers soon encountered a problem with the model. There was only a finite number of consumer goods that could be featured on the show and producers believed that the audience would get bored of the same old lineup of cars, vacations, appliances, and so on. Thus, they decided to get creative with the offers, especially the “bonus” prizes. This led to some of the most bizarre items being featured on the show.
Two of the early episodes of "The Price is Right" included a live elephant offered as a prize. In an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, the producer of the show, Bob Stewart recalled that the elephant got frightened at the show and did its business right there on the set.
"We had the stuff to bring on stage. We're shooting everything from the waist up. The models are tiptoeing around, trying not to step in the wrong place," he said. The mishap didn't stop the producers from bringing out another elephant as a “bonus” prize. However, the contestant rejected the elephant and received a cash prize of $4,000 instead.
The elephant stunt proved to be iconic as fans remembered it for decades. The incident even inspired a spoof on "The Simpsons". In an episode titled “Bart Gets an Elephant,” the show's lead Bart picks an elephant named Stampy as a prize instead of $10,000 in cash. The two then go on to wreak havoc in suburban Springfield together.
Other weird prizes on The Price is Right
The show started simply with prizes like a restored 1901 Oldsmobile. Then things escalated to include animals like a French poodle that came along with tickets to Paris, as per Mental Floss. At one point, the show even gave away an island in the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is now called the Price Is Right Island. It came with a fire truck as well, and the winner would run the only fire department on the island.
The list of extraordinary prizes includes a 1926 Rolls Royce with a chauffeur, a Ferris wheel, the head of a dead moose, a live peacock, a live kangaroo, shares of companies, a coat made of raccoon fur, and a working submarine that could dive with people in it.
