So maybe they didn't have to do with pricing merchandise
and groceries, but the bonus games that occasionally found their way on Bill
Cullen's version of The Price is Right were just a much fun to watch and
maybe play along with. Here are a few gems from those special bonus games: Before Bob Eubanks and Bert Convy made their livings asking personal
questions of wedded couples, Bill was doing it on TPIR. Above, he's got the
winner of the previous item up for bids standing on the left of the
partition, and his wife standing on the right side. Bill asked each of them
questions about what their spouse was wearing, and each correct answer paid
$100. Below we see a special week where all the contestants are newlyweds.
The winner's wife was brought onstage and Bill asked a total of five
questions to the winner, with the wife revealing the answer after each one.
Every correct answer paid $1,000, with all winnings going into a
scholarship/trust fund for the couple's unborn child. Sadly, we never got to
hear Bill say the word "whoopee" during this particular game.
Before Barker's Bargain Bar, there was Cullen's Olde
Antique Shoppe, essentially a dressed-up version of "Pick One Prize," with
an antique prize worth about $2,000, and two other antiques whose value was
only $20.
How good is your sense of touch? That was the question asked in this bonus
game where a contestant sat next to a wall and stuck her hand through a
hole. Three prizes were carted out and she had to choose which one she
wanted. Of course, the idea was for her to pick the dog, since it felt like
a fur coat, but she wasn't fooled, and she went home with a color TV.
Since Bill hosted Name That Tune at a point in his
career, it makes sense that he ended up playing musical bonus games. In one,
a contestant listened to a special record, made from tracks of the same song
being performed by six different well-known singers. As the record played,
she wrote down her guesses as to their identities, and afterwards she was
awarded $100 for every correct guess.
In another, Bill presented a xylophone and asked the
winning contestant what her favorite song was. Bill then announced that she
would get the sheet music for playing the song on the xylophone and that she
had one week to learn it. For every note she could play correctly the
following week, she would receive $10.
Bill enlisted the help of an Italian stagehand for a
bonus game where five prizes were presented to the winning contestant. Bill
showed a board with their English names on one side and their Italian names
on the other, with the stagehand giving the pronunciation for each.
Afterward, the Italian names were covered, and the contestant one every
prize whose Italian name he could remember and pronounce correctly.
This is Mr. Smith. His bonus game isn't seen here, but
Bill announces it. If Mr. Smith loses this week's game, he'll still be
invited to comeback the following week and sit next to Bill to watch the
game. After the bidding is finished on each item, Mr. Smith will be asked to
predict who he thinks has won the prize, and if he's right, he wins a
duplicate.
