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Professor Price was a pricing game played for a car.

Professorpricepremiere4

Gameplay[]

  • Professor Price involved up to five questions. In order to win the car, the contestant had to correctly answer three of the five questions. The centerpiece of Professor Price was an animatronic professor who nodded or shook his head to indicate whether an answer was right or wrong. He also kept score, with right answers on his upward-pointing right hand, and wrong answers on his downward-pointing left hand. If the contestant gives 3 wrong answers, he or she loses.
  • The first question was a general knowledge question with a numerical answer between zero and nine. After this question, the contestant was shown in the last two digits in the price of the car. The second question was whether or not the answer to the first question was one of the first two digits in the car's price.
  • Question three was another trivia question, and question four, if needed, asked whether the answer was the remaining digit in the price of the car. The fifth question, if needed, was another trivia question.
  • The revelation or non-revelation of the car's price was inconsequential towards winning the game and only served as part of the trivia questions.
  • Along with Clock Game and Hole in One (or Two), Professor Price did not allow for any help or cheering from audience members.

History[]

  • Professor Price was created by then-Executive Producer Frank Wayne.
  • After the game was retired, the "Professor Price" puppet made a few appearances throughout the remainder of the sixth season (1977-1978) in prize displays. The prop later found its way into the hands of a collector, who sold it on eBay in the 2000s under the name of "Mr. Wiggles."
  • At the beginning of the game, "Pomp and Circumstance" played as the professor was introduced.
  • Professor Price is the only pricing game to ever maintain a perfect win-loss record, not including Double Bullseye - a two-player game that guaranteed a win in each playing.
  • On the second, and final playing, Bob Barker let the contestant choose a question card out of his hand, instead of choosing for them like in the first playing.

Trivia[]

  • Professor Price was the only pricing game that lasted for just two playings before its retirement. The second shortest-lived pricing game was Telephone Game.
  • It remains the only pricing game that uses trivia facts as a gameplay element instead of actual pricing knowledge.
  • Professor Price was never the first, fourth, fifth, or sixth pricing game to be played on the show.

Retirement[]

  • Professor Price was retired after only one week and two playings, making it the shortest-lived pricing game in history. The game was retired because it had little to do with The Price Is Right's core concept of pricing items; it was more of a trivia contest and a contestant's chances of winning or losing depended on general knowledge. Bob also felt the game was doomed from the start and was not a fan himself.
  • Professor Price was brought back for the Nintendo Wii game version of The Price is Right more specifically, The Price is Right: Decades by Ludia in 2011. The game begins with a model saying that some VHS recordings of episodes previously believed to be long lost footage were rediscovered, one of them being from 1972, then has the player compete in some of the games in that era; Professor Price being one of them.

Gallery[]

To view the gallery, click here.

Statistics[]

Date Played (Episode Number) Outcome
November 14, 1977 (#2561D) Won
November 21, 1977 (#2571D)

YouTube Video[]

A full playing footage of Professor Price

1970s Pricing Games
Any Number | Bonus Game | Double Prices | Grocery Game | Bullseye (1) | Clock Game | Double Bullseye | Five Price Tags | Most Expensive | Money Game | Give or Keep | Range Game | Hi Lo | Double Digits | Lucky Seven | Temptation | Mystery Price | Shell Game | Card Game | Race Game | Ten Chances | Golden Road | Poker Game | One Right Price | Danger Price | 3 Strikes | Hurdles | Cliff Hangers | Safe Crackers | Dice Game | Bullseye (2) | Switcheroo | Hole in One (or Two) | Squeeze Play | Secret 'X' | Professor Price | Finish Line | Take Two | Shower Game | It's Optional | Punch-A-Bunch | Telephone Game | Penny Ante
Retired Pricing Games
Bullseye (1) | Double Bullseye | Give or Keep | Double Digits | Mystery Price | Poker Game | Hurdles | Professor Price | Finish Line | Shower Game | It's Optional | Telephone Game | Penny Ante | Trader Bob | Hit Me | Super Ball!! | Phone Home Game | Walk of Fame | Balance Game (1) | On the Nose | Bump | Add 'Em Up | Credit Card | $uper $aver | Gallery Game | Buy or Sell | Magic Number | Joker | Make Your Mark/Barker's Markers | Split Decision | Fortune Hunter | Clearance Sale | Step Up | On the Spot | Time is Money (1)
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