Karen Corday
Who among us hasn’t been home sick from school watching The Price Is Right on CBS and dreaming of winning a new car or a trip to the Bahamas by playing one of the classic games—Plinko, Punch-A-Bunch, or even Cliff Hangers, also known as “the Yodley Guy game.” And of course, everyone wants to spin the big wheel and get the chance to win big money on the Showcase Showdown. After all, The Price Is Right is the longest-running game show in-network or syndication, per History.
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Yes, there’s a lot of loyal The Price Is Right fans out there but it’s safe to say that no one will ever be as great or as beloved a contestant as Michael Marlowe. Eighteen years have come and gone since his appearance and he remains an all-time favorite.
Michael Marlowe Had An Amazing Talent
Michael Marlowe appeared on the February 27, 2003 episode of The Price Is Right. He and a friend flew out from Statesville, North Carolina to the studio in Los Angeles, California just to go to a taping. In an interview with the Statesville Record & Landmark thirteen years after his appearance, Marlowe called it “the best day of his life” and recalled, “I was just shocked, I couldn’t believe it,” when announcer Rod Roddy called his name and told him to “Come on down!”
Marlowe even wore a specially designed shirt to the taping that read “I want to play Hole In One, Bob!” When it came time for everyone on contestant’s row to bid on a Honda motor scooter, Marlowe shocked host Bob Barker and the entire studio audience by making a perfect bid: “Exactly $2148!” When Barker remarked that it was an unusual bid, Marlow confidently explained that he watched The Price Is Right every day, had seen the same scooter the week before and remembered the price.
Sure enough, Marlowe was right, earning $500 and a standing ovation from the audience. When he joined Bob Barker on stage, he shook his hand and emotionally told him “I’ve waited 31 years for this moment. It’s an honor, sir.” Unfortunately, Marlowe didn’t get to play Hole In One, but he did play Buy or Sell, another pricing game that allowed him to show off the knowledge gained by daily viewings of The Price Is Right. He won a dining set, a grandfather clock, and an electric fireplace. He did so well that he set a record for money won playing Buy or Sell. Per the Record & Landmark, Marlowe still has the grandfather clock, which is inscribed “The Price is Right, February 27, 2003.”
Michael Stouber Won a Record-Breaking Amount of Money
Michael seems to be a lucky name for contestants on The Price Is Right. As of 2019, Michael Stouber of Freehold, New Jersey is the biggest daytime winner in the history of the game. As reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, during the show’s annual Big Money Week, Stouber won $202,000 and a slew of prizes, including a trip to Fiji, a new car, and a diamond tennis bracelet; his total winnings were worth an impressive $262,742.97.
The cash came from playing Million Dollar Plinko. Stouber had told host Drew Carey “Plinko is my cardio!”—all that cardio paid off. Stouber earned four chips by (what else) guessing how much various items cost. He hit the $200,000 prize with his very first chip and then earned an additional $2,000 with his remaining chips.
