[quote name=\'Casey Buck\' date=\'Feb 11 2004, 07:20 PM\']Ah, but you don't follow everything in the script, which is actually a good thing.
For example, you say "here's the star of The Price is Right" instead of "here is the star of The Price is Right" (the scripted line), which brings an element back from Johnny O's way of announcing the opening.
Also, there's the "and" that you (as well as Johnny, Rod, and even Burton more recently) add in the opening before the fourth contestant's name, which is not in the script (as we've experienced with Art, Daniel, and Paul, who strictly go by the script).[/quote]
Shakepeare should be performed as written. I still see the announcer at "Price" as the role was first created by Johnny O and faithfully perpetuated by Rod. My relationship with Johnny gave me insight into how the role developed and how it was first envisioned. I never thought any of this would become useful so many years later.
Got a few minutes? Unlike the scripted and formal delivery of the announcer in early radio programs whose delivery was detatched and impersonal, Johnny always played it loose, informal, conversational and spontaneously. Unlike the earlier era of broadcasting where the off-stage announcer might be across the room or even behind glass pontificating in that old, artificial and distant style that is lampooned so well by Gary Owens when he cups his hand to his ear, Johnny saw his role as an active participant in the middle of the fun. That approach shaped everything Johnny did... style, content and delivery. That is how he played the announcer role on "Price", and I think that is a big part of why both Johnny and that role have been so endearing and enduring.
But I was surprised to learn that John was adlibbing much more than simply the hand-offs and interplay between he and Bob.
A few months after Johnny's death, on my first return visit to the set, I had the chance to talk with Frank Wayne about Johnny. Although Frank recognized me as having been to the show as Johnny's guest, I don't think he was exaggerating for my benefit when he spoke of John and how his death impacted the staff and the show. Among the things Frank told me was that he actually had to go back over tapes of the show to transcribe the transitional phrases Johnny had been using for years. Frank said many had never been in the script! He was talking about all that "If you'd like to see The Price Is Right in person...", and "Now here's Bob Barker with our Showcase Showdown" stuff.
I returned home and looked at one of the old scripts that Johnny had given me so that I could practice reading copy. Damn if it wasn't true! As one example, immediately following the page with the consolation prize copy (the "contestants not appearing on stage" fee plugs) was simply a page with the words "Showcase Showdown" handwritten. That transition line ("and now here's Bob Barker with our Showcase Showdown") was completely a Johnny creation as he apparently felt that, as he envisioned his role, he should make such a transition. Surely, like so many other prize reads in the show, Johnny could have ended cold at the end of the plug.
Johnny brought those kinds of touches to the show as a result of having a specific vision of how his "character" fit into the big picture. It's classic acting theory.
Given the unpredictable opportunity to voice that show so many years later, I purposely carry with me what I know of how Johnny envisioned the role. No, I would never presume to start making up new lines. But I can't help but feel I'm best serving the show by trying to recapture the spirit with which John created that character.
And yes, just a drop of it is my personal homage to a mentor who encouraged me over the many years when everyone else in my life thought I was nuts to pursue my fascination with broadcasting. I'm forever indebted and have wished many times that I could say "thanks" face-to-face.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
