eBay Finds 2023

[Joe Mello]

Posted without comment: Bob Barker's ECM-51...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145015039625

I can at least appreciate that the current bid ends in "01"

[Matt Ottinger]

Posted without comment: Bob Barker's ECM-51...

OK, I'll comment.

"As the story goes"?  That's how you begin a story you're not quite sure about.  Couldn't Rich Fields have been a little more direct (and even a little more personal) about the microphone owned by Rich Fields that Rich Fields is selling?  This third-person description gives off a weird vibe.

[Kevin Prather]

Posted without comment: Bob Barker's ECM-51...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145015039625

When Barker's mid-90s mic went up for sale, it came with a handwritten note from Barker as provenance. All this mic comes with is Rich Fields' third-person say-so, as Matt has already pointed out.

I wonder how many ECM-51s Barker burned through in twenty years, and what the likelihood is that he would have kept one of them anyway. They were probably the property of CBS or of Television City, were they not?

[colonial]

The description reads like it was written by someone learning English through Duolingo. For someone trying to explain the microphone in a personal, heartfelt matter, you would think the message would be, well, personal and heartfelt.

As the peanut gallery has already mentioned, I need far more evidence that this is genuine outside of "Rich Fields says so."

[nowhammies10]

I'm sure Rich is hard up for cash after being fired after making racist comments on-air in Tampa.

[MikeK]

The description reads like it was written by someone learning English through Duolingo. For someone trying to explain the microphone in a personal, heartfelt matter, you would think the message would be, well, personal and heartfelt.

As the peanut gallery has already mentioned, I need far more evidence that this is genuine outside of "Rich Fields says so."

I mentioned this to friends.  There has to be some sort of note from Bob or other provenance.  I compared it to football jerseys, where people can prove they were worn in games based on stains, repairs, or alterations.  $5000+ based on Rich Fields' word is a hefty price to pay.

(joke about proving the mic's provenance through stains here)

[Matt Ottinger]

Not a game show, but delightfully game show adjacent, a script for a 1963 pilot that would have been a revival of the spoof series It Pays to be Ignorant.  Jim Backus is your host.  With a panel consisting of Frank Fontaine, Phyllis Diller and Irwin Corey, plus guest star Rip Taylor, it seems unlikely that they were going for subtlety here.  Hundred bucks seems like a lot, though

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334814929506

[calliaume]

Not a game show, but delightfully game show adjacent, a script for a 1963 pilot that would have been a revival of the spoof series It Pays to be Ignorant.  Jim Backus is your host.  With a panel consisting of Frank Fontaine, Phyllis Diller and Irwin Corey, plus guest star Rip Taylor, it seems unlikely that they were going for subtlety here.  Hundred bucks seems like a lot, though

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334814929506

I had no idea scripts went for so much. I'll have to dig up my signed script from the Disney series So Weird I have buried somewhere.

[clemon79]

I'm sure Rich is hard up for cash after being fired after making racist comments on-air in Tampa.

He got fired for saying racist shit on the air and then works the phrase "manifest destiny" into the title of his stump speech?

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

[WarioBarker]

Not a game show, but delightfully game show adjacent, a script for a 1963 pilot that would have been a revival of the spoof series It Pays to be Ignorant.

The script cover lists a tapedate of 2/24/63 and the Elysee Theatre as the filming location.

Variety blurbs indicate this was shot for ABC, but don't seem to mention Corey or Backus.

[nowhammies10]

He got fired for saying racist shit on the air and then works the phrase "manifest destiny" into the title of his stump speech?

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

Nobody ever accused him of being smart. ISTR that the official reason he was let go from Price was that he was being "an idiot".

[JasonA1]

ISTR that the official reason he was let go from Price was that he was being "an idiot".

In fairness, let's be clear: the show did not release a statement saying as much, right? Given that a lot of people online (not you) lack comprehension in connecting the dots with posts like these, you're more or less saying that's the "word on the street"?

-Jason

[cmjb13]

ISTR that the official reason he was let go from Price was that he was being "an idiot".

In fairness, let's be clear: the show did not release a statement saying as much, right? Given that a lot of people online (not you) lack comprehension in connecting the dots with posts like these, you're more or less saying that's the "word on the street"?

-Jason

I was told from a reliable source years ago that one of the things he was doing was taking people to Barker’s house like a tourist stop.

[nowhammies10]

ISTR that the official reason he was let go from Price was that he was being "an idiot".

In fairness, let's be clear: the show did not release a statement saying as much, right? Given that a lot of people online (not you) lack comprehension in connecting the dots with posts like these, you're more or less saying that's the "word on the street"?

-Jason

That is exactly right. The show didn't release a statement to that effect. This is as far as I know an unconfirmed rumour, so take from that what you will, but I have heard the same reasoning given by more than one reliable source over the years.

[SuperMatch93]

I've also heard rumors that he broke into CBS on multiple occasions, did that play into his firing?