The idea of being on national television and winning big bucks is pretty exciting, no matter who you are.
This is why there used to be a protocol in place, in case contestants got a little too enthusiastic when their names were called to come up and play, and they accidentally wet their pants, according to a former Price is Right producer.
“When I got there, they had a system in place in case someone peed their pants,” former producer Mike Richards tells PEOPLE.
Richards, who worked behind the scenes at places like Dick Clark productions and Jeopardy!, was at Price is Right as it transitioned from the Bob Barker-hosting era to the Drew Carey-hosting era.
“I never saw it happen, but there were curtains and a blow dryer and [a] pair of sweats just in case, since we’d have to get on with the show,” he recalls.
Richards has so many interesting stories from his days as a game show producer, including his short time at Jeopardy!
“A lot of people don’t know that before each show, Alex Trebek would walk out and give a little speech, he says. “Not an interview, just a little speech. And no one helped him with that. It was never on a prompter. He just went out and did it, and we had no idea what he was going to say. And every time it sounded like he has spent months writing it. He was just so gifted.”
Richards also worked at Let’s Make A Deal when it first launched with Wayne Brady as the host.
“We shot that first season in Las Vegas, and it was in August,” he recalls. “And the studio did not have enough air conditioning for August in Vegas. It was like 99 degrees in there, and everyone was just sweating through their clothes.”
However, armpit stains were the least of their concerns.
“It was 2008. The economy was collapsing. People were sneaking in and sleeping in our bedroom sets,” he says.
“I’ll also never forget one time the audience coordinator ran up to me and said we only had 15 people in the audience for a 280-person theater. I was like, ‘Oh great,'” he continues. “And then, someone else came up to me and said ‘Somebody just drove a forklift through the back of the Porsche we were going to give away as the big deal of the day.’ The executive producer looks at me and goes, ‘I got the Porsche. You get the audience.'”
Richards says he ran across the street into the MGM Grand and began recruiting guests to come to the taping. “I was like, ‘You’ll get a prize!'” He somehow managed to fill the theater.
“At the end of the day, it all looks like a big polished network production, but there were times we were grappling to get it done,” he says.
Richards recently opened up to PEOPLE about losing his job as the new host of Jeopardy!, as well as the ongoing search for a new host, which eventually went to Ken Jennings.
He notes that people have told him he should write a book about all the wild things he’s seen working at game shows, but he’s only interested in writing about working with his mentors.
“If I wrote a book, it would be as a fan,” he explains of getting the chance to work with people like Dick Clark, Bob Barker, Monty Hall, Pat Sajak and of course, Trebek. “Unless it’s about those people? I’m not interested.”
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