1153: Drew Carey | The Price Is Right, But These Stories Are Priceless

Summary

Detailed Summary of "The Jordan Harbinger Show" Episode 1153: Drew Carey | The Price Is Right, But These Stories Are Priceless

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Jordan Harbinger Show
• Host: Jordan Harbinger
• Guest: Drew Carey
• Episode Title: 1153: Drew Carey | The Price Is Right, But These Stories Are Priceless
• Release Date: May 13, 2025

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1. Introduction and Early Life

Jordan Harbinger welcomes Drew Carey, delving into Drew's early life and the struggles he faced before achieving fame.

• Financial Hardship:

  • Drew shares anecdotes about his financially challenging days, including living paycheck to paycheck and meticulously tracking every penny spent.
  • "I was broke. Paycheck to paycheck, shifting to shifts while waiting tables... I had a journal where I would keep track of everything, down to the change in my pocket." [04:19]

• Military Service and Stand-Up Beginnings:

  • Discusses his time in the Marine Corps reserves and how his disciplined haircut became part of his comedic persona.
  • "I was in the reserves... decided to do my first amateur night with my Marine haircut." [03:31]

2. Breakthrough with The Tonight Show

Drew recounts his experience landing a spot on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, which was a pivotal moment in his comedy career.

• The Flow State:

  • Describes performing in a "flow state," feeling detached and electrified during his set.
  • "I was in such a state of flow, I might as well have floated out there and floated over. It was like a dream state the whole time." [14:47]

• Gatekeepers in Comedy:

  • Highlights the importance of gatekeepers like Jim McCauley in the comedy industry during that era.
  • "Jim McCauley was the biggest gatekeeper in the country. If you got past him, you were in." [15:00]

• Challenges and Success:

  • Shares the intense period post-Tonight Show appearance, where numerous agents sought to sign him.
  • "I did a set every night for agents because everybody wanted to sign me. It was insane. Somebody just set me on fire." [18:00]

3. Transition to Television and "The Drew Carey Show"

The conversation shifts to Drew's move from stand-up comedy to starring in his own television show.

• Balancing Fame and Creativity:

  • Discusses the difficulty of maintaining creative integrity while juggling multiple projects.
  • "When I was on the Drew Carey Show, I wasn't writing jokes for my stand-up. I was too busy being famous enough." [30:11]

• Advice from Comedy Icons:

  • Drew emphasizes the importance of continuous growth and avoiding complacency to stay relevant in the comedy scene.
  • "You have to be in a mindset to drive yourself, do your own shopping if you can. Try to be normal." [32:42]

4. Taking Over "The Price Is Right"

Drew explains his decision to become the host of the iconic game show, "The Price Is Right," despite having a successful TV show.

• Motivation Behind the Move:

  • Shares his desire to service a specific audience and maintain a connection with everyday Americans.
  • "I love being about The Price Is Right because everybody there is normal. It's a friendly place like a game night party." [36:24]

• Working Schedule and Flexibility:

  • Details the manageable work schedule of hosting the show, allowing ample time off each month.
  • "It's three days a week, four days a week... I get a week off every month." [63:15]

5. Behind-the-Scenes on "The Price Is Right"

Drew offers an insider's view of the game's mechanics, contestant selection, and memorable moments.

• Contestant Selection Process:

  • Explains how contestants are chosen based on their energy, diversity, and representation of the viewing audience.
  • "We want it to be representative of who's watching, not necessarily who's in the audience." [73:50]

• Funny Incidents:

  • Recalls a humorous moment where a contestant accidentally peed her pants on stage.
  • "She peed herself and had to walk up the stairs with a stain on her pants. It made it to her local news." [78:35]

• Game Mechanics and Fairness:

  • Discusses the randomness of the pricing games and how the production ensures fairness.
  • "The wheel is heavier than people think... It's all random that way." [69:03]

6. Personal Growth and Maintaining Humility

Drew reflects on his journey of personal growth, dealing with success, and the importance of staying grounded.

• Avoiding Insulation from Reality:

  • Emphasizes the need to stay connected with the real world to continue being relatable and funny.
  • "The more you insulate yourself from the world, the less you have to joke about. You have to humanize yourself." [31:19]

• Continuous Self-Improvement:

  • Shares his commitment to personal growth, learning new trends, and staying youthful.
  • "I'm constantly looking to grow, to learn, to have fun, and improve myself." [85:00]

• Dealing with Reflection and Choices:

  • Talks about his tendency to ruminate on past choices and how it has shaped his success.
  • "I look back on the year, ask if I've done what I wanted, if I'm on the right track." [84:35]

7. Anecdotes and Humor

Throughout the episode, Drew Carey shares various humorous stories and anecdotes from his career and personal life.

• Driving Trip Gone Awry:

  • Narrates a wild driving trip to New York where he tested his Porsche's limits, coincidentally mirroring a story he heard about Johnny Carson.
  • "I drove to Montana, thought I could go 160 mph, only to find out Letterman got a ticket for 40 over." [56:02]

• Interactions with Comedians:

  • Discusses the dynamics among comedians and the importance of having honest, supportive peers.
  • "You need people around you who tell you the truth and keep you humble." [62:42]

• Improv and Game Show Dynamics:

  • Shares insights into how game shows like "The Price Is Right" incorporate improv and adapt on the fly.
  • "We have games like Flip Flop to keep things exciting and unpredictable." [69:03]

8. Conclusion

Jordan Harbinger wraps up the conversation, highlighting Drew Carey's authenticity, humor, and the valuable insights shared during the episode.

• Final Thoughts:

  • Jordan commends Drew for his openness and candidness, expressing admiration for his ability to stay relatable.
  • "Thanks for coming on and being so open and candid, man." [88:12]

• Invitation to Listeners:

  • Encourages listeners to explore more episodes and support the show's sponsors.

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Notable Quotes with Attribution and Timestamps

1. Drew Carey on Financial Struggles:

   • "I was broke. Paycheck to paycheck, shifting to shifts while waiting tables... I had a journal where I would keep track of everything, down to the change in my pocket." [04:19]

2. On the Flow State During Performance:

   • "I was in such a state of flow, I might as well have floated out there and floated over. It was like a dream state the whole time." [14:47]

3. Advice on Contestant Interaction:

   • "We want it to be representative of who's watching, not necessarily who's in the audience." [73:50]

4. On Personal Growth:

   • "I'm constantly looking to grow, to learn, to have fun, and improve myself." [85:00]

5. Humorous Anecdote about Driving:

   • "I drove to Montana, thought I could go 160 mph, only to find out Letterman got a ticket for 40 over." [56:02]

6. Maintaining Authenticity:

   • "The more you insulate yourself from the world, the less you have to joke about. You have to humanize yourself." [31:19]

7. On the Importance of Gatekeepers:

   • "Jim McCauley was the biggest gatekeeper in the country. If you got past him, you were in." [15:00]

8. On Contestant Selection:

   • "We want it to be representative of who's watching, not necessarily who's in the audience." [73:50]

9. Dealing with Perfect Bids Incident:

   • "I thought the guy cheated... turns out he was getting his information from a super fan group." [80:17]

10. On Hosting "The Price Is Right":

    • "I love being about The Price Is Right because everybody there is normal. It's a friendly place like a game night party." [36:24]

---

Key Takeaways

• Resilience and Perseverance: Drew Carey's journey from financial struggles to becoming a successful comedian and TV host underscores the importance of resilience and determination.

• Importance of Gatekeepers: Early success in comedy was heavily influenced by gatekeepers like Jim McCauley, highlighting the challenges new comedians face in breaking into the industry.

• Balancing Fame and Personal Life: Transitioning from a private show to a national game show like "The Price Is Right" required Drew to balance his personal growth with the demands of widespread fame.

• Maintaining Authenticity: Drew emphasizes the necessity of staying grounded and connected to the real world to remain relatable and humorous.

• Continuous Self-Improvement: Regardless of success, ongoing personal development and staying updated with current trends are crucial for sustained relevance.

• Humor in Adversity: Through various anecdotes, Drew showcases how humor can be found and utilized even in challenging or embarrassing situations.

• Impact of Personal Relationships: Having supportive and honest peers and advisors plays a significant role in personal and professional growth.

---

This episode offers an engaging and insightful conversation with Drew Carey, providing listeners with a deep understanding of his journey, challenges, and philosophies on life and comedy. Through candid anecdotes and valuable lessons, Drew imparts wisdom that can inspire and guide individuals aiming to navigate their own paths to success.

Transcript

[Drew Carey]

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[Jordan Harbinger]

This episode of the Jordan Harbinger show has some explicit language, so if you're offended by that, well, skip to the next one. And mom, it wasn't me. It was the guest. Coming up next on the Jordan Harbinger.

[Drew Carey]

Show, and I'm acting like an idiot. Just like drunk out of my mind, fucked up drunk, but in a really good, happy way. Like we gotta do something with Drew and somebody had the idea, let's put Drew in a wheelchair and wheel him out of here. So they got the Disney guy to get a wheelchair, put me in the wheelchair and they're gonna wheel me out of there, which they do. And I'm in the chair just like fireworks going off.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Welcome to the show. I'm Jordan Harbinger. On the Jordan Harbinger show, we decode the stories, secrets and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you. Our mission is to help you become a better informed, more critical thinker through long form conversations with a variety of amazing folks, from spies to CEOs, athletes, authors, thinkers and performers, even the occasional organized crime figure, war correspondent or neuroscientist. And if you're new to the show or you're looking for a handy way to tell your friends about it, I suggest the starter packs. These are collections of our favorite episodes on persuasion and negotiation, psychology and geopolitics, disinformation, China and North, crime and cults, and more that'll help new listeners get a taste of everything we do here on the show. Just visit jordanharbinger.com start or search for us in your Spotify app to get started today on the show, the one and only Drew Carey, comedy legend, host of the Price is Right. This episode is really full of funny stories from a long career in Hollywood and comedy, plenty of laughter, and of course, inside baseball on one of the most popular game shows of all time. I wondered and of course asked him if anybody had ever cheated on the Price Is Right or tried to. Some hard times in his career and his love for raves and partying, which I did not see coming at all. Of course, I wanted to hear about the downsides, how he handled rejection, setbacks, and a whole lot more. I feel compelled to say. Drew Carey, come on down. You look good for. Are you 66?

[Drew Carey]

Six?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Wow.

[Drew Carey]

I'll be 67 in May.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Congratulations for living this long. I guess less and less like Dilbert every year.

[Drew Carey]

Thanks.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You went to Kent State?

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, I enrolled in Kent State. I filled out the paperwork.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I bet they love you now, though. Like, oh, that Drew Carey, he's on ours kinda.

[Drew Carey]

One year they honored me and put me in the homecoming parade. And I think I got an honorary degree and met the president of the.

[Jordan Harbinger]

This is the only degree I have from Kent State now.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, they really treated me right once I got famous and had money.

[Jordan Harbinger]

They get the business angle of things. They're selling shirts with Drew Carey, went to Kent State on the front in the gift shop.

[Drew Carey]

They should leave money on the table.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Damn it. You kept that Marine Corps haircut for a long time in your career or the pseudo Marine haircut.

[Drew Carey]

Well, I was in the reserves when I started doing standup. I was just at the end of my sixth year, about to finish up my sixth year in the Marines, when I was like, okay. And then when I decided to do my first amateur night, that's just how I had my hair. That was once a month. The drill was once a month. Like, what are you going to do? You can't grow your hair out. So that was just my haircut. And then the glasses. The Marine Corps, I don't know what they do in the Army. In the Marine Corps, they call them BCGs. Birth control glasses. That's what the drill instructor called it. That's what every other Marine called it. I don't know why they officially just don't call them that. But even, like, when you were, like, getting ready, don't forget your BCGs. I gotta go get new BCGs. Nobody would just say glasses. Oh, God.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's really funny.

[Drew Carey]

That's a lingo. Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It became a part of your brand, right?

[Drew Carey]

Well, that's how I look. And the thing is, back then, I was broke. Stone broke. Paycheck to Paycheck, shift to shift when I was waiting tables. Had cash on Friday, the last, the next week when I got cash tips. And that's how I was living, literally counting my pennies. I had a journal where I would keep track of everything, like one of those little accounting journals you'd buy at the CVS or Walgreens back then. And I keep track of every expense, pack of gum I knew down to the penny and the change in my pocket.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Good for you.

[Drew Carey]

How much I had. Wow. That's how broke I was.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You don't do that now, I assume?

[Drew Carey]

No. Okay, but general idea. But that's what I did back then. And like I remember with my brother, back then was like the oil embargo. Suddenly we were learning about drafting behind trucks on the freeway, getting an extra couple miles again.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Wow.

[Drew Carey]

And, oh, let's get behind this truck and then we'll draft and we'll drive into Columbus or something. We'll get an extra two miles a gallon.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's crazy. I didn't realize it was that significant. Yeah, a little, but not that.

[Drew Carey]

My brother's an engineer and we were like obsessive about keeping track of our miles per gallon and made like a game of it. I wouldn't fill it up. I didn't have that money.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Who can afford to fill up the gas? Yeah. I wonder what the price equivalent is.

[Drew Carey]

$2 worth. I need a gallon of gas to last me this next couple days and I'm getting 30 miles per gallon. I need to get 30 miles today. So let me just get my dollars worth or 2 gallons, and I would hand the guy two $1 bills. That's just how I lived. I need enough to get me through to the next time I can afford to put five bucks in. I really felt like a big shot if I could fill it up. Yeah, it was two bucks worth. Five bucks worth.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You mentioned that you used to eat macaroni and cheese, but you just put water in it.

[Drew Carey]

That's all I could afford.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's crazy.

[Drew Carey]

I lived in Vegas for a time and I was just again, stone broke counting change in my pocket. And I would have enough change and spare cash to get a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. And then I would buy like the quarter stick of butter, but I couldn't afford the little pint of milk. Or I could afford the pint of milk.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You gotta choose one.

[Drew Carey]

Gotta pick one.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I think the butter does it better than the milk.

[Drew Carey]

And then I would use water instead of milk.

[Jordan Harbinger]

When you made it, did you get Those shells with the Velveeta that you could squeeze out of the foil bag.

[Drew Carey]

Kraft Milk. It's the story. The punchline is, once I got on the Drew Carey show and made money, I would buy Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Deluxe liquid cheese you squeeze out of the foil, no mixing, and just, I'm rich, bitch. Who knows what chemicals are in there. Didn't even care.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Doesn't matter. I was raised on that stuff, too. Oh, you want to eat? When you come home, squeeze the Velveeta bag into the thing with the pot on and pray.

[Drew Carey]

George makes jokes all the time about when you have frozen dinners or stuff. As one of the grocery items, he'll go, just like mom used to throw in the microwave. Just like the can mom used to open. That's funny.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Do people recognize you, by the way, without your glasses on? You've had glasses your whole.

[Drew Carey]

I've been wearing glasses since I was 8. They do and they don't. It depends on the context. And in la, nobody cares. And if they do, they don't show it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, it's not cool to show it in la.

[Drew Carey]

No. Like, there's this diner I go to all the time. Swingers and tons of celebrities go in there regularly and come in and out to actors on the servers. All know that they're regulars, and when you see them in there, there's no line to get their autograph. But when I was on the Drew Carey show and, like, really banged out my first fame, I couldn't go anywhere everybody recognized in Cleveland. Yeah. Or outside of la. I remember I went on a driving trip, pull into Holiday Inn or whatever roadside thing where I could just pull in and park. I wanted to be able to park my car outside my door, those places. And they'd be like, what are you doing here? My joke was the Celebrity Hotel was closed. What are you doing at 7:11? People would recognize me. Oh, my God. What are you doing at 7:11? Yeah, I need gum. Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Like I don't have. I didn't bring my assistant on my road trip across the United States to go out of the car and get the gum for me. Yeah, that's funny. The Celebrity Seven Eleven had a huge line, so I decided to hop over to this one.

[Drew Carey]

That's my standard joke. The Celebrity Blank was closed. Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You lost a bunch of weight. I don't know how recent that is.

[Drew Carey]

I've lost about a thousand pounds over and over again.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, I know the feeling. Was there any sort of triggering event the first time?

[Drew Carey]

My bowtie phase When I first dropped all that weight was because of my son Connor. He's 19 now. He'll be 20 in April. I just realized that I wasn't going to live to see him graduate high school. We would play in the backyard when he was five and run around like, daddy's tired. I couldn't chase him around the yard. I couldn't play tag with him. I was just exhausted. Like, my feet hurt. I would leave prices. Right. My feet would hurt. And I was looking for orthopedics.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You must have been 50. Yeah. Not old enough to be like, oh.

[Drew Carey]

My, everything hurts, you know, my back hurt, my knees. I always needed a nap. Cause I ate so much junk and sugar all day. Like my diet was awful. And when you're soaking in something, you just think it's normal. Like we all have our own normal now where you realize, oh, it might be normal, but it's not good. Like just cause it's normal on the bell curve doesn't mean that's ideal.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, I'm the average weight of an American male at my age.

[Drew Carey]

Well then you're fucked.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, exactly.

[Drew Carey]

Good luck.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yes. Yeah. On Larry King RIP Typical Larry. How did you get to be so overweight?

[Drew Carey]

Just flat out and gradually, then suddenly.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yes, exactly. But you described your diet and I was like, wait, that. Is this real? It was like, do you remember that at all?

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. So this is how I thought. I would go to whatever diner. It was Bob's Big Boy back then I was working at Warner Brothers, go to Bob's Big Boy. And I would have steak and eggs and toast and like three, four cups of coffee with sugar. To things. Of sugar.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, wow.

[Drew Carey]

In my head I've thought, well, I'll use brown sugar.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, it's brown. It's healthier.

[Drew Carey]

A little healthier.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Sure.

[Drew Carey]

And I won't have pancakes this morning. So I'm trying to be good. But if I was just like, oh yeah, sure, pancakes. Put a side of pancakes on there. Because it's a regular day.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

I'm not trying to be healthy.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Saturday.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, yeah. And devour all the hash browns. And then I get to work, have a Pepsi, look over the script. There'd be snacks at the craft table, maybe a little bit of bagel or something and oh, a cookie. Have a cookie. And then lunch, same kind of thing, Burger, fries. At night I would leave and I would go to Swingers and get pasta with heavy cream Alfredo, chicken with chicken in it, and then extra cheese on top, and then a cupcake. But then if I was Being good. I would not have a cupcake. Or I'd be like, nah, I'm kind of down. We have two cupcakes. Or. And then I would drink iced tea with that with extra lemon. So I'd put two slices of lemon in the iced tea and then another. It would be like five, six wedges of lemon and iced tea. And I'd already had three Pepsis at work all day and crashed after every show. And then feet would be hurting, and then I'd get home, crack open another Pepsi.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, at night. Oh, man.

[Drew Carey]

Oh, yeah. Doritos Ranch dip.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Ooh, sounds good.

[Drew Carey]

Something Twizzler, something like that. Watch tv, have a beer, have a couple beers and then go to bed. And I wouldn't be able to sleep. So I was taking Ambien and I would take one.

[Jordan Harbinger]

My friend Roseanne said, they make you racist.

[Drew Carey]

I think Ambien is like the work of the devil. Honestly.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You hear about people driving and then, like, not remembering how they got somewhere and they were asleep.

[Drew Carey]

And I would end up having to take. I don't know if I had to, but I think I did. Taking two Ambiens just to sleep. And then I'd get up exhausted. Couldn't wait to get a coffee in me. And that's how I lived.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's. That's scary.

[Drew Carey]

And to me, that was like, oh, this is what everybody does.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You're probably not too far off. I think a lot of people.

[Drew Carey]

And I'm at the Gap buying clothes. I had such a stupid mindset. Like, I bought everything from the Gap because in my head, as this is only temporary, so why am I going to invest in expensive clothes, but I'm going to lose this weight in a few months anyway, So I just buy Gap clothes. I knew it fit me. It was fine. I was just going to work and who cares? And if they were selling XXLs, that's normal.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Because it's. Hey, it's at the Gap. It means I'm still a normal person size.

[Drew Carey]

I'm not over the limit.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I have to go to the big and tall place.

[Drew Carey]

Right? That was in my head. I remember going to Urban Outfitters once. I thought, let me style up a little bit. And I went to Urban Outfitters and the biggest waste they sold was like 36. I was like, these motherfuckers was the only kids allowed to buy here. They don't sell the clothes to adults. I was really like, okay, fine, you're not getting my money.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, Drew Carey came in here, looked around, and then left.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, because you don't sell double XL shirts.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. Geez.

[Drew Carey]

It was crazy how I thought. Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

But the rationalization machine is powerful, man.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I watched your Johnny Carson appearance from 1991, and it was pretty good. Stands up really well. Yeah, it stands up really well. And they did things differently back then. I think you're kind of in this position where come on out and entertain us right away. You don't, like, walk in and be cool and just chat. It's perform and don't blow it, or this is the last chance you'll ever have of making it big. No press.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

No pressure.

[Drew Carey]

That's exactly what it was like.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Were you nervous back then? Do you remember, man?

[Drew Carey]

So I used to be an evangelical Christian.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, wow.

[Drew Carey]

But I remember feeling like I just got saved by Jesus at the end. That's the only feeling I can relate it to. Like I was floating. I was in such a flow state. I think your listeners are probably familiar with the flow state. You've heard of it, and if you haven't, there's whole books on it. YouTube videos. If you're not into reading. But it happens to you when you game, you get a flow state. If you're really into the game or when you're driving with the radio on or off, you really get in a flow state. When you're anything where you have hyper concentration, where you look up and you're like, oh, my God, it's been an hour already. I thought I just sat down. That's a flow state. And I was in such a state of flow, I might as well have floated out there and floated over. It was like a dream state the whole time. Because I'd rehearsed that set when I walked out, Jim McCauley, RIP he was the guy that booked the comics, and he was the guy that if you were in a comedy club and you knew Jim McCauley was in the audience, you'd be like, oh, my God. Right away. Yeah. Because he can make or break you by putting you on the Tonight Show. Or not.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Wow.

[Drew Carey]

Back then, it was like, just very few gatekeepers. And if you got past those gatekeepers you were in, and if you didn't.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. Folding towels at Equinox.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. There's no podcast to go on. There's no YouTube channel you can start.

[Jordan Harbinger]

There's no third tier like this podcast.

[Drew Carey]

Now there's, like, many avenues. Back then there was just the one and then just the two when Letterman started.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Then after you got famous from those, then you could have an HBO Special.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Or a Showtime special. And that was it. Now you could make your own special, put it on YouTube, get a YouTube following, and then you're set. Yeah, nothing like that. You had to go through the gatekeepers. Always a gatekeeper, man. So Jim McCauley was the biggest gatekeeper in the country. And he said, hey, Drew, you're on next. Ready to go backstage. I had my notes, my set list that I hadn't barely glanced at. And I was going to look over it one more time before I went on. And it was on the top page of my notebook. It wasn't a separate sheet. I just had my notebook and I would fold over the top like a lined oxford, lined notebook paper. And he walks me backstage and he goes, we'll have a good time. And I go, am I next? And he goes, yeah. And I go, well, I guess I don't need this. And I talk. Tossed it. Wow. You didn't have a chance to look at it before I went out. And the next thing you know, it's Johnny introducing me. The curtains open and I float out on stage and I'm in a flow state. It's going great. I'm like electric inside. I feel like I'm on another planet. It's going so well where I'm not associated with reality. And then I get called over. Just like in my dream the night before, I had like a vision of exactly how it would go. I was working at a club in Chicago, Funnybone in Chicago at the time, and Schaumburg. And I got a call like, hey, Macaulay called. Did you want to do the tonight's show? And the club owner is really excited because that's extra money on the weekend when I come back from that and just have a comic there that just got his first Tonight show. And he was a good friend of mine anyway. And I was like, what? Well, I need Friday night off. So Thursday night I got the call Wednesday and Thursday night, told the audience, I'm doing the Tonight Show. I did my set and I go, that was my Tonight show set. So let me just figure out the rest of this. Cause you already heard my closer. Wow. Wow. And I flew out there. But the night before, I was laying in bed and I could not sleep. I kept imagining in real time I was doing the set. Cause the set's pre approved, so you have to do that set. So I'm doing the set in my head in real time, seeing the stage through my real eyes. Cause I'd already been there. Another friend of mine Suggested while I was in town, suggested I go to the Tonight show and just be backstage and when the show was over, just go out and look around so I'm not as nervous. Some of the best advice I ever got. So I knew what the stage looked like so I could imagine the whole thing. And then Johnny calls me over at the end of my night dream, all in real time, like it's really happening.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. And he said, you're funny as hell. It was the first thing you said.

[Drew Carey]

It was word for word. It wasn't like I was matching moments. Like it was 10 minutes, the whole sequence, or eight minutes, the whole sequence was timed. I got up, walked around the hotel, went back to bed, couldn't get out. Only slept on the plane on the way out from Chicago to la. And it happened just like I envisioned. It was a supernatural moment to me.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's the genesis.

[Drew Carey]

That's why I'm famous. Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It makes you think really, like how many people have come just close and then were too nervous or like couldn't handle the pressure or self sabotage?

[Drew Carey]

Tons of people. My friend Fred Stoller, really funny comic character actor. If you saw his face, you go, I know just who he is. Really cool guy. He's written a bunch of books. He wrote one book called, I think it's called Five Minutes to Kill. It's when he did HBO Young Comedians, or maybe it's 10 minutes to kill when he was on the Young Comedians show and he listed everybody else who was on the HBO and Comedian show and who made it and who didn't and what happened to them, including him, who got famous from that and who didn't. And they only had this five or 10 minutes to make it or break it. And that five or 10 minutes affected the whole rest, the trajectory of their life. They either were famous and owned a house or they went to catering because they couldn't get booked anymore. Fred Stoller has a really good career, writes books, lives in an apartment and he's the guy in the movie.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, that guy, yeah. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

But he wasn't famous like the other people were that got him there. And it was always like. It's a thing that comics always talk about. I was with Messina Baker, this management firm, when I did my first Tonight Show. And after I did that was a Friday, like the next week. I was doing sets for CAA and.

[Jordan Harbinger]

UTA and the agencies. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

William Morris sent like 20 some agents to see me do a set at the Improv. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday, Friday. I did a set every Night for agents because everybody wanted to sign me. So freaking hot. It was insane. Somebody just set me on fire. And everybody was like, oh, my God, look at that. I was lit up like a light bulb. That's how I felt. And I'm sitting there with Jack, the other comic who'd end up being a writer on the Tonight show. And there was another comic I didn't know. And Jack and I were both with Messina Baker, so we knew each other from that plus doing comedy. But we especially had a bond because we were with the same manager. And we're sitting at the Improv and one of the tables, and we're talking about this crazy thing that's happened to me. Like, what's it feel like to be flavor of the week? And I was like, take a lick, bro. I was like. It was like that. I was like, oh, my God, it's crazy. And we were laughing about and having a drink, and the guy looks at. He's talking to Jack, and he points at me like, how many Tonight Shows have you done? And Jack goes, I don't know, like, 10, 12.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Wow.

[Drew Carey]

He'd been on Tonight show, like, that many? He was a regular.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

And he goes, how many times has this motherfucker been on the Tonight Show? He points at me. And I go, just the one. And I go, look at that. This motherfucker, he's in a friendly way. One Tonight show you've been on 10, 15 times. And then he looks really earnestly at Jack and he goes, you know what the problem is, right? Jack goes, what? And he goes, it's your management. And me. And Jack just started laughing because he didn't know we had the same manager.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, God.

[Drew Carey]

There's three comics having a serious business conversation. You know what your problem is, right? It's your management. There's a great joke that comics used to do with each other. I'll do it to you. Like, hey, what agent are you signed with?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, it's uta. Not for long.

[Drew Carey]

That's a standard comic term move with new comics. Who are you with?

[Jordan Harbinger]

You mentioned in your book that it's important to talk to the audience like they're drinking buddies. I think that's such an interesting way to look at because you're not out there. Like, I'm going to entertain everyone. You're just thinking, I'm going to tell you some funny stories. That happened to me. A little bit of a different mindset.

[Drew Carey]

When I first started, I would go to every headliner. I would ask him advice. Do you mind watching My act this week and giving me some advice. And if you're funny and they like you, they will. There was a comic friend of mine that was getting a ride to a comedy club in Ohio from another comic. The opener. The mc, my friend, was the middle act. And they were driving down to this club to open up for this headliner that was in town. And on the way down, the opener, who was driving, put a cassette tape in the car and pressed play. And he goes, hey, I wonder if you mind listening to my act on the way down here and giving me some foot and thoughts now that you're.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Trapped in the car.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. And my friend, he told me the story. He said he ejected the tape and threw it out the window.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's so mean.

[Drew Carey]

It had a joint and the guy was like, what the fuck? And he goes, bro, I'm not listening to your act all the way down. Just drive. I'm gonna smoke a joint. We're gonna get to the cliff.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Wow.

[Drew Carey]

In the comedy world, if you're funny and people know you're funny, even if you're an up and comer, and they like, oh, this is a funny guy. This is a funny person, they want to help you out.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Sure.

[Drew Carey]

They want to mentor you, they want to see you succeed and they'll hang out with you. And if you're not funny, they're like, oh, I'm just going to go to my room. Or I'm just. Yeah, good set. Talk to you later. That's how it goes.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, interesting.

[Drew Carey]

You know, if you're in, you're out by if they want to hang out with you after. And if you're struggling, nobody wants to be around you. If you're not funny and you're a comic, nobody.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's true.

[Drew Carey]

That's just how it is. You just know. So these guys would give me advice. Thankfully, they thought it was funny. And one guy, these. A lot of Chicago comics came through Cleveland. I would go to Chicago to do sets all the time. I wasn't a Chicago comic. I knew all the good ones. I would stand there like this with my hand on the mic and just stand in front of it like this. And I didn't know where to look and I didn't know what to do. And I was like, what do I do to get over this? And he goes, just pretend you're talking to friends in the living room. Then you can look right in the eye or look right at their forehead, top of their head. Yeah. All these little tricks. Tell yourself you're in a Living room, joking around with friends and treat it like that. That was great advice. So I started doing that. And now when I'm at the prices right. I feel so comfortable there. And I know I'm in such a friendly place that as far as I'm concerned, I'm having a game night party and you're all invited. Nice to meet you. I'm Drew, and I'm going to look you right in the eye when I'm talking to you, even though I'm on stage. And when I'm doing improv or stand, I'm going to look you right in the eye because you're friendly to me. I don't fear you. I don't have to worry about your judgment. We're all pals and that's how I treat it. Puts me in a really comfortable place.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I noticed that you do have really good rapport with the people on the Price is Right, the contestants, and it seems very natural. Is it something you think about or had to think about consciously, or is it just from comedy? You kind of already had it in the bag?

[Drew Carey]

Both. So I had it in the bag from comedy. People were asking me, I always get asked, what was it like to take over for Bob?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Bob Barker? Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Eighteen years later, I still get asked that question. But I realize now, you know, when you're a comic anywhere, they had somebody really good there the week before or two weeks before. Oh, last week Garry Shanley was here. Boy, he really killed the place. Knowing you should have seen him. Or they'll be talking about something great the other comic did. Or they'll have stories about at the club, like famous moments or you should have seen them. Like, guys will tell stories after the show about this happened, that happened. Bill Hicks story. You would hear about some club that he walked out one time. I was just telling a friend of mine the other day, Bill Hicks, he's dead now, but he was a legendary icon. When I was doing club comedy, he was so looked up to and so funny. And he would talk about anything. Like, there was no limit to this guy. The edgiest of edgy comics.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Bill Burr situation.

[Drew Carey]

That's Bill Burr is walking in his shadow. Honestly, Bill Burr would recognize Bill Hicks and go, yeah, that guy right up there with Lenny Bruce. As far as I'm concerned, as far as like freedom on stage to do whatever you want. But funny, no offense to Lenny Bruce, when Lenny Bruce was going through his trials, like, he would get up on stage and read his transcript for his trials and complain like he wasn't telling jokes. He was just ranting. And it was interesting, but it wasn't like, here's my ass.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's a ballsy move, though.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. Like, he didn't give a fuck.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, clearly.

[Drew Carey]

Which was great. But when he was funny, like a groundbreaker. No doubt about it. But then he just was like, angry, man. And no kidding, they were trying to put him in jail and putting him on trial.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

And I'd be pissed, too, if I got arrested after my act. Like, what happened to him? And I was, like, afraid nobody would book me because you didn't want the police raiding the place because you're seeing the word fuck on stage.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, God.

[Drew Carey]

Like crazy. So Bill Hicks was like, he had the freedom and the rights that people like Lenny Bruce earned for him, and then he was able to just talk about anything. So the story I heard, which is a true story, was the club owners were like, hey, Bill, welcome to the club. When they picked him up at the airport. Glad to have you here. And we know what your act is, but we're Christians, and we'd really appreciate it if you didn't say the word fuck. That's really our only rule, right? And he went, all right. And first of all, Christians made them an enemy because he came up with Sam Kinison in the same club in Texas. And they were, like, part of these Texas outlaw comics. That was Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison, and a couple other guys, but those were the two main ones. So that was his attitude. Fuck you. I'm gonna get up here and do whatever I want, and I'm gonna do a bump before I come on stage and tell you what I did. And everybody knows I'm on cocaine right now. Go fuck yourself. If you don't like what I'm saying, leave. And that was his attitude. And he got up on stage and for as long as he could, talked about fucking a child.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, my God.

[Drew Carey]

Until everybody left. And he walked the whole audience, like, one by one. People were, like, upset. They didn't want to hear it. He just stood there and looked him in the eye. And the graphic, as horrible as he could make it, and they all paid their checks and walked out until the very last couple got up and left. And then he was like, great. There you go. I didn't say the word fuck.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, no, he did.

[Drew Carey]

He never said the word fuck there. You want me to not want to say the word fuck? This is what's going to happen.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, man.

[Drew Carey]

You give me complete freedom or I'll tank my career.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's Like a political statement almost. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

And he never got as famous here as in England. Like wildly popular in England, but here he was popular with comics and people in the know and people ever hit the show.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, it's like a comics comic. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. There was no Bill Hicks sitcom because people were like, what do we do with you?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. The networks are probably like, yeah, just make sure he doesn't say F. Oh, wait a minute. No, not that guy.

[Drew Carey]

He would just be arguing all the time with the writers about how he can't talk about what he wants to talk about.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yikes. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

No, how come I talk about drugs and how they should be legal and.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, now.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. He had a great bit about how great drugs were. You never hear that from people, do you? Jeez, drugs are great.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

They make you feel good. Why can't you take drugs? That was his attitude.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You've said as comedians make more money, they get less funny. And you've got to guard against that. Why is that?

[Drew Carey]

I learned this from Steve Martin. I never met Steve Martin. Believe it or not, one of my idols.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Grown up, he might take your call at this point. I don't know. Gotta learn how to play the banjo.

[Drew Carey]

He's still Steve Martin and I'm still Drew Carey. You know, he's legend. He's like Mount Rushmore.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Okay. Yeah. I don't know.

[Drew Carey]

He's like untouchable to me. In my head, that's God. You're going to meet him.

[Jordan Harbinger]

He's going to be like, oh, I saw every episode of your show.

[Drew Carey]

Knowing what I know. He's not a dracare show watcher. Too smart, too above it. But his first album that came out, I read every interview and he said in an interview, that's 10 years of comedy there. That's my best stuff from 10 years. And now my next album is like, what do I do now? I don't have 10 years. They want me to do another album in a year. And I know if I do it, I'm gonna get this extra money. And it's almost like you're putting out B material. If an author had one big novel that they'd been burning inside and they write it, that was great.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Now follow it up with another one.

[Drew Carey]

A band has their big hit breakout album, and the next album is. It was pretty good.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yep.

[Drew Carey]

But that happens to comics. You don't have five hours, four hours. Nobody puts eight. Jerry Seinfeld said he did. I believe Jerry Seinfeld wrote eight hours a day, treated it like a job, but he Might have been using eight hours a day. Like it could have been six hours and two hours of having coffee and fucking around until he got back in the mood. Like how writers do.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, that's what everybody does at work, I think.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. I knew he took it seriously enough to go like, okay, this is my job and this part of my day. I'm telling you, from being on the road, comics didn't do. Most comics did not treat it that seriously. And if they wrote, they did it a couple times a week and go, I think I'm going to write for an hour. All right, Jerry Seinfeld.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

So all of a sudden then you're famous and now you've got meetings to go to, you got other projects to do. When I was on the Drew Carey Show, I didn't have time to write any writing. I did all the jokes went to the Drew Carey Show. I wasn't writing jokes for my act and I was famous enough as a standup, then if they wanted a stand up special, I could have done one. But if they wanted me to do a second one, when am I going to write it? When am I going to have time to go on stage?

[Jordan Harbinger]

How do you guard against that? You said you have to guard against that, so I assume you came up with a way to guard against that.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. Plus another thing is you don't live a normal life anymore. When you're rich, your assistant's doing things for you, you're getting dropped off at the VIP to go into the club. You're not dealing with the everyday frustrations that people deal with. Are you stuck in traffic like everybody else in your shitty car?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Like everybody else in la, yes, but everywhere else, maybe not.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. When you're a good standup comic, it's every man against the world. You're speaking up to power. Why are these people doing it? Why is this technology doing this to us? Why are we living in this system? That's so frustrating. This is hypocritical, this is stupid. This is wrong. Ha. And you make a joke of it. That's how every successful comic works.

[Jordan Harbinger]

So when you're richer, you're just insulated from more real world.

[Drew Carey]

You're in that world now. What are you gonna make fun of? You're the guy next door. Cause you're rich too. It really hurts you. So you have to be in a mindset of drive yourself, do your own fucking shopping if you can. Try to be as normal thinking as you can. Because the more you insulate yourself from the world, the less you have to joke. Like, what are you gonna joke around? There was a guy named Martin Mull, a really famous guy from Cleveland, Comic. And I used to watch him on the Tonight show because it would be Martin Mull or Steve Martin. When I would look at comics on the Tonight show, sometimes I get them mixed up when I was first following them, like, oh, Martin is.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh yeah, one of the Martins.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, Martin Mull. I had his albums. Really famous, really good, funny songwriter. So he'd be on the Tonight show with a couch and a guitar to do funny songs. He wasn't like a stand up, but he'd patter in between. On one of his albums he has a song called Rich Person's Blues. And it was. I woke up this morning I saw both cars were gone I felt so low down deep inside I threw my drink upon the lawn.

[Jordan Harbinger]

God.

[Drew Carey]

I remember I was like broke when I heard that. I was just a fan. I thought it was the funniest thing to me. I listened to it over and over on an album, Rich Man's Blues. So what are you going to joke about? What frustrates you? My jet was late. Yeah, go fuck yourself.

[Jordan Harbinger]

So the key is, the more successful.

[Drew Carey]

You get live or live. That mindset.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That mindset, eh?

[Drew Carey]

Be aware of it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's tough.

[Drew Carey]

Recognize that you're in a private jet because you're famous and rich and Disney got you a private jet that time, which they did to me. Or somebody's flying you somewhere because you have to get somewhere or make a joke about how rich you are. You got to do something to humanize yourself for everybody.

[Jordan Harbinger]

And now take your fat drunk ass to the Gap and or Disneyland. We'll be right back. This episode is sponsored in part by Dell and amd. What would you do if your company's big product launch got hijacked not by competitors, but by a hacker? That's exactly what happens in the latest episode of the Cybersecurity Tapes, a podcast from Dell Technologies and amd. This is not your typical tech talk podcast. These are fictionalized stories based on real world cyber threats and. And they're crafted to pull you in like a thriller. But each episode is packed with insights to help you stay protected. In episode six, a CEO steps on stage to unveil a breakthrough AI powered finance app. Everything unravels in front of a live audience. Wrong slides. Glitched teleprompter. Was it a man in the middle attack? A targeted exploit? Or something worse? In a world where AI is accelerating everything, including cybercrime, these Dramatized stories show you what's possible, how these attacks unfold, and most importantly, what you can do to protect yourself, your team and your data. Because today's cyber threats are not just a tech problem. They they're a business problem. And no one is immune. Subscribe to the cybersecurity tapes wherever you get your podcasts and hear how it all goes down when security fails in real time. This episode is also sponsored by SimpliSafe. A few months ago, our house was broken into at night while we were home. I was in one room, lights off. Jen was in the other room reading bedtime stories to the kids. Then out of nowhere, boom. Three masked guys kicked in the glass door. They must have been watching the house. They saw our nanny's car leave kind of late. They noticed the lights were off and figured we were an easy target. Our SimpliSafe sirens went off, the whole house lit up. They took off. No one got hurt, thankfully. But it was a wake up call to beef up the security around here. We've had Simplisafe for a while now. Jen set it up herself in an afternoon. Cameras, door sensors, glass break sensors, 247 monitoring, all connected to our phones. So whether I'm at the store or in Asia with the whole family, I know what's going on at home. There's no long term contract. Plans start at around a dollar a day. More than 4 million people already trust and use it. They were also just ranked number one in customer service by Newsweek and USA Today. After the break in, our whole neighborhood banded together. We got a watch group now. An official sign. There's a sign you know we mean business. And a local officer came out to speak. One of the first things he said, get a home security system. It's one of the simplest things you can do. Head to SimpliSafe.com Jordan to get 50% off a new system with professional monitoring plus your first month free. That's SimpliSafe.com Jordan. There's no safe like SimpliSafe. If you're wondering how I managed to book all these great folks every single week, it is because of my network, the circle of people I know, like and trust. I'm teaching you how to build your network for free [e-mail] the course is all about improving your relationship building skills. A lot of people who are trying to make it in comedy, I realize, are using this make it in any industry, frankly, because it's about relationships. And this course is down to earth, not awkward, not Cheesy. Just practical exercises that'll make you a better connector, a better colleague, a better friend. In six minutes a day is all it takes. And many of the guests on the show subscribe and contribute to this course. Come on and join us. You'll be in smart company where you belong. You can find the course again. It's free. There's no weird tricks. I don't want your credit card number or anything. 6minutenetworking.com. All right, now back to Drew Carey. You do see when really popular comedians lose touch and they lose the plot a little bit. And people really hate that even more than an unfunny set. Oh, he went a little too far with the trans stuff. It's like the worst thing a comic can do is just appear out of touch. It's like career suicide in some ways.

[Drew Carey]

You gotta find a way to ground your. That's why I love being about the prices ride, because everybody there is normal.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, it looks like you're having a fun time every day.

[Drew Carey]

So many average Americans in there. Like, you want to know what America is like? Go to a prices rig taping. That's how Americans dress. That's what they look like. This is what they believe. Just being a guy and loving sports, I would think that everybody loved football. Cause everywhere I go, I could strike up a conversation about how the football team was doing. And I would watch ESPN and I'd watch it. So I knew some stats. Because when I started a conversation, I didn't want to look like an idiot in front of my friends. And I would catch them and me repeating stats I heard on ESPN or talking points I heard on ESPN or sports radio. I really had to know that because I didn't want to look like a fool when I talked to my friends.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I see.

[Drew Carey]

You know what I mean? I go to the price, the right audience, and I'm like, boy, did everybody see that game? And blanks.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Really? Middle of America not watching football.

[Drew Carey]

Nobody gives a fuck.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's funny.

[Drew Carey]

There's guys there that do. There'll be a few guys that raise their hand. But the average person, if you look at the ratings, the Rams or whoever, they get a percentage just like everybody else of the ratings.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I guess being from Detroit, it was like, oh, we're playing Green Bay. And it was like, you think everybody knows? I think everybody. I was the only kid who didn't really care about any of that stuff. I was an outcast for that reason.

[Drew Carey]

You weren't the only kid. So when I was doing standup, they would have you do radio shows on Friday morning because it was always a local rock and roll station or country station, depending on where you were, that would sponsor the club.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, I see, yeah. So you're on K ROQ or whatever.

[Drew Carey]

Or you'd be in the morning Zoo show somewhere, their version of the morning zoo. And they would, oh, this guy's great. He gets a 8 share.

[Jordan Harbinger]

What does that mean?

[Drew Carey]

So 8% of the people listening listen to him. Which would, like, in this market, if you get a two share, three share in la, you're a God. But it's like in Indianapolis or someplace, if you get an 8 share, forget it. And then I would think to myself, man, I'm getting up at fucking six in the morning. I worked last night, I got to do two shows tonight. So we're all getting up early to do radio. And then we're going to take a nap and fucking figure out, go to Applebee's or whatever so we can get our shit together, take another nap. All because we can do this. It was every week, this guy's really big, gets an 8 chair. And in my head I would think, oh, so you mean 92% of the people in the city aren't listening to this guy. And that's only the people they're measuring who are listening to the radio. That doesn't count people who are just driving in their car in silence or have a cassette tape in.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Psychopaths driving your car without a music.

[Drew Carey]

Or aren't driving anywhere and just sleep in and don't listen to them. I'm supposed to be kowtowing in awe of this eight dude. No, not gonna do it. And on the Dracary show, if they were like, oh, you know, like 15 share, watched the Drew Carey Show. So 85% of the people watching TV don't give a fuck about me.

[Jordan Harbinger]

What was your competing show at the time? Do you remember? Like, what was on at the same time?

[Drew Carey]

Oh, for a while it was West Wing.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, that was huge. Also.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, I remember talking to Dietrich Bader like, hey man, have you seen West Wing? I go, no. He goes, oh, it's so good. You really need to watch it. And I go, it's the fucker.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's our 8:00pm I would be like, hey, any chance we can move to 7:30 before people tune into West Wing? For God's sake. Killing me here.

[Drew Carey]

Killing me.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Could buy my own jet. I wouldn't need Disney.

[Drew Carey]

But that was my attitude. Just from doing those radio shows was my strength too, because I knew I Just needed a sliver of the pie. The lamb of God doesn't need to be a household name like Kiss or Taylor Swift. And even Taylor Swift, I'll argue artists like her have a sliver of the pie. And you hear a lot about them. But as much as you hear doesn't match the record sales in the big, big market. Because people buy country music, classical music, they go to jazz clubs, they go to no clubs. They know the song because it's played in the mall. They know the song because it's on the radio. And they're maybe listening to the radio. Or people reference her when you're watching the game. But average person doesn't know every song on a Taylor Swift album.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's true.

[Drew Carey]

And that's just how it is in show business. You can be famous, but everybody only has their own little sliver of the pie. And you have to service your audience. You have to service your sliver of the pie and really make sure they're happy. Seattle Sounders, we have a sliver of the pie in the soccer world. A small sliver in Seattle. It seems like huge, but it's really a small sliver of the pie. And we go out of our way to service those people so we don't lose their business. And that's how every business works. You don't have to appeal to everybody. The analogy I would make with people, they'll go, well, you know, this is the most popular thing. You ever hear that argument?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Sure.

[Drew Carey]

It's good because it's popular. I go, really? You think McDonald's has the best hamburger in the world? You think that's the best restaurant in the country? You think McDonald's is the best place to go eat? They're the most popular.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Sure.

[Drew Carey]

That's not the best. They're good. I enjoy McDonald's every once in a.

[Jordan Harbinger]

While, this podcast sponsored by McDonald's and.

[Drew Carey]

The Gap Sausage McMuffin with egg. I was making a joke to myself in the car, like all the things I would eat and consume and pretty much, if you advertise in the Super Bowl, I'm in. Yeah, I drank Budweiser because they advertise in the Super Bowl. I bought this because they advertise the Super Bowl. Gotta be the best one. They advertise on the Super Bowl. I get hooked in by marketing so easily by everybody.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's funny.

[Drew Carey]

You market to me the right way. An ad comes up when I'm scrolling the news. Also, somebody came up was a place that was selling bed tents, place called Temu. I got.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, Temu. That's one of those Chinese. Like, it's only $3. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

And then you click on it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's like everything. They just knock off products, sell you the crappiest version.

[Drew Carey]

But I clicked on it. I was like, oh, man, that's really cool.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Don't buy anything from temu. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

I was this close to buying it just because I saw it while I was reading a news article and I'm like, what the fuck? I had to snap out of it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. No, that stuff's made by, like, child slave labor. I want my children who manufacture things to be compensated fairly.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

So the price is right, which is aired the 10,000th episode on my birthday. Thanks for doing that. I appreciate that.

[Drew Carey]

It was just for you.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, I know. That was the pitch for bringing you on. When the Drew Carey show ended, did you have any sort of identity crisis at all? Because this is aimed after you, for God's sake.

[Drew Carey]

So huge.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Oh, yeah. Tell me about that rug pull. You know, because you're losing a part.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Of yourself when the thing.

[Drew Carey]

I would feel so personally attacked if somebody wrote something bad about the Drew Carey show.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, that's not going to happen in the comments of this episode at all then.

[Drew Carey]

Well, I don't care anymore.

[Jordan Harbinger]

No. Okay, good.

[Drew Carey]

And I was just thinking, I took everything so personally because first of all, my name's on it. And I knew that this was my only one chance to not ever have to work again.

[Jordan Harbinger]

But it ran for nine, 10 years, right?

[Drew Carey]

Nine years.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Save your money, you'll be fine. Yeah, yeah.

[Drew Carey]

But your fourth year, fifth year, nine years, you want a 10th year? Well, yeah, 10th year, you want an 11th year. Like, you don't want it to end. Some things are so good, you don't want it to end. Do you want the party to end? When you're at a party and it's raging and you're in the midst of, like, the peak of it, when it's over, I just walked out of the bathroom. Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Keep this thing going. Rubbing your nose.

[Drew Carey]

I don't do coke, but I know the feeling.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You and I are contractually prohibited from doing drugs, so I don't do drugs.

[Drew Carey]

When I go to edc. I'm sad when the night's over.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. I'm like, ah, man, I love that you love edc.

[Drew Carey]

Love it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Electronic Daisy Carnival.

[Drew Carey]

It's a electric daisy carnival. Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's basically a rave. It's a rave.

[Drew Carey]

Exactly what it is.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. In the middle of the desert on a racetrack in the Middle of the desert. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Las Vegas motor speedway. Every May 17th, 18th and 20th, I think this year.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Do you have to be careful about things you do in public? You can't go to EDC and go, you know what I'm gonna do Molly with my friends. Let's say you don't do drugs. All right, I'm gonna drink. But then it's like, you can't just be, like, stumbling drunk because someone could video that. And it's not a good look for Drew Carey.

[Drew Carey]

I have been.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's happened, I'm sure. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

I was at Disneyland when I was on the Drew Carey Show. Every year, we would take the writers and the cast to Disney World. That was our thing. The guy that created the show, Chris Helford, and I would drive across country, we would rent a car, he didn't fly. And we would drive from LA to Orlando and we would meet the cast.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Drive from LA to Orlando. How long does that take? Like a week, four days, A few days.

[Drew Carey]

You take turns driving, listen to rock and roll, talk about the show, what went wrong, what didn't, what we liked, what we didn't, what we want to do next year. What about this? Brainstorm. Shoot the shit, eat at diners, joke around. Okay, we get a motel. This looks like good Holiday Inn Express. Let's stay here. What are you doing here? Well, the Celebrity Holiday Express is closed. We get to Orlando, and ABC is owned by Disney. So ABC would get the rooms and make sure we pay for our guides. And we basically get a semi free trip to Disney World for everybody and be all the writers and all the cast. We did every year. So one year I wanted to have everybody drink the world at Epcot Center.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I see.

[Drew Carey]

Which is a thing to do. You can eat the world or drink the world. And we were going to drink the world. So there's 10 countries in the Epcot Center. Starts out with Canada. The United States is in the middle, of course, and then Mexico is on the other side. So you start with Canada, work your way through Japan, China, England, Norway, all the other countries, Germany, Italy, and you end up in Mexico at the end of the night. And the idea was to get to Mexico right before 10 o' clock because that's when the fireworks went off. So we're like, yeah, we got to get an early start because 10 drinks.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That'S a lot of drinks.

[Drew Carey]

And you had to have a drink in each country. So we were supposed to start in Canada and everybody was late, and I was like, where the fuck is everybody? And everybody didn't get there to, like, 1:32 or something like that. And I was like, okay, let's go now. We gotta make up some time. So we chugged a beer in Canada, and we gotta walk everywhere. So we walked to the next one, walked to the next one. And by the time I got United States, I'm having a beer. And then in Japan, I'd have a sake. China, I'd have something else. And Germany, I'd have another beer. Italy, I didn't have a glass of wine. It wasn't garappa or something. Yeah, it wasn't. I was mixing and just fucking stumbling. And by the time I got to Mexico, might have been quarter to 10. It was nighttime out. I was, like, running around and, like, giggling and, like, tagging people. And I had mouse ears on, and people were worried about how I was acting. And, like, we gotta do something about Drew.

[Jordan Harbinger]

This is also before smartphones. So it wasn't like, yeah, thank God.

[Drew Carey]

But it wasn't before cameras or instant cameras that you would buy at Disney World to take around all day.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, wow.

[Drew Carey]

Or like, throwaway cameras.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Disposable cameras. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Everybody had something. They didn't have a phone, but they had something. And I'm acting like an idiot. Just, like, drunk out of my mind. Fucked up drunk, but in a really good, happy way. Like, we got to do something with Drew. And somebody had the idea, let's put Drew in a wheelchair and wheel him out of here.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, my God.

[Drew Carey]

So they got the guide, Disney Guide to get a wheelchair. The red ves.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Got me a wheelchair. Plaid Vesuvius. Put me in the wheelchair, and they're gonna wheel me out of there, which they do. And I'm in the chair just like fireworks going off. A month later, whenever we're back and we're starting in the writer's room, was it Weekly World News or Weekly World? Some tabloid tabloid double page. Drew Carey drunk at Disney World.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, no.

[Drew Carey]

The picture that made everybody laugh so much is me in the chair with my mouse ears askew on my head. They weren't even straight. I have a red Solo cup in my hand.

[Jordan Harbinger]

What's in there?

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, that's my face. I got beer spilled all over the front of my shirt. So there's a beer stain in the of my shirt. I'm in a wheelchair with a Disney guy behind me.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Keeping the place classy.

[Drew Carey]

I picture that framed in my house.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, you do? That's what you put on the T shirts for the Price is Right.

[Drew Carey]

Well, after I did the fish Thing. When I went to the Fish concert and sent out those tweets about how I would stick my dick in a blender, I also said, by the way, that I would give you all my money and give up pussy for the rest of my life. Nobody mentions that part. All they bring up is the dick in the blender part. Like, I offered, like, three big things.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, I'll take the cash.

[Drew Carey]

You know, you can have all of it. But why are you concentrating only that?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Because for a guy, that's like, the worst thing. Like, you can have everything. Just don't do that.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's a visceral feeling. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

But after that, I remember talking to an executive at cbs and that Diddy thing just came out where he dragged her through the hallway like that video had just come out. She was like, you're just having fun. It's not like you're dragging anyway through a hallway and beating him. I'm like, exactly. Like, who cares if you're honest with everybody about how you live? And if you're not hypocritical, you can pretty much live your life. In my book, I wrote about me going to strip clubs and all that stuff. Fighting with the Sensor. It wasn't shocking because I'm open about it, and I was open about it. I would go into a strip club as Drew Carey and go, hey, man, VIP's here. Where's my table? And everybody knew. Hey, Drew. Hey.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, you're not pretending to be, like, a religious influence or something like that? Never do such a thing.

[Drew Carey]

Remember the guy that was the president of the American Evangelical Association? He was a TV preacher and he got caught with iron gay hookers. And then he went to a Christian conversion thing for, like, two weeks and came back and he said, I'm healed. I'm not gay anymore. And I gave this joke to Greg Proops. He would do, like, a nightly thing at a club. Like, it was like a chat show, but it was live at a club in la. And I went every week. It was so good. And I gave him. I got a great joke, but I don't do stand up. And so here's this joke for you because it was just in the news. He goes, yeah. Greg proofs, like, killed it. He goes, yeah. So this guy, I can't remember his name, he got caught with gay hookers, and he went to a Christian conversion thing for a week. Now he's not gay anymore. And what they did was they took him out behind the barn and made him smoke a pack of dicks till his tummy hurt. People were, like, pounding the table. I was so proud of myself. And I wouldn't have given it to anybody else because Greg Proofs can tell a joke. Like, nobody.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, man.

[Drew Carey]

But you get caught doing that, then you're in trouble. Yeah, but if I'm like, yeah, I go to edc, what do you fucking think I do at edc?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Not drugs, because you're the host of the Prize Is Right.

[Drew Carey]

I was on another TV show telling a story, a drug story. It was the show called this Is Not Happening. And that was my joke. I'm at adc. My friend's doing mushrooms. I'm not because I'm the host of Prices. Right. I'd be an idiot to do mushrooms than talk about it in public. So just.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It was just him.

[Drew Carey]

He was not me, though. That was the joke.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's funny because I have a morality clause in my contract. It's like a whole page. Everybody does. And my lawyer's like, we gotta argue this. You might want to read that. It might be in the fine print. And my lawyer's like, we gotta argue this. Because this can be construed in so many different ways. And you're in this weird position where you have to be like, I would never do that. Except there are these things that I do do that I wouldn't necessarily say in public. And that's gonna fall under this thing if somebody doesn't like you suddenly.

[Drew Carey]

I'm always. Never hurting anybody.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Just having fun.

[Jordan Harbinger]

No, of course. But there's things where these things can be construed so loosely. But if I say, oh, yeah, you know, weed should be legal federally, because one time I mailed weed to my friend, I didn't realize it was a felony. And then it's, oh, you admitted to that on a podcast. And since we're trying to get rid of you because you did some other thing, we're going to use this as an excuse to get rid of you. Now, if you're crushing it, you got that 8 share or whatever. Then they're like, he's joking.

[Drew Carey]

Howard Stern could talk about anything he wanted, admit to anything he wanted. Nobody fucking touch him.

[Jordan Harbinger]

No, it'll be like, oh, he's a comedian. It's just a joke. Right, Howard? And he goes, no, I really did that.

[Drew Carey]

And they're like, but that's why people listen to Howard Stern, because he's truthful and he's honest, and he's saying exactly what he did, and he's not trying to bullshit his way through. And you're on the Howard Stern Show. That's what he was like, off mic, off mike, on mic. You can't fake it. No, you can't be. I'm meeting you. You can't be on the show and fake it for this long. Possible. And your show would suck.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It would be terrible. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

That's why people listen. That's why people listen to podcasts, because they're getting a real thing and have a real conversation with people. If I do a nighttime talk show, I talk to a segment producer and we talk about what we're going to talk about. What if we have a story? It's all pre planned.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That makes complete sense.

[Drew Carey]

The host has cards. So I heard you did this. I got a great story. I was on Letterman and I did the pre interview. There's always a pre interview, which I hate because I can talk for 10 minutes. Like, what are you fucking doing to me? Maybe somebody else can, but I can. It's insulting almost that they give me a pre interview.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I wonder if it's because they think, oh, we don't want you to be boring or talk about something somebody else already talked about. What's the point?

[Drew Carey]

That plus they want to know what's happening because it's a seven minute segment.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I see.

[Drew Carey]

We got to hit bam. We don't need dead air. Can't afford it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

So they're like, hey, this isn't going to be a whole show. So that segment, if you just talk.

[Drew Carey]

About 7 minutes segment, let's go, let's hit it. And then these are great stories. And this will be viral. Whatever they do, they want. Give me your most interesting. I get that.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Thank God.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, I get it. So Letterman, it was going, okay, the interview. And then towards the end, he set me up with a story. He changed the wording in it. I didn't hear the keywords I was expecting. So I didn't tell the right story.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, no.

[Drew Carey]

I just was like fumbling. It was interesting.

[Jordan Harbinger]

He told a different story.

[Drew Carey]

It wasn't funny, but I was like, yeah, blah, blah, blah. And then it trailed off. And then he goes, okay, well, we're gonna go to commercial. And he goes to commercial. And it was in December, around Christmas time. And he leans over at me, he goes, hey, man, I'm really sorry about this crowd. There's just. This is such a nowhere crowd. It's the holidays. This crowd's nowhere. They bring a cigar out. He lits smoking a cigar.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Crazy in studio wild.

[Drew Carey]

Smoking a cigar during the commercials. And I go, I'm really sorry. I just didn't hear the cue right. And there's different ways to back then. And he looks straight out above the audience's head with a cigar and he goes, fuck it. Just fuck it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Tell us what you really think. The good news is I'll be here next week.

[Drew Carey]

I don't know about you puffing a cigar. Just not a care in the world.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Thinking about his flight to the Bahamas.

[Drew Carey]

The next time that I was on Letterman, I was doing a show and I forget the name of the actress. She was a child actor then she was in all the Pretty Horses. And then she's a famous adult, but I can't blanket on her name. But she's like 14, 13, something like that. I was lead guest. She was on. And Warner Brothers had given me a Porsche to renegotiate my contract. They just gave me a car, taxes paid for and everything. Here's your car. And that was one of their common negotiating tactics. Because I remember driving on the lot one time and in front of set there was like ten Porsches lined up.

[Jordan Harbinger]

And you're like, oh, there's the entire cast's cars. Yeah, they must have just signed their deals.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, that's what they did. Smart. But all the talent wanted Porsches. That's a talent car. You don't want a Mercedes or a Jaguar. That's an executive car. Yeah, we had a whole discussion about what car to ask Warner Brothers for.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's funny. Podcast one. I'm open to this idea, by the way.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, I just got this Porsche and I had three weeks to get to New York. I had all the time in the world. So I just. It was one of the best vacations I ever had. I want to get away from everybody. I don't want to talk to anybody. You probably value your alone time.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, time with my kids now especially.

[Drew Carey]

Or even without the kids. You're like, can I have an hour just for me.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's my workout in the gym now. I don't want to take a phone call when I'm in there.

[Drew Carey]

It's church time. Don't fucking bother me. Everybody has that, including me. So I was doing a driving trip all by myself and I left LA. I went to 29 Palms to get massages for a couple days. Cut that short because I over massaged. I was like, I can't get three massages out of my mind. Then I drove up and I went to Vegas. I kept going north through Idaho, got to Montana, made a right. I just wasn't even looking at A map. I just knew generally where I had to go. All my clothes weren't even in a suitcase. They were in my trunk. I would grab shirt, underwear, socks for the next day, and I'd grab my toiletry kit, my computer bag, go into my room. That's what I had. I put the dirty clothes in a bag, and I would mail dirty clothes home.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Mail them home. Oh, wow.

[Drew Carey]

And if I needed new clothes, I would stop at a Gap outlet store or a Gap, and I would just buy new clothes and just put on a T shirt. And I was just driving three weeks.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Wow.

[Drew Carey]

Nobody bugging me. And when I got to Montana and made a right, I just knew the road was going east. And it was one of these, like, two blacktop roads. Wasn't the main freeway, because I didn't want to go on those. And the speed limit then was. You had to drive judiciously. I forget what the sign said. No, actual speed limit.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

So I was like, fuck, nobody's around. I'm in a Porsche and the top down. Got it up to 110, 120 with the top down. Then I pulled over, and I go, I'm getting dragged from having the top down. Let me put the top up. See what this thing can do. Got it up to 160. I don't know. Three minutes.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's scary.

[Drew Carey]

It was.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

But there was literally not another car in sight. This whole time. I could have been dead.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Could have hit a pebble and flown 30ft in the air.

[Drew Carey]

Oh, yeah. It would have been an hour before somebody found it was one of those roads in a noir movie, or they'd leave the body, and I was just like, bam. Then I slowed down. I was like, wow, that was like shaking. I was like, wow, that was really cool. I ended up driving to New York City. When I got to Letterman, I told that story. I was in Montana, and I got to go 160 because they don't have a speed limit. And he had owned, like, four Porsches. He was like, really? Huh. That's pretty funny. And everybody was laughing because they knew Letterman had a Porsche. And we were laughing about guys talking about speeding and getting away with it. Sure. And then the actress came on and talked about filming all the pretty horses in Montana, how beautiful it was and how gorgeous Montana was. And I remember backstage, Letterman saw me backstage at the theater. He goes, hey, great job tonight. I go, yeah, thanks for having me, man. And he goes, montana, huh? And I go, yeah, it was great. No speed limit. All right, take care. I leave the next day I start driving down to Orlando because I'm going to meet all the cast. And on Monday, I forget what little town I'm in, but I stop for breakfast. I buy a USA Today, I open it up. It's a little article that David Letterman over the weekend had gotten a ticket in Butte, Montana for going 40 and a 25. Fucking guy flew to Montana.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh my God.

[Drew Carey]

Probably in a private jet.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Shipped his Porsche over or rented some kind of car. Cause he was gonna go on the freeway and just gun it. Yeah. And he got a 40 and a 25 and beat Montana.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. And he's. That Drew Carey never booked that guy again. If he booked that guy again, send him the bill for this ticket.

[Drew Carey]

And the next time I was on a show telling that story. Okay, I've heard this before somewhere.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's so funny. Drew and I are going to take a quick break from laughing at our own jokes.

[Drew Carey]

We'll be right back.

[Jordan Harbinger]

This episode is sponsored in part by Oura Ring. I've been rocking the Oura ring since Gen1, back when people would go, what is that weird thing on your finger? Now we're on gen 4. Just looks like a regular ring now. And I've got to say, it just keeps getting better, sleeker, more comfortable, smarter. I wear mine 247 without even thinking about it. What sets it apart is it's the best sleep tracker out there, period. Much more accurate than the watches. Aura doesn't just tell you how long you were out. It shows you sleep stages, recovery metrics, heart rate variability, even your body temperature. It's kind of like having a personal sleep lab on your finger. And sleep is not just about feeling rested. Quality sleep is one of the biggest factors for long term health and longevity. So if you want to live better, longer, you have to start with how you sleep. Jen wears one, my brother in law wears one. Yeah, we compare scores. I know it's nerdy. I don't care. It's made us all more aware of how we are treating our bodies and how much better we feel when we're getting real rest. So if you're ready to optimize the one thing that affects everything else, give Oura the finger. Learn [e-mail] jordan that's o u r a ring.com jordan this episode is sponsored in part by Airbnb. I got to give a shout out to Brian McDonald who listens to the show and absolutely hooked me up in Vietnam. Recently, Brian runs A Taste of Hanoi and I had this layover in Hanoi. And he's like, I got you. Set me up with one of his guides for a motorbike food tour in Hanoi, which was awesome. Now, if you've never been in the of a motorbike in Vietnam, it's something, man. You're weaving through scooters in traffic like a video game where you can actually die. And then all of a sudden, we're inside someone's house. Literally inside. We rode the motorbike. I'll tell you here. The guide pulls into what looks like an alley. Okay. But it turns into a hallway. And then he turns around, grins, and goes, okay, put your hands on my shoulders, duck your head down, pull your knees all the way in. The next thing I know, we're riding through someone's living room, not even kidding. Like actually someone's living room, to get to this little courtyard kitchen where this auntie is making pho that'll just ruin your life. No pho will ever taste as good. And Vietnamese egg coffee upstairs on the balcony. I don't even know how to describe it. It's like tiramisu and espresso. Had a beautiful caffeinated baby. Short trip. Chaotic. Absolutely incredible. And I can't wait to go back and bring Jen next time because I know she's going to love it. And next time we'll put our place on Airbnb to help fund the adventure. You can too. Airbnb makes it super practical. It doesn't take a lot of effort. You set it up before you leave and then, boom. Your house is earning money while you're on vacation and making memories. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host this episode is sponsored in part by Audible. People always ask me how I manage to get through so much content, especially since I prep for every interview. I'm talking two to three books a week. And it's all thanks to Audible. I've got Audible in my ears while I'm getting my 10,000 steps in running errands, even doing stuff around the house. I don't mess with physical books anymore at all. Audible is just way more efficient. I listen on 2 or even 3x speed, which lets me cover a lot of ground without sacrificing quality. Right now, I'm listening to Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy. She's got this really down to earth way of talking about parenting that is not preachy. And here's what a lot of people don't realize. Audible is not just audiobooks anymore. You get access to thousands of titles with your membership, podcasts, Audible originals, and cool stuff like their Words in Music series, where artists tell their stories in their own words. The variety makes the membership way more valuable, so you never run out of great stuff to check out. One day I'm deep in a parenting guide, the next it's a podcast or a spy thriller. So whether you're into suspense, self development, or you just want to make traffic suck less, Audible's got you covered. Start listening and discover what's beyond the edge of your seat. New members can try Audible now, free for 30 days, and dive into a world of new thrills. Visit audible.com jhs or text JHS to 500500 that's audible.com jhs or text jhs to 500500 if you like this episode of the show, I invite you to do what other smart and considerate listeners do, which is take a moment and support our amazing sponsors, those who make the show possible. All of the deals, discount codes, and ways to support the show are searchable and clickable on the [e-mail] deals if you can't remember the name of a sponsor, you can't find the code. You're not sure if it even exists. Email us I'm Jordanordanharbinger.com we are happy to surface codes for you because it is that important that you support those who support the show. Now for the rest of my conversation with Drew Carey. Why jump into hosting the Price Is Right after a successful TV run on the Drew Carey Show? Howie Mandel was on the show a zillion years ago, and he said when he was looking at Deal or no Deal, he told his wife, he goes, is this going to be good for my career? And she said, what career? So he was like, well, I guess that answers that question.

[Drew Carey]

Wife will always tell you, right?

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's been a long time since Bobby's world, Howie. You might want to get a paycheck.

[Drew Carey]

You got to keep people like that around you. That'll just tell you the truth all the time. In Hollywood, if you don't have those kind of people around you, I pity you. Honestly, if you don't have a ball buster next to you, that'll tell you my comic friends keep me humble. Don't tell a comic your weakness. That's all you hear about for the rest of your life. I wanted to get into the soccer business and I wanted money to buy into a soccer team or purchase my own team. Like I didn't know how it Was going to go, but I needed some soccer money and I did it because of the money. Yeah. But it's fun though, because it wouldn't be full time.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's not full time.

[Drew Carey]

Well, I work like 25 hours a week.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I guess I just assumed it took the whole day to tape each one of those.

[Drew Carey]

It does, but it's three days a week, four days a week.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, okay.

[Drew Carey]

You know what I mean?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

And then I get a week off every month. I get 10 days off, 11 days off every month. Because it's three weeks on, one week off.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, okay.

[Drew Carey]

It's a great schedule. I remember when they went from two shows to three and I was working eight hours instead of six. And I'm thinking to myself like, fuck, I've been here all day. Then I go like, oh, no, it was eight hours.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Normal people do this five days a week.

[Drew Carey]

I remember thinking to myself, like, just shut the fuck up. Just shut up. Nobody's gonna be pitting you hours. Yeah.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Working on tv. Let me walk backstage and get a steak cooked just the way I like it. And a couple peanut butter cookie that they bought just for me because they know I like these. Yeah, yeah.

[Drew Carey]

It's like being a celebrity is. I tell people all the time, it's like being an infant. It's like being a toddler. They bring you water. You okay? I see. You look a little sad. No, I'm fine.

[Jordan Harbinger]

It's a little hot in here. Make everyone else uncomfortable because he's.

[Drew Carey]

They lay my clothes out for me like granimals. Before I go on stage. I don't have to think about a thing.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Someone comes and does your hair. When it's all out of place, I just show up.

[Drew Carey]

All I have to do is show up in a good mood. Or by the time that door opens, be in a good mood.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Be in a good mood. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. That's my only job.

[Jordan Harbinger]

This show's lasted 50 years. It's 10,000 episodes. Which is what? 5,000 hours of middle aged women screaming. And even the crew seems to be having a good time. Is that real?

[Drew Carey]

As fun as you can have at work. Yeah, I suppose there's worse places to work, man. Probably. You heard yourself horror stories about working on one set or another set where it's tense and nobody likes each other. And they're like another 16 hour day with this motherfucker.

[Jordan Harbinger]

And talk shows where you're not. I won't mention the name. Don't look her in the eyes. Stuff like that psycho on you.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, that price is Right. It's super chill, super cool. I mean, everybody's hustling, they work really hard, everybody hustles, everybody does their job. It's a hard work. Like, all the grips and stuff, they're really working. But there's worse places to work. Like, as far as showbiz, we all have it pretty good at the prices, right?

[Jordan Harbinger]

People are so excited to be there, too. That's got to be fun. They have run up, they hug you. I saw you get taken to the ground, actually, at least once by one gal in a clip.

[Drew Carey]

Doesn't bother me.

[Jordan Harbinger]

And did. Is it true someone kicked you in the nuts? I assume that was an accident.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, she jumped up on me, and when her leg was coming up, she kicked me in the nuts.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Nice. So do they run that or is it like, okay, give him five minutes, let's retake him?

[Drew Carey]

I doubt it. I don't watch it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, that makes sense. I don't see why you would necessarily.

[Drew Carey]

I don't like watching myself. I never watched the Drew Carey show. I just don't like watching myself on tv.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, I can relate. I only listen to this occasionally to make sure that everything sounds right. But I also rely on my team and I go, hey, how did this bit come across? Or how did this little segment come across? And if my producers don't say anything, I'm not going to download the show and listen to it myself.

[Drew Carey]

I was already there.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, I was there. It's not cringy or anything. It's just, I was there. I've heard it already. Right.

[Drew Carey]

That's how I am.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Unless the final production got screwed up, which that's not going to be on me 100% that there's nothing for me to say other than what am I going to do? Chastise my producer for not cutting something? I'm not gonna tell them how to do their job. So is there anything that annoys you on the prices? Right. Besides getting kicked in the nuts by contestant?

[Drew Carey]

No.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I always wonder. Sometimes you look off camera and I guess you don't know if you're looking off camera.

[Drew Carey]

I'm looking at Chris the game guy, the announcer. He's the game producer.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I see.

[Drew Carey]

I'm usually looking at him. If you see me looking off camera, looking at Chris, I see Chris Donen. His official title is game producer. So he's a guy that picks the grocery items.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I see. Okay.

[Drew Carey]

And puts in the fake numbers on all the games. And it's you against Chris when you're on the prices. Right. And he Knows where to put the X on secret X, where to hide the $25,000 card on Punch a bunch. All that stuff. When we're doing the dice game where all the numbers for the car, one through six, it's like on these dice, no zeros, no number higher than a six, and they roll the dice, and if they get the right number, it dings. If they don't, they have to tell me whether the actual number is higher or lower. So if they roll a 2, they'll go higher. If they roll a 5, they'll go lower. But then they'll reveal the thing. And they've rolled a five, but the actual number's a six. They've rolled a two. Or the actual number is a one. And the first thing I do is I look at Chris. I go like, really? There's a six and a one dice game. He looks at me and goes like, yikes. Hey, man. Can't give it all away.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. Can't give it all away.

[Drew Carey]

Whatever look on his face is, what's a game? Win some, lose some. Whatever is look on his face. Or I'll say something to the audience about odds or something, and he'll go, that's not really how we do it. We can change it anytime we want. We have a game called Flip Flop that we play all the time. We have a lot of either or games that are quick games that we need for time. Not all games are a long game. Flip flop's one or the other. But it's presented as three choices. We show you the wrong price, and you can flip first two numbers. So in 7800, it's 8700. Or you can flop the last two numbers. So instead of 34, it's 43. Or you can flip and flop, do both numbers. But one out of a hundred is a flip flop. You go a whole season without a flip flop. It's really only flip or flop if you watch the show and play the game. Like a super fan would never flip and flop.

[Jordan Harbinger]

I see. Okay.

[Drew Carey]

But we're well within our rights to make it a flip and flop.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Sure.

[Drew Carey]

Because that's how we present it. If we did it in their head, people would be right to go, like, fuck, why did I come on the unlucky day? Or the one day? And our argument would be like, we have to do it. It's just like, tsa. Are you in TSA Pre?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, of course. Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Once in a while, you don't get it right.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Or they're like, you've been Randomly selected. I'm like, this seems to happen almost every other time I fly. What is it about me that looks scary?

[Drew Carey]

So they have to do that.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Sure.

[Drew Carey]

So the terrorists, whoever, don't think they could just get away with. There's always a chance. Sure. So they have to know there's always a chance that it'll be a flip flop to make it even more exciting or playable. But that practically never is, to be honest.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Don't ever flip flop. That's the moral of the story. How heavy is that wheel that you spin? It looks like it's got a way.

[Drew Carey]

Heavier than people think it is.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

I don't know if people were in better shape in 75 and late 70s when they first started it, because it started at 75 and it was a different wheel. And then they changed it to what it is now. But, yeah, it's all plywood. I've seen all the wheel spins since I've been there. Every single spin. And so if somebody's like a older, they don't seem as strong. And if they can only get it exactly one time around and they're first, I think, oh, they're going to hit a dollar or five or 15. A good chance they're going to hit a dollar if they can eke it out one spin around because that's all they can manage.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's actually. It's better to be not super strong.

[Drew Carey]

Big guy will get up there and just powm and give it a spin, which it spins like four times. Because I can count the rotations in my head while I'm watching it three times. We're going to be here all day watching this spin and then that's too random to me. And some people will try to finesse it in my head. If I ever was a contestant, I would try to finesse it one around or one and a half, but I know how much it weighs. If you bowled with a rental ball, you wouldn't know how to throw it the first time. And that's what's happening to them. They're throwing a rental ball for the first time down a lane where they don't know that it's oiled or even the oil pattern is. They have no clue. That's our advantage. So it really is random that way. But if I give you that rental ball and let you play a couple games and then said, okay, now we're gonna make it real, you'd have a really big advantage over us.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Interesting. Yeah. So some guy's at home building one of those in his basement and trying to get the weight right.

[Drew Carey]

That's how people have beat roulette wheels.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

There's famous stories on the Internet you can find about a guy beating a roulette wheel. And what they've done is they bought that brand of a roulette wheel and.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Put it in their house 10,000 times.

[Drew Carey]

And they figured out the pattern, they figured out the speed, and they figured out the sounds. And they know when they go, they have a way better chance of winning than somebody else. There's a guy named Darren Brown.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, yeah, he's been on the show. Oh, it's a friend of mine, actually.

[Drew Carey]

That guy's bananas, right?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

So I saw his special where he bet £5,000 on the roulette wheel, and he was only one number off. But he trained himself. That whole special was about him training himself to listen to the sounds and learn all those things. So he was going to be able to go in and beat that one particular roulette wheel at that one particular place. And he was only off by one number.

[Jordan Harbinger]

He's a very interesting and cool guy.

[Drew Carey]

A guy wakes up in the morning, and here's a voice in his head. Wakes up in Ohio. Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money, go to Las Vegas. He doesn't believe the voice. Takes a shower, goes to work. Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money, go to Las Vegas. Finally, he hears it every five minutes. Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money. He believes the voice. He gets home, sells his house for cash to the very first buyer. Quits his job, takes all the cash, everything he owns in one bag. Flies to Las Vegas, gets off the plane. The voice says, go to Caesar's Palace. He listens to the voice. He goes to Caesar's palace. The voice says, go to the third roulette table on the left. Goes to the third roulette table on the left. Voice says, put it all on black 17. He puts it all on black 17. Guy spins the wheel, comes up red 16. The voice goes. When that happened to Darren Brown, that's the first joke I thought of.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's.

[Drew Carey]

That was one of my favorite jokes. He was off by one. He built up that whole hour. It was off by one.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Still impressive somehow.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, still impressive, man.

[Jordan Harbinger]

How does the producer or whoever pick who goes on the show? I know you pick someone and say, come on down. But then it has to be.

[Drew Carey]

It's whoever shows up. Nobody sends in tapes or anything. We did during COVID but not a normal show. It's just whoever shows up, we gotta get lucky.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Do they get interviewed in line like, oh, she's so animated and fun.

[Drew Carey]

Very briefly, okay, what's your name? Where are you from? What do you do? Oh, great. Nice talking to you. Boom. Onto the next one. You get a few seconds, five seconds. We got to interview, like 200 some people. There'll be a person interviewing another person with a clipboard and they'll have a code. They don't do it now, but when I first started his code, he'd be like, oh, that's really interesting. And if he said that, mark that contestant's number down. Or if he said, nice talking to you or something else, don't they come back to this room and they have 20 people, who knows how many pictures of everybody and that they print up right away on a printer. And they'll have the number and they'll just hold them up. This guy's really interesting. He's a professor. And you see he's here on an anniversary with his wife. And this woman is just recovering from cancer. This girl's college, and she's really energetic. We could use her. And then they narrow them down. Who they want to bring up the first four. Who's going to be last. They want somebody energetic to come up last. They want a demo of who's watching the show. So it's not going to be all white people. It's not going to be all black people. It's not going to be all the old people. It's not going to be college kids. So if you're in the military and you're a vet and you're retired and there's three of you and you see another military vet, retired, just got picked. You're not getting picked if you're a college kid and they got their college kid, if they got their old married lady, Whatever the demographics of the show is, we want that to be on the show.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That makes sense.

[Drew Carey]

We want it to be representative of who's watching, not necessarily of who's in the audience. Not random, but who's watching. Because we want the experience of people watching themselves and rooting for themselves and empathizing with whoever's on the show. Because those people are the stars of the show, not me. It's those people and the prizes. It's aspirational prize. I would love to go on that trip. I need a new washer and dryer. Even a bedroom set. Fuck, that looks great. I would wish I had a new bed. Like, things you don't even think of if somebody offered you, like, hey, you want to get rid of this old washer and dryer you've been using for three years and get a brand new one that does steam? Yes. I'll take it. I know maybe you can't use this game room, but look, it's a pool table, a dartboard, a video player. You weren't thinking of it, but wouldn't it be cool if you got it's something like aspirational, or even if you didn't think it'd be, oh, that'd be fun to have. And then the small items, grocery items. We had a butter churn on the show. That's not a pride. That's the thing you have to price to win the bigger prize. We're not offering a butter churn. We're seeing if you know the price of a butter churn to win the better thing. It's all gamed out.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

And so that's how we do it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Are there any tips for people who want to get selected? Or is it just, hey, come in and be a delightful personality?

[Drew Carey]

So a common thing that happens is somebody will come up on stage and they'll have a shirt on that says, pick my friend. It's her birthday.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, that's funny.

[Drew Carey]

And I'll talk to him in between. I'll go, who's the friend with the birthday over there? And what happens is when they're in line, the friends of the birthday girl, birthday guy will go, oh, my God, you got to pick my friend. It's his day. We're bringing him here. Pick my friend. And the friend is like, oh, come on. Don't make a big deal out of it. Yeah, it's my birthday. So we pick the energetic person who's all hyped up. Happens all the time.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Pick him. It's his birthday. And that guy's.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, it's my birthday.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You want to turn it up to 11, right? Yeah, that makes sense.

[Drew Carey]

We pick nine people. If there's 15 people left to 11, somebody's gonna get left out. A lot of times you have to come back, like, five, six times or more and then finally get your turn. But it's a fun taping to come to anyway. And it's free.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, can't beat it. Bob Barker, the previous host, for those who don't know, used to have this awkwardly long microphone that was, like, thin. And you have a very similar. It's updated tech.

[Drew Carey]

Mine's wireless. They tried to go wireless with him once, and it didn't work because it Was brand new. It pooped out on him.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

And he didn't trust it after that. They told me.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's interesting. I always wondered, because I was like, hey, it's 1995 and he's still using it.

[Drew Carey]

People that are watching this instead of listening, you'd see our microphones are pretty big. And if you're not used to being on tv, you get this big microphone stuck in your face. It's off putting. But if I have this little tiny thing that I can just flip out and put it right here and you barely notice it and flip it back.

[Jordan Harbinger]

But they're mic'd up themselves. They got a lavalier. That's where they were. Now they are. Okay. Because, you know, it's something about entertaining a crowd while you're holding a microphone in your hand is different than being mic'd up with booms on a stage.

[Drew Carey]

When I first got on stage, what do they think of my body? Do I look ugly today? How's my hair? Oh, my God, I'm fat with these jeans. Everybody goes through that when they're the first time they're ever on a camera. And honestly, in acting classes and stuff, biggest thing an actor can learn is to say fuck it to all that. It's the fear of judgment that makes people a good actor or not a good actor. Jack Black has no fear of judgment.

[Jordan Harbinger]

He doesn't care.

[Drew Carey]

Doesn't give a fuck. I saw him, we did a charity thing. He walked out. He stripped down to his little tiny underwear and walked out all fat, bouncing around, you see his whole packet and he was just, like, dancing around and laughing. Yeah, didn't give a fuck. Didn't give a flying fuck. And everybody was like, wow, Jack Black doesn't give a fuck. That's what you aspire to if you can do that. When people are doing a scene where they're sobbing and crying and just a complete wreck, they have to not give a fuck about looking weak. They have to not give a fuck whatever scene that they have you in. You're playing a character and you need to be as real as possible. You cannot think, oh, what if my wife sees me with this chick? What if my friends see me groveling to this guy in a scene because I want something for him, I'm going to look weak. Yeah, your character's weak. So when you're talking to this guy and he's a mob boss and you want something, fucking grovel, Fucking cry like your life depends on it. You would never do that in real life. But you have to be able to do that. And some people can't let that go. They're not as good an actor and people that can not give a fuck for that moment and just go, you know, I'm just gonna grovel like there's no camera around. You have to not be in that kind of mindset. If you can do that, you'll be the greatest actor in the world. That's the difference. All that acting technique stuff is bullshit.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, interesting.

[Drew Carey]

Or that's just technique. That's just craft. But to be a really good actor, you have to not give a flying fuck.

[Jordan Harbinger]

What has been the craziest fan encounter on the Price is Right name of day? Oh, God. Really?

[Drew Carey]

There's always something.

[Jordan Harbinger]

There was a woman who, I think you'd said this in another show. She peed her pants.

[Drew Carey]

Peed her pants.

[Jordan Harbinger]

But she'd already been picked.

[Drew Carey]

She's gonna play Plinko and she is wearing white pants. And she got up on stage and she was like prancing and she goes, oh, my God, I'm gonna pee. I said, but first, wait, hang on. Before you do that, you're gonna play Plinko. And she went, oh, my God. And she peed herself. And then she had to walk up those stairs. Wow, A stain in her pants. She got on the local news.

[Jordan Harbinger]

So they ran it.

[Drew Carey]

We couldn't help but run it. She got onto her local news.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Oh, my gosh.

[Drew Carey]

And laughed about it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. Good for her. Speaking of not getting.

[Drew Carey]

What are you gonna do?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. Jeez. Has anyone ever tried to cheat on the Price is Right? Surely there's been some attempt at something.

[Drew Carey]

No, but the guy that had the perfect bid, we didn't know what the fuck was happening. They had just changed producers and the old producer had been at the show for 35 years and it was the first year without that guy. And there was a big, huge fan group online that were really upset. The only fan presence we have online is this big forum where everybody, they keep track of every show, every game, every price, every contestant. They have a database like you wouldn't believe of everything. Super fans. That was our website. This third party run group of super fans. And I remember the producer telling me, like, if those guys like you, then you're good because they're the super fans. So this guy gets a perfect bid. I don't know the prices ahead of time. Nobody does on stage. Nobody has any way of knowing any single price who's on the stage or interchanging with the contestants. It's only Chris the Game producer. And the people in the booth are the only ones that know the prices. And I go backstage to find out who's going first and who won the showcase. And the producer goes, she's like, in shock. She goes, you gotta perfect bid. I go, what do you mean?

[Jordan Harbinger]

He says, right on the nose, $117.85. And he just said that it was.

[Drew Carey]

Exactly to the dollar. I was like, does that ever happen? And she went, no. We were like, what the fuck happened? Because this would never happen. And in my head, I was like, did somebody leak information to fuck us because they're mad that the old producer is in here now? Did somebody fuck us because they're mad we got a new guy and things are changing. This is my second year, so I'm going to be the guy that ruined Price is Right. Am I going to be in the middle of a scandal? Like, I was really, like, scary. I was like, what the fuck? And everybody backstage was like, what the fuck? There was like a good 15 minute stop down. Just seems like forever 20 minutes, something like that. They made a documentary about it that I didn't watch because I was there.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Because you were there.

[Drew Carey]

And we have cameras all over the fucking place, running all the time. And just at rest, there's somewhere in the audience and during the show, we're like filming the audience. I thought the guy cheated. And so when I read the thing, I was like, all right, he got an exact price. Good for you. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. In my head, I was like, fuck this guy. And I got all kinds of shit online. Oh, this guy got a perfect bid. And Drew Carey wasn't even happy for him. But I was like, I'm not going to be happy for this cocksucker cheater. In my head, that's how I was like, fuck this guy. I'll go through the motions. And that's all you're going to get. Then we had all kinds of meetings. And I remember being in one meeting and one of the lawyers said, what if you don't allow the audience to allow prices anymore? And we're like, what? That's the whole show. Shut up.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Get out of here. What exactly do you do here anyway, buddy?

[Drew Carey]

A lawyer, okay? And then we found out that everybody was getting their prices from one guy in the audience was like, in the second, third row, towards the middle. And he was from that website, he was from that forum group. And at the time, everything was, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. An attitude like, this is traditional. This is what we do. And everything was fine. Bob was there. And all of a sudden, Bob wasn't there. Overdose wasn't there. Now we can't be traditional anymore. It's all got to shake it up. There was a woman playing a game called One Away. And I remember her looking on the audience, and she got all her numbers from that guy. Got them all right the first time, which rarely happens. Once in a hundred, that happened. And the guy that got the perfect bid, I think he won his bid. I don't know if he got a perfect bid and got the extra 500, but he might have. And then he was on door two, which is the farthest away. And the camera's in the middle, so he couldn't see the guy. And he lost his game. But then he went on the wheel and got to the showcase. Then he's able to see the guy, and he gets his numbers from the guy. We got it all on camera.

[Jordan Harbinger]

This is like a savant.

[Drew Carey]

At the time, we only changed, like, six prizes a week. So if we had a couch that was $800, we'd have that same couch on another show, an $800 couch. When we had a can of soup, it was only Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup because Bob was vegan, and it was a vegan show. And Campbell's Cream of Mushroom doesn't have beef stock or chicken stock. And it was $1.29. Then it was $1.30. Then it was $1.31. That was the soup. You just knew if you watched the show enough and if you were that big of a fan, you would just know what the prizes were. You would just know, like any gamer. So this guy was there. They used to come to every show. Looking back, I shouldn't have been mad at it. It was all fair game. All these people had every right to do what they did. And I'm glad they did it, and I'm glad he won. But I didn't know that at the time. And he was just, like, yelling out. Cause he wanted people to win. And he knew all the prizes. Cause he'd watched the show, and they never changed the prizes. And it was early enough in the season. The new guy was just learning the show before we changed everything over. You were changing things on the fly, and that's how it happened.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Interesting.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. But that was one thing where I thought it was cheating, but it wasn't. It was just people finding a weakness in how we presented the show. We could have the same Car in every act. And you would never know the price.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You said something interesting. That's almost as a throwaway line in the book. You don't celebrate your birthday because you'd sit around and think that you could have or should have made different choices in your life. Now that you've made some money, you've had some success, this process happens a little bit less. This is something you wrote in the 90s. What advice do you have for people who also ruminate? Because it seems like the message is that it ain't over till the fat lady sings, essentially. And you don't know the impact of your choices potentially until long after you've made them. Because a lot of the things that you beat yourself up for in this book in the 90s, are probably the reason that you're so successful now.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, you're always trying to heal your inner child. Some way something's happened to you that you want to make up for, get over with. And there's tons of psychologists that base their whole career on that kind of. And your neurons get wired a certain way where you make the same choices just because that's the pattern in your head. And until somebody shows that to you. I thought it was normal to eat pasta every night and drink Pepsis all day. If you quit all this and only eat fat, go on a keto diet, you'll have a lot more energy. No, that makes sense. Gotta have sugar, right?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Sure.

[Drew Carey]

Don't talk nonsense to me, everyone. Atkins first came out.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

What? Low carb?

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Get the fuck out of here. You're crazy. Like, it seemed insane.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

One of emeritus friends was smoking in her. She went home and she was hacking, going down the stairs. And her mom said, oh, honey, you want a menthol? People don't see beyond the horizon. So, yeah, every birthday, every New Year's, I look back on the year or I look back on recently. I do that all the time. Anyway, every weekend. How was the week? Did I do what I wanted to do? Am I on the right track to what I want to do? Is it okay for me not to have a goal? Can I just exist this week and not have to worry about anything? I've hit everything. Why can't I just chill and relax? I do that all the time, just with different things. I'm constantly self searching. I'm constantly looking to grow. I'm constantly looking to learn. What can I do that's fun, improve myself? What can I do that would keep me young, keep me in a young attitude? I go to edc. I don't want to get old and set my ways. I want to know all the new songs, all the new fads. I want to know what Riz means.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. Skibidi.

[Drew Carey]

All that stuff.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah.

[Drew Carey]

Oh, you're so Ohio. I want to know what that is.

[Jordan Harbinger]

You got Riz. What does so Ohio mean? That doesn't sound like a compliment.

[Drew Carey]

It's not. It's like, you're so meh.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Ugh. Mid.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah, just mid. You're so Ohio.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Midwest.

[Drew Carey]

Quit being so Ohio. Live a little. So I'm constantly looking to grow. And once you stop growing, that's the end of you.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah. I gotta ask, who's your favorite DJ right now? If you're going to EDC and listening to all this stuff?

[Drew Carey]

Diplo, Cascade, Afrojack, all the usual stuff.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's a great selection.

[Drew Carey]

Yeah. Because all the best guys are there. I remember seeing Cascade once on the main stage and it was so good. I looked at my friend and I said, this sounds like when James Brown came on the Tammy show. Just changed everything. It was great. Everybody's great. But then Cascade had such a good set. People were just like, up. And everybody was dancing. Not just a few people. Bottle service girls were dancing, like, everybody. And we were like, man, this guy's killing it. We were fist bumping each other and just like, what in the fuck is happening? And once in a while, a guy gets a dream set. I went to the Sphere in Vegas and we saw a marshmallow at a club. He had a great set. When I was there, I was like, man, this must feel good because I know what it's like to go on stage and have a magical set.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That was Johnny Carson, 1991, or even in a club.

[Drew Carey]

All week I've been doing the same act. But then Saturday, second show, for some reason, it just hit better. Every laugh was better. And there's no better feeling. Like, however many times you have sex with your wife, one day you'll have that night where like, woo, are we dating again? This is like, I can't believe we just had that. It happens. And that's what happens when you're seeing a DJ set. Somebody will have their night at EDC where it's just because they want to bring their A game. And it'll just be like, I stood behind Diplo once when he did a set. I'll never forget it. I thought I was watching Beethoven play piano or something. So he was hitting the boards and working the boards so well. I was like, what the fuck is this? When you see Liberace play piano and, like, how his fingers moving so fast. That's what it looked like to me.

[Jordan Harbinger]

That's a pretty cool perk. You go in and they're like, oh, Drew Carey's here. Yeah. You want to go up, hang out on stage? Yeah. You're a national treasure at this point on the Price Is Right. Thanks for coming on and being so open and candid, man.

[Drew Carey]

Oh, it was really fun talking to you. Anytime you want me back, let me.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Yeah, of. Of course. Yeah. I hope I see you at some of those shows, EDC or something like that. It would be really fun to run into you in the wild coming up in May. Yeah, man, I'll be there.

[Drew Carey]

Thanks, man.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Thank you.

[Drew Carey]

I appreciate it.

[Jordan Harbinger]

If you're looking for another episode of the Jordan Harbinger show to sink your teeth into, here's a trailer for another episode that I think you might enjoy.

[C]

So what happened was we were doing. Not unlike we're doing now, we were doing an interview, and he says, thank you, and we'll probably go to co commercial and thank you, Howie.

[Drew Carey]

And.

[C]

And I got up and I started walking to the door, and I thought he was, like, wrapping it up and going to commercial. And then I just said to somebody really quietly, can you grab the.

[Drew Carey]

Can you grab the door?

[C]

And he's going, what are you afraid of?

[Jordan Harbinger]

The door?

[C]

And then he goes, just open the door. And I can't open the door. He goes, just open the door. And then what happened is I started getting a panic attack, and I started breathing heavy, and I just turned to him and thinking that he had already thrown the commercial because he was just talking to me. Howard, please. This is really serious. I go to therapy for this. I have something called obsessive compulsive disorder. I'm about to pass out. If you don't open the door for me now, you'll be calling 911 and taking me to the hospital. This whole thing was on the national radio. I thought, oh, my God, that was probably the darkest space I've ever been. And I'm walking through the lobby toward the door, out into the steaming streets of Manhattan. I'm might as well just continue walking and walk right into traffic. And I stopped just outside the door, and, you know, millions of people are on the street, but I felt very alone. And some guy came into my periphery and said to me, are you Howie Mandel? And I just nodded affirmatively, and he said, just heard you on Stern. And my heart dropped into my stomach. And right before I could take off in the traffic. He said two words, which means something very different today, but they changed my life. And he went me too.

[Jordan Harbinger]

For more with Howie Mandel, including some pretty awkward moments of my own making, check out episode 210 here on the Jordan Harbinger Show. All things Drew Carey will be in the show [e-mail], advertisers, deals, discount codes, ways to support the show, [e-mail] deals Please consider supporting those who support the show. Also our newsletter we bit wiser. You guys are fans of this. I love writing it, you love responding to it, and that makes me feel great about it. The idea is to give you something specific and practical, something that'll have an immediate impact on your decisions, on your psychology, on your relationships in under two minutes a week. And if you haven't signed up yet, I invite you to come check it out. It is a great companion to the show as voiced by you, the listeners and readers. Jordanharbinger.com news is where you can find it. Don't forget about six minute networking as well. Over at sixminutenetworking.com I'm ordanharbinger on Twitter and Instagram. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn. This show is created in association with podcast one. My team is Jen Harbinger, Jace Sanderson, Robert Fogarty, Ian Baird, Gabriel Mizrahi. Remember, we rise by lifting others. The fee for the show is you share it with friends when you find something useful or interesting. The greatest compliment you can give us is to share the show with those you care about. If you know somebody who's interested in showbiz game shows, Drew Carey comedy, you share this episode with them. You do that right now. In the meantime, I hope you apply what you hear on the show so you can live what you learn and we'll see you next time.