When Vancouver resident Charles Niemi, 71, went to a taping of “The Price Is Right,” he didn’t expect to be told to “come on down.” But that’s what happened on a recent trip to Palm Springs, Calif. The show airs at 10 a.m. Thursday on KOIN Channel 6.
The contestant selection process is not as random as it appears on TV, said Niemi, a retired Mountain View High School educator. Before the show begins, the producers interview each member of the audience, trying to find a gravitating personality or interesting story.
“When I was in line, there was a couple next to us who said ‘You’re going to be on the show,’ because my interview impressed him,” Niemi said. He couldn’t recall what he said to the producer.
Sure enough, Niemi’s name was called, though he didn’t hear it over the noise of the crowd. Fortunately, he saw the stagehands holding up his name on a placard.
“I was quite surprised and shocked,” he said.
By the time he made it through ecstatic crowd to the stage, he barely had a chance to look at the prize before host Drew Carey asked for his bid.
“You just got to collect your thoughts and just hope yours is the lowest,” Niemi said.
He described a strange sense of awe as he looked back on the experience.
“When you watch on TV, you know what you would do, but that atmosphere changes completely when you are a participant.”
Niemi is barred from sharing how far he advanced until after the game show airs.
‘Today’ highlights Vancouver comic producer
Bluewater Productions President Darren Davis was struggling with a nasty cold when the “Today” show arrived at his Vancouver home office for five hours of shooting.
“I had to take tea breaks,” he said.
The resulting segment aired last week.
“Today” interviewed Davis about Bluewater’s imminent release of “The Royals.” It’s a graphic novel about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s love affair. Davis has plenty of experience in front of the camera as his company’s biographical comics grab headline after headline.
“I’m still excited about it and it’s still fun for me,” said Davis, 42.
Davis founded Bluewater in 2001. Two years ago, Bluewater launched its “Female Force” series, which spotlighted political powerhouses Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama and others. Since then, Bluewater has spun out several other series of biographies told in comic book form. It now is working on its “Infamous” series, which will launch with a bio-comic about Charlie Sheen. In other big news for the Vancouver comic book company, it struck a deal with Wal-Mart for exclusive distribution of the “Fame: Justin Bieber” comic.
“It’s put us on the map,” Davis said. “People are starting to look at us differently now.”
Bits ’n’ Pieces appears Mondays and Fridays. If you have a story you’d like to share, call Courtney Sherwood 360-735-4561, or e-mail features@columbian.com.
