Regulars of local English pub George and Dragon may have spotted a familiar face if they happened to catch the Halloween episode of The Price Is Right last week. (If they were playing hooky from work that particular morning, that is.) Namely, they saw the pub's always jovial owner David Wimberley, who appeared on the long-running CBS game show as a contestant and got to ham it up with host Drew Carey on national television.
And the 57-year-old pub owner and British expat kicked much arse and proved to be quite the Price Is Right beast, as he (spoiler alert) pretty much ran the board during the episode, including winning the Showcase Showdown.
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Or as Wimberley himself said on Facebook, "I win the hole bloody thing. [SIC]"
The episode, which was filmed a couple of months ago, was Halloween-themed (including loads of such shtick as Carey doing his best Bela Lugosi impression as "Count Drew-cula" and showmodels dressed as zombies), although Wimberley was the one who scored most of the treats.
The pub owner, who attended the taping at the CBS Television City studios in Los Angeles along with about a dozen or so George and Dragon regulars and employees, was beckoned to "come on down!" about halfway through the episode. He was the last person to make it out of Contestant's Row when he was the closest in guessing the cost of a sterling silver ring with an oval moonstone (actual retail price: $1,590). Everyone else guessed well into the thousands, whereas Wimberely shrewdly bid a buck.
Then he won a BRAND NEW CA...er, motorcycle -- specifically, a Honda Fury chopper -- after conquering The Price Is Right classic known as "Cliffhangers" (a.k.a. the one with the yodeling dude climbing a mountain). Wimberly avoided the show's dreaded "losing trombone," thanks to some assistance from his loyal patrons in the crowd, who helped feed him guesses regarding the prices of some Halloween placemats, beetle-shaped candy bowls, and a fog machine.
We're guessing they're getting the next few rounds on the house.
Wimberley's luck continued while engaging in the show's trademark Big Wheel round to earn a berth to the Showcase Showdown. He ended up tying with another contestant (both spun up 95 cents) before winning the spin-off round.
And, in a bit of irony, the native Englishman wound up bidding on a trip for two to London and a brand new Mini Cooper that were both a part of his prize package, which was passed to him by the excitable gradmother he was squaring off against, during the showcase showdown round.
In fact, he seemed downright jazzed to get his hands on the European-made mini car, blurting out "That's what I want" when it was revealed.
And he got what he wanted, as Wimberley proved to be shrewd once again since his guesstimate ($25,017) for the prize package's cost was closer in price than his opponent's bid for hers. He overestimated by $4,566, while she was off by $7,248. Hence, he won the day and celebrated onstage with his George and Dragon regulars to end the episode.
By the way, don't bother asking Wimberley if you can borrow either of his new rides just yet, since it will be several months before they're delivered.
You can watch the episode where Wimberely's reigned supreme on the CBS website.
