SEQUIM — For the second time, Kathleen “Kathy” Conrad got the chance to “come on down” to compete on “The Price is Right” game show. Months later, her winnings continue to help local children have some fun too.
All summer, the 62-year-old Sequim resident has been checking the airwaves to see if her episode that aired in January will re-run at some point in the coming months at 10 a.m. weekdays on KIRO-7.
Conrad went with her husband Butch and his sister Karen and her two children Eric and Allison last November to CBS Studios hoping for a chance to take the stage.
They were decked out in homemade shirts recognizing that Butch and Karen had been reunited after 63 years apart.
But Conrad, admittedly an animated person, was chosen for the opportunity.
She’s been a longtime fan of the show.
“I used to work graveyard so it was part of my routine watching it because you don’t get to bed right away,” Conrad said.
Her first trip to the show she got on stage too in 2001.
Conrad said she had recently purchased a kitchen range at the time, so she knew how much to bid.
She guessed the closest and won and eventually gave the range to her father.
In her game, she could have won an unspecified amount in a piggy bank or a new Chevy Cavalier.
She took home $6.43 after taxes.
Conrad spun the popular wheel where contestants try to get $1 or as close to it without going over with the chance to go to the Showcase to win large prizes.
She didn’t advance.
For Conrad’s second effort, her luck definitely changed.
She and her husband Butch said once you’ve competed on the stage, you typically won’t be chosen for at least 10 years.
Maybe it was her family reunion, her personality, and/or how she ordered a hot dog, but producers chose her early on.
Conrad doesn’t disappoint when chosen, screaming and waving as she runs to the front to bid.
There she bids for a chance to win a ping pong table.
“I had seen those a few times on the show, so I had a good idea,” she said.
Conrad said she asked host Drew Carey what the highest bid was, to which he replied “$600.”
“$650!” she yells.
A horn goes off signaling someone has an exact bid, awarding that person $500.
“I’m screaming $500. $500. I don’t realize the mic is right there and I’m there screaming,” Conrad said.
“I go up on the stage screaming still.”
On stage
Once again before the host on stage, Conrad gives a peck on the cheek to Carey, which she did to Bob Barker about 18 years prior.
She also explained her T-shirt and how her husband reunited with his sister.
For the game, Conrad had to price an exercise bike, Coach accessories and a television in order of cost.
She made eye contact with Butch to see what to do but went with her gut and won all three.
Her daughter took the Coach accessories, her granddaughter the exercise bike, and Conrad and her husband took the TV.
The couple had it installed in their living room the day before the Super Bowl and put their old television in their bedroom.
“Now you have to stand back (in the bedroom) because it’s too big,” she said.
The ping pong table now sits in the Sequim Boys & Girls Club for students to use.
Through a weird coincidence, Conrad said she was the only game winner for the whole episode and everyone called up to take her old spot were the ones to go on stage.
All good things
For a chance at the Showcase, Conrad got to spin the wheel.
While talking to Carey, she didn’t immediately realize she spun $1 and won $1,000 and began to celebrate.
In total she won $1,500 in cash before taxes.
She went to the Showcase and had the chance to win a Harley Davidson motorcycle but not being familiar with the price, overbid.
At the end, she got to hug two stage models, too.
Back home, a few days after the show aired, Conrad said she was even recognized by a customer while shopping in the Serenity House Thrift Shop.
With an 18-year gap between her first and second appearances, Conrad said she’d try to get on stage once again.
“In 10 years,” she said.
For others looking to get on the show, she encourages people to be animated and make their own shirts or coats.
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Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
The price was right for Kathy Conrad in 2001 and 2018. She’s won half-a-dozen prizes both times on “The Price is Right” appearing twice. Her last episode should be airing this summer in repeats, she said.
