The Sad Case of Ida Wilcox

In the 22 years that The Price is Right has aired on CBS, a total of eight people have died during a taping of the show. Five were from heart attacks (three when called to Contestants’ Row, one when called onto stage, and one at Johnny Olsen’s shouting of “A new car!”). Two were the quiet passings of elderly audience members, and the last was the 1986 demise of one Ida Wilcox from Macon Georgia, described below.

Aside from Ms. Wilcox and the two heart attacks which occurred on stage, the shows still aired. The elderly audience members were quietly removed off-camera, and the three “come on down” heart attack victims were carried away on stretchers by studio paramedics amidst Bob Barker’s assurances that they were OK. In each case a new audience member was called to Contestants’ Row and the footage was edited for broadcast.

But the most spectacular Price is Right death remains Ida Wilcox.

Ida was called to contestants’ row just before the second round. She was the picture of Southern-Baptist propriety, dressed in a navy-blue blouse with lace frills at the neck, matching blue slacks and a blue hat decorated with sprigs of baby’s breath. Upon arrival, she excitedly informed Bob that it was her 78th birthday that day. In fact, she had been chosen as a contestant for that very reason.

Also in Contestants’ Row that day was one Jimmy Reese, a body builder from Dubuque, Iowa. Weighing in at 300 pounds of solid muscle, the six-foot-three Jimmy dwarfed his podium. He wore stone-washed blue jeans and a black t-shirt a size too small, his gargantuan biceps straining the seams as they oozed from the arm holes. His demeanor however seemed incongruous with his mammoth proportions. He placed his bids sheepishly, stooping down to speak softly into the too-low microphone, and appeared noticeably nervous to be on television. He occasionally wiped beaded sweat from his forehead with his slab-of-meat-like hand.

At the beginning of round three, fortune smiled on Jimmy Reese as the item up for bid was a home gym system. It was the exact model Jimmy had coveted for several months, and he was intimately familiar with its price and specifications. He won the gym and made it on stage though he didn’t win $100 for guessing the price precisely. He went on to win a grandfather clock and a dining room set playing the Clock Game.

Ida Wilcox, however, never made it on stage.

Inevitably, the time came for the first Showcase Showdown where Jimmy and two other contestants would have a chance to spin the big wheel. Jimmy was the second of the days first (and only) three contestants to approach the wheel. The Berkeley sorority girl who spun first ended up with a meager 65 cents.

Jimmy’s turn came and he reached for a high grip on the wheel and pulled sharply down. Unfortunately, his nervousness had led his beefy palms to sweat and his grip slipped from the handle. The wheel slowly went “boop boop boop” but did not even complete a single turn. The audience erupted into laughter and Jimmy turned beet red. Bob paused the proceedings to gently rib Jimmy (much to the audience’s amusement), saying “Now Jimmy, I know a big guy like you can get that wheel to go around at least once.” Jimmy wiped his palms on his jeans and regained his composure. He made up his mind that this time he was going to spin that fucking wheel for all it was worth.

Jimmy grabbed hold of the wheel and squatted down. Then, using his over-developed thighs, he straightened and jumped 26 inches into the air turning the wheel backward as he rose. As he descended he held tight, directing his downward momentum into the big wheel. Upon landing, he continued to shove the front of the wheel downward with all his might until he had to let go or risk being pulled under it. Upon releasing his grip he stumbled backward and fell on the stage, bruising his tailbone.

Bob Barker and the other contestants on stage stared slack-jawed as the wheel spun like it had never spun before. The “boop boop boop” of the spinning wheel blended into one continuous tone, the numbers an unreadable blur of white, green and red.

After ten seconds, the wheel showed no signs of slowing down. Bob made no attempt to fill the time. The entire studio stared in rapt attention. After a few more seconds, a hideous creaking noise broke the silence. Expressions of awe turned to shock and fear throughout the studio as the left axle of the wheel broke. The wheel leaned 15 degrees from its upright position but still showed no signs of slowing. Moments later—though it surely seemed an eternity for the participants—the right axle broke free and the wheel hit the stage with a deafening thud. “Jesus Fucking Christ!” yelled Rod Roddy into his microphone as the wheel began to roll across the stage toward Contestants’ Row.

The audience erupted into panicked screams. Housewives shrieked and sailors wept. Two of Barker’s Beauties were flung hard to the stage as they grabbed at the wheel in a futile attempt to curb its momentum.

Poor Ida Wilcox was unable to flee quickly enough, and the wheel crashed into her podium, knocking it free and pinning her between it and the first row of seats. Two hours later she was officially pronounced dead due to internal bleeding at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Studio City, California.

Charges of involuntary manslaughter were briefly brought against Jimmy Reese but were quickly dropped. CBS settled out of court with the family of Ida Wilcox for an undisclosed sum. Jimmy spent the next three years in counseling and now works for Ron’s Landscaping in Iowa City, Iowa. He still enjoys his home gym, grandfather clock and dining room set.