Suffolk man makes the small screen

Published 8:54 pm Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Come on down!

One Suffolk resident heard those magic words last month, and neighbors and friends can tune in their television sets this morning to see how it turned out for him.

While on spring break with his family in San Diego, Corey Campbell, 25, was called “on down” during the filming of The Price is Right, the longest-running game show in television history.

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“It was great to be there and enjoy the thrill and hysteria of the environment,” Campbell said. “It was a whole-day deal for us, but it was definitely fun and exciting.”

Campbell went to San Diego with his mother and two sisters to visit their father, who is currently working in the city.

While on break, they decided to get tickets to the show, for which the family wore hand-decorated t-shirts. Each shirt had a word from the phrase “Virginia is for lovers” on it, except on Campbell’s shirt the word “lovers” was crossed out and in its place was written “Drew Carry,” the name of the show’s host.

The shirt — combined with Campbell’s outgoing personality and a dance he did during an interview — was just enough to make him stand out from the crowd, he said.

“They run you through a whole interview process and get a feel for your personality,” Campbell said. “Then they sat us down and you wait to see if your name is called.”

When his name was called, “I was flipping out,” Campbell said. “It was really exciting.”

Once on stage, everyone is a winner, but just how big of a winner is up to the contestant.

“It’s like a safe gambling experience,” Campbell said. “Once you’re on stage, you obviously won something already. You go in with nothing, and what have you got to lose?”

The experience, he said, “is definitely up there on the top shelf” with some of his best. Overall, he gives the experience a nine out of 10.

The reason for his rating will be evident when the show airs, he promised.

While Campbell was unable to release the final results, to see how big he won watch the show this morning at 11 a.m. on WTKR.