This is an easy one. My hero for 2023 is a game show host. OBVIOUSLY.
It's really just a question of which one. Pat Sajak for retiring so that Ryan Seacrest can have one more job? Ken Jeong for being on television even more than Ryan Seacrest? Steve Harvey’s mustache for keeping Just For Men in business?
No, my hero this year is the host of The Price Is Right, Drew Carey. And, believe it or not, it’s not for how he hosts the show.
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In our cozy cyberworld where everything we post is measured in likes, it's easy to be cynical and question everyone’s motives. This year our industry was shut down by writers’ and actors’ strikes. Lots of people spoke out on the strike and some were called out for using it to draw attention to themselves. These harsh and callous accusations only happened because they were true.
See how easy it is to be cynical? But one person’s quiet act of kindness defied cynicism.
In the early days of the WGA strike, Drew Carey, in a single tweet, let writers know that they could eat at two prominent LA diners for free, tip included. And not just the writers, but their families as well. And he didn’t even write, “It’s on me!”
For nearly five months, Carey covered the meals of thousands of striking writers, at an ultimate cost estimated from $600K to $2 million, never commenting on it publicly. When the strike ended, he posted a single tweet finally acknowledging his gesture but passing on the credit:
“But if you really want to thank someone for those meals, thank Bruce Helford and all the Drew Carey Show writers. They helped make me rich enough to afford it, No writers, no $. Simple as that”
Plenty of TV writers will tell you that Drew’s graciousness was as heroic and rare as the gesture itself.
When Bob Barker, another heroic game show host, passed away this year, Drew remembered the extent of his commitment to animal rights, which went way beyond his “have your pet spayed or neutered” sign-off. Barker was among the leading voices against the fur industry and abusive animal trainers. He made The Price is Right a vegan show before most people even understood what that word meant. Barker refused to let the show feature any leather products, and whenever an outdoor grill was displayed, it could only have plastic vegetables on it.
As Drew put it, “he really walked the walk.”
Well, sir, this year, you followed in your hero’s footsteps. And for all of us on social media here’s a hashtag to wrap it up: #lesstalkingmorewalking.
