Tragic Details About The Price Is Right's Drew Carey
This article contains references to suicide.
Without a doubt, Drew Carey is one of television's most beloved personalities. Starting out as a stand-up comedian, he went on to create and star in the wildly popular sitcom, "The Drew Carey Show," which was loosely based on his own life. The show ran from 1995 to 2004 and featured Carey as a lovable everyman working in the HR department of the fictional Winfred-Lauder store, boasting Carey's classic deadpan wit and hilarious hijinks.
Carey was in the Marine Corps Reserves, which is where he developed his instantly recognizable look: Black glasses that were actually army-issued and a military-style crew cut. This helped him stand out from others on TV. From 1998 to 2007, he hosted the American remake of the hit British improv show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" Also in 2007, Carey took over the hosting duties of the seminal American daytime game show, "The Price is Right."
In a 2017 interview with Gold Derby, he confirmed that the show's legendary host, Bob Barker, had passed on the baton to him. Barker gave some touching advice to Carey by recommending, "Don't try to copy me, just make it your own show." Carey knew that was the best approach, and is still hosting at the time of writing. However, the seemingly happy-go-lucky star has had some personal issues though he ultimately prevailed over all of them.
Carey attempted suicide twice
Longtime fans of "The Drew Carey Show" will remember the iconic intro sequences that featured elaborate dance numbers with the cast, set to upbeat tunes such as "Five O'Clock World" by The Vogues. Clearly, Drew Carey was having a lot of fun on the show, but his youth was fraught with difficult times. Before officially taking over as the host of "The Price is Right," Carey got candid about his mental health issues. The comedian's father died when he was eight, and Carey wanted his mother to bring him to a psychiatrist to work through it. Sadly, despite working two jobs to support their family, she couldn't afford it.
Carey's childhood was reportedly lonely, hence why he gradually immersed himself in comedy more and more despite suffering from depression and low self-worth. When he attended Kent State University, the TV personality's bad grades got him expelled twice, and as a freshman, he attempted to take his own life. Later, while honing his stand-up comedy routine in his twenties, Carey tried again.
About ready to give up on show business altogether, he appeared on "The Tonight Show" and its legendary host, Johnny Carson, invited Carey to sit on the couch after his stand-up set. That was a huge boost not only for the fledgling comedian's self-image, but also his career as network executives took notice of him, and "The Drew Carey Show" was subsequently born, kickstarting Carey's meteoric rise.
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He underwent an angioplasty
The executive producer of "The Price is Right," Mike Richards, told Success all about Drew Carey's constant desire to improve himself. "He's a naturally empathetic person, and being focused on constant improvement, he doesn't retreat into that world of fame and fortune," Richards explained. Likewise, the comedian "Is constantly reading and surrounding himself with smart people. He doesn't sit around and waste time basking in his success."
The "Price Is Right" host, a type 2 diabetic, split from his fiancé, Nicole Jaracz, in 2012, but developed a strong relationship with her son, Connor. "My kid made the difference [in my life]. I wanted to stay alive long enough to see him graduate from high school," Carey admitted. This realization stemmed from a frightening incident in 2001 where he was ignoring what he assumed were stress-related chest pains, and almost had a heart attack.
Fortunately, it was a blocked artery and doctors performed an angioplasty on him. Carey acknowledged to People in a 2024 interview that his horrible diet contributed to his ailments. The comedian's doctor warned, "If you don't do something, your life's going to be shorter, and you'll have these bad things to look forward to." After losing 80 pounds in a stunning weight loss transformation, Carey is not only living healthier but has eradicated his diabetes.
The comedian's former fiancé was murdered
In February 2018, ET reported that Drew Carey was engaged to Hollywood therapist Amie Harwick. Sadly their relationship didn't last and the couple broke up a little under a year later. Harwick later met a tragic end when her former boyfriend, Gareth Pursehouse, assaulted her and threw her off of a three-story balcony in February 2020. The Hollywood therapist previously obtained a restraining order against him, which expired shortly before the incident.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, in September 2023, Pursehouse was convicted of murder. As District Attorney George Gascón confirmed in a statement: "Today, justice has been served for Amie Harwick and her loved ones who have endured unimaginable pain throughout this terrible ordeal." During a 2020 interview with "The Talk," Carey illustrated his profound strength of character when he forgave Pursehouse for his heinous crime.
"After Amie's murder, I took a week off. Really, I couldn't function and my first day back we taped the high school show for 'Kids Week,'" the TV star acknowledged, noting that during a break he spoke to the gathered kids, who were all aware of the tragic events. "I really wanted to do it because it was high school kids and I talked to them about how I forgave the guy who murdered Amie," Carey shared, adding that such forgiveness was key to his own mental health.
Personal development saved his life
Drew Carey's reputation as a nice guy was further evidenced when he paid over $700,000 to help feed writers taking part in the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. On September 26 of that year, he posted on X, formerly Twitter, "Congrats! If the strike is officially over tomorrow you'll have till midnight to have one last meal at Bob's Big Boy or Swingers! GO CELEBRATE! Love you all!" But it was a long road to self-improvement. In a January 2024 appearance on "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?" Carey discussed dealing with depression and his previous suicide attempts.
"I think that suicide attempts are calls for help," the comedian argued, noting that he sometimes still experiences feelings surrounding "the 'who's-gonna-miss-me?' type of thing." Carey also admitted that his stunning transformation actually began when he was in the Marines, and further remarked that the self-help books of Dr. Wayne Dyer were instrumental in his emotional and mental well-being. When asked if viewers would think that Carey was happy, he responded, "Yeah. I still get depressed often, you know, sometimes like everybody else. But it's not as bad."
During a 2007 appearance on "Access Hollywood" (via Today), Carey asserted that from his journey to improve himself and his outlook on life, "I learned how to believe in myself. Learned how to set goals, you know, self-help books man," adding that he voraciously reads them, after which, "I am always coming out bigger, better, stronger and happier."
The Price is Right experienced some scandals too
Drew Carey and legendary "Price is Right" host Bob Barker, had a good relationship. According to the Associated Press (via Today), Barker's response to Carey being appointed the new host was, "I understand he ad-libs very well and that he has a very nice, friendly way of working, and I think both of those would be helpful to him on 'The Price Is Right.'" It's been on the air since 1972, making "The Price is Right" the longest-running series of its kind.
Naturally, several things have gone wrong including Barker's gaff on a 1984 episode when he accidentally revealed to a contestant the price of an item before the game was completed. When Carey appeared on "Jeff and Larry's Comedy Roundup," in February 2021, he confessed that early on, there was an incident in which a contestant was playing the game Plinko. She dropped the chips in and each landed on $10,000.
The floor director stepped in and informed him: "The game is fixed." Carey worriedly thought to himself, "I'm going to jail. I'm losing my job. There's gonna be a scandal." It turned out the machine had been rigged to do that for a commercial and was never reset properly. The contestant was allowed to keep the $30,000, but that scene was never aired and she had to replay the game. Thankfully, Carey wasn't punished either.