Burbank High student to appear on ‘The Price is Right’
Aviah Priestley vividly remembers her time at CBS Television City in late February, when she was a contestant on a special “Kids Week” series of episodes of “The Price is Right.”
The 15-year-old sophomore from Burbank High School was the last contestant to be called to “come on down” by announcer George Gray.
Then, Aviah managed to outbid the other high-school-age challengers and won the opportunity to play the game “Lucky Seven,” where contestants guess the price of a car, one digit at a time.
Onstage with host Drew Carey, Aviah said she recalls hearing all of the screaming from audience members, and her adrenaline was flowing as she carefully made her decisions.
“It was crazy and thrilling,” she said. “It felt a little overwhelming, but in some way it felt like you were being supported by a bunch of strangers.”
Aviah was accompanied by several friends and her mother, Deborah, who were also shouting advice to her as she stood onstage.
While Aviah was stressed about which numbers to pick, her mom was looking ahead and worried about what to do if her daughter won prizes that couldn’t fit in their apartment.
“They called her name and she ran on stage, and I immediately started thinking about the taxes I had to pay if she won,” Deborah Priestley said. “What if she won a Jacuzzi? We’d have to give it to one of her friends’ family.”
The episode was taped on Feb. 23 before Safer at Home orders were put in place to curb the coronavirus outbreak and will air at 10 a.m. on April 23 on CBS.
Looking back on that day, Aviah said she never thought that something like the coronavirus would change her life in so many ways. She was focused on spending time with her mother, her friends and the hundreds of other fans during the taping.
Now, like many other people, Aviah and her family spend most of their time isolated at home.
“At the time, we thought life was going to carry on as normal, minus the fact that we were on a game show,” Aviah said.
“It was kind of a blessing that we had the opportunity to go before the [pandemic] happened. I do definitely miss that atmosphere of being at the studio and meeting other people,” she added.
The idea to stand in line and test their luck at becoming contestants on “The Price is Right” came from Aviah’s mother, a die-hard fan of the game show who had attended tapings in the past.
Deborah Priestley said her mother was also a fan of “The Price is Right” but never attended any tapings before she passed away.
Wanting to do something to remember her mother, Deborah Priestley said she made it her goal to attend as many tapings as she could and to share the experiences with her daughters and other family members.
“It might take four to five hours just to get in, but it’s nice to spend that time with your family and friends and really bond,” Deborah Priestley said.
The Priestleys had originally planned to host a watch party with their family and friends at their home when the episode aired, but instead of being together in person, they’ll all be on a video call.
