Drew Carey

Comedian / Game Show Host

Drew Carey was a journeyman standup comedian in 1995 when he got his own TV series during the wave of "standup sitcoms" that followed the success of the show Seinfeld. Carey's comic material was based on his working-class Cleveland roots, his blocky crew-cut-and-black-glasses appearance, and his raucous bachelorhood. Carey's sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, was a hit and ran until 2004. In 1997 he published the book Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined. Carey also signed on as the host and emcee of the American version of the British TV improv show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which ran in various network formats from 1998-2006. He hosted a similar animation-improvisation variety show called Drew Carey's Green Screen from 2004-05. Carey announced in July of 2007 that he had accepted an offer to succeed Bob Barker as the host of the long-running game show The Price Is Right. At the same time, he was gearing up to begin hosting another game show, the CBS prime-time program Power of 10.

Extra credit: Carey joined the Marine Corps reserves in the 1980s, a job which he credits with establishing his signature buzzcut-and-black-glasses look... Carey's first film role was a bit part in the 1993 movie Coneheads, alongside fellow comedians Dan Aykroyd, Phil Hartman and Chris Farley.