Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Okay, today we're
tackling someone whose career path is, well,
it's really something else. We're talking Drew
Allison Carey, born in Cleveland, May 23, 1958.
Yeah, I mean, trying to pin down his professional
life is tricky, isn't it? You've got this fascinating
mix, stand -up, sure, but also hardcore military
service. Right. The network sitcom star, improv
pioneer, owning a sports team. And hosting one
of the biggest game shows ever. When you look
at the sources, the big question just jumps out.
How does one guy manage to bridge, like, the
super disciplined world of the Marines with the
total chaos of improv and stay relevant? Exactly.
He projects this, you know, affable, everyday
guy persona. But the path itself. Anything but
ordinary. We've got a lot of biographical material
here. And our mission really is to find those
moments, those aha points that show the transformation.
From Marine Sergeant E5. Yeah, to one of the
highest paid people on TV in the 90s. And now
like a fixture of daytime. And I think what we're
exploring here is that pattern, maybe that discipline
he learned, but applied to these really. chaotic
creative fields you don't stick around for four
decades across so many different things without
some serious adaptability you know moving from
scripts to no scripts from producing a show to
the daily grind of a game show we need to kind
of trace how that structure connects all these
different worlds he's lived in so where do we
start the beginning right hey let's do it the
foundation cleveland old brooklyn neighborhood
youngest of three brothers And a really pivotal
thing happens early on. His father dies of a
heart attack. Drew was only eight. Yeah, that's
tough. And you can see how maybe that shapes
things later, that search for stability, perhaps.
It often does. Sources say he went through James
Ford Rhodes High School, graduated 76, then tried
college 10th state, joined a fraternity, Delta
Tau Delta. But it didn't really stick. Didn't
stick is putting it mildly. The sources say he
got expelled twice for bad grades. Or for just
leaving after three years. That feels like a
real low point. You know, the typical path just
isn't working out. So how did the military happen?
Was it like a conscious choice or just looking
for something? It seems very much like searching
for that framework, that structure. After Kent
State fizzled out, he enlists United States Marine
Corps Reserve, 1980. Right. And this wasn't a
short stint. He did six years, field radio operator,
25th Marine Regiment in Ohio. Maid Sergeant,
E -5. Six years. Sergeant. That's discipline.
Field radio ops, that's technical, right? Needs
focus. Absolutely. High focus. Strict protocols.
It's a serious commitment, even in the reserves.
Reaching E -5 shows he wasn't just coasting.
And the haircut. That iconic crew cut we all
know. That started in the Marines. He just kept
it. It's like a visible reminder of that whole
period. It really is. That structure, that discipline,
it's almost the complete opposite of the improv
world he'd get into later, right? But maybe it's
the foundation for it. Allows him to manage the
chaos. Before the comedy, though, there were
those, let's call them character building jobs.
Oh, yeah. Around 1983 in Vegas, bank teller,
waiter at Denny's. you know real working guy
stuff okay so then comedy how does that start
because it wasn't like he grew up dreaming of
being a comedian apparently no it's pretty unique
it's 1985 and a friend david lawrence a dj basically
tells him hey you're funny you should write jokes
seriously yeah and drew apparently goes to the
library and checks out books on how to write
jokes he approaches it almost like technically
Methodically. Wow. Like building something from
a manual. So who were his comedy heroes? Very
Cleveland centric, which I think explains a lot
about his appeal. Local TV guys like Ernie Anderson,
Goularty and Chuck Shadowski. Yeah. And those
humor magazines, you know, mad, sick, crack.
OK, so more homegrown kind of rebellious humor.
Yeah. Not slick Hollywood stuff. Exactly. And
it worked pretty fast. He wins an open mic contest.
Then by 86, he's the emcee at the Cleveland Comedy
Club. That's huge for stage time, for honing
the act. But the big one. Yeah. The national
stage. That had to be Carson, right? The Tonight
Show. November 1991. That was the launch pad.
His set just killed. Killed how? Like, good laughs.
More than that, Carson himself was so impressed,
he waved him over to the couch after the set.
Whoa. The couch invitation. Yeah. That was, like,
the ultimate seal of approval back then. It meant
you'd arrived. Instant validation. Did that sort
of lock him into that lovable loser persona early
on, though? The guy from the jokes? It definitely
established the character, yeah. The relatable,
kind of put -upon, middle -class guy. But the
sources also point out his actual writing skill
was recognized pretty quickly, too. How so? Well,
just a few years later, 1994, he did a Showtime
special, Drew Carey, Human Cartoon. And he won
a Cable Ace Award for best writing for it. Okay,
so not just a funny face. A real craftsman behind
the jokes. Exactly. You've got the writing talent,
the marine discipline, and this very relatable
blue -collar vibe all coming together. That's
the package that broke through. And that package,
that hapless middle -class bachelor character,
became the direct blueprint for his own sitcom,
right? The Drew Carey Show. Absolutely. He teamed
up with Bruce Halford, took that persona he built
in stand -up, and they developed the show around
it. Fictional Drew, Cleveland, his buddies. Dealing
with work, life, the usual sitcom stuff. It premiered
in 95 on ABC, and it ran for nine years. Nine
years, 233 episodes, a really solid run, especially
back then. And the money. The source mentioned
his salary progression. That tells a story in
itself. Oh, it's incredible. Started at $60 ,000
an episode, which is already great. Yeah, not
bad. But it just kept climbing, jumped to $300
,000 pretty fast. And by the final season, he
was making $750 ,000 per episode. $750 ,000 for
one episode. Yep. Which, you know, sounds amazing
for him, but the sources are clear. That kind
of salary was a huge part of why the show became
so expensive to make, like $3 million an episode
near the end. Wow. Okay, so that success had
its own pressures. Did that affect the show's
lifespan? It's definitely cited as a factor in
why it eventually ended. High costs make networks
nervous, and creatively, even with all that money,
he wasn't totally happy. Right, I remember reading
about that. His book talks about fighting with
the censors. Yeah, dirty jerks and beer. He details
being really frustrated. He couldn't do the kind
of edgier, off -color stuff that made his stand
-up famous. The network wanted the safe. primetime
version. So the price of being a huge network
star was kind of sanding off the rough edges
that got him there. Seems like it. But interestingly,
at the same time, the sitcom's huge. He finds
another outlet, an unscripted one. Whose line
is it? Anyway. Ah, yes. The American version.
He started hosting that in 98 while the sitcom
was still on. Exactly. And it was perfect for
him. He wasn't just reading prompts. He was directing
the game, setting things up, jumping into the
final game. He was the ringmaster, basically.
Holding the chaos together. Which, if you think
about it, goes back to that discipline again,
right? You need structure to manage that level
of improv spontaneity effectively. He provided
the framework. And the combination. The sitcom
and whose line. That must have put him into the
stratosphere financially. Oh, absolutely. Forbes
listed him in 98. One of the highest paid entertainers.
Number 24, I think? with something like $45 .5
million that year. $45 million in one year. That's
serious clout. And he used that clout to push
improv even further, experiment with it. Like
green screen show. That was different. 2004,
2005, they did improv games against a green screen,
then added animation later. It was a really technical,
almost experimental approach to improv comedy.
Taking something immediate and making it post
-production heavy. Interesting choice. It shows
his commitment to the form, though. He later
did Drew Carey's Improvaganza, too, down in Vegas
with a lot of the same performers. He seemed
loyal to that crew, the Improv All -Stars. Yeah,
he co -founded that group, about 11 actors. They
were in all three of his improv shows, toured
together. He really built a whole scene around
that specific style of improv, hashtag tag tag
5E, the game show host and the Price is Right
transition. Okay, so he's mastered sitcoms, he's
mastered improv TV. What's next? Turns out it's
game shows. Right. The ability to manage that
sort of controlled chaos seems like perfect training
in hindsight. It kicked off in 2007 with a CBS
pilot called Power of Ten. I remember that one.
Contestants guessed how Americans answered poll
questions, right? Kind of cerebral for a game
show. It was. And it gave him that first taste
of hosting a big network game show. But then,
like... Right after taping that pilot? CBS comes
calling about the price is right. Exactly. Bob
Barker was retiring after 35 years. Those are
maybe the biggest shoes to fill in television
history. Seriously. And the sources say he initially
turned it down. That makes sense. The pressure
must have been immense. He definitely understood
the weight of it, following a legend like Barker,
the risk of just being constantly compared. But
ultimately, he couldn't pass it up. He announced
he was taking the job on Letterman. And he had
that great quote about it, didn't he? Something
about not replacing Barker. Yeah, it was very
insightful. He said, you can't replace Bob Barker.
I don't compare myself to anybody. It's only
about what you're doing and supposed to do. And
I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this. That's
such a disciplined way of looking at it. Focus
on the mission, not the legacy before you. It's
that marine mindset again, maybe. Execute your
task. He started hosting in October 2007. And
he handled the transition really smartly, I thought.
Updated the look, the music. But... Kept Berker's
famous sign -off about pets. That was key. Respecting
the history while still making it his own. It
needed that continuity. And the format itself.
A daily game show. That requires incredible consistency.
It's the ultimate structure, really. Reliable,
predictable schedule, but still requires energy
and focus every single day. Perfect for someone
who can manage both structure and performance.
And he stuck with it. He hit his 15th anniversary
in 2022. 15 years hosting Price is right. That's
longevity. It really is, especially when you
add it to the sitcom years, the improv years.
It's a remarkable run across different genres.
Even after Barker passed away in 2023, Carrie
handled it with class, hosting that tribute special.
Yeah. Acknowledging the legacy while firmly being
the current host. It's a demanding job. They
film something like 190 episodes a year. Requires
that consistent focus. Hashtag tag V. Diverse
interests, advocacy, and personal journey. All
right, let's peel back another layer. Beyond
the TV persona. His autobiography, Dirty Jokes
and Beer. Came out in 97, right at the peak of
the sitcom's fame. Yeah, huge bestseller. On
the Times list for months. But anyone expecting
just light, funny stories? Well, they got more
than they bargained for. A lot more. The title's
kind of misleading, isn't it? He got really serious
in that book. Incredibly so. Yeah, he talked
about his dad's death, which is sad, but maybe
expected. But then he revealed he'd been molested
as a child. Wow. And detailed really severe struggles
with depression, including two past suicide attempts,
swallowing pills. Jeez, that's incredibly raw,
especially for a guy on TV every week being the
funny neighbor. How did people react back then?
It was definitely shocking to some, but also
seen as incredibly brave. It puts that whole
public persona into a different light, doesn't
it? Suggests maybe that energy, that drive was
partly about managing some really deep pain.
Makes sense. And his honesty about it, right
when he was most famous. That took guts. Absolutely.
And he applied that same kind of intense focus
to his physical health later on, too. Remember,
he had that heart scare in 2001. Right. Chest
pains during filming. Yeah. He needed an angioplasty.
But then, starting around 2010, came the really
dramatic change, the weight loss. Oh, yeah. He
lost a ton of weight, said it was all diet and
exercise. And claimed it cured his type 2 diabetes,
which is a huge claim, but he was very public
about it. It's that pattern again, isn't it?
Facing a major problem, mental health, physical
health, and tackling it with that same, like,
mission focus. Intense discipline. Exactly. And
that intensity definitely carries over into his
political views, which are, again, maybe not
what you'd expect from a mainstream TV host.
Okay, yeah, let's talk about that. We need to
be impartial here. Just report what the sources
say. He's heavily involved with libertarianism,
right? Very much so. He does work for Reason
.tv, their online project. He's even on the board
of trustees for the Reason Foundation. That's
more than just casual support. That's a serious
commitment to a specific ideology. And the issues
he focuses on are pretty specific, too. Yeah,
things like private highway ownership, fighting
imminent domain abuse. Or the government that
takes private land. Right, and advocating for
medical marijuana. These are core libertarian
principles about individual liberty, property
rights, less government intervention. He had
that funny quote about it, defining libertarian
to Craig Ferguson. Huh, yeah, a conservative
who still gets high. Classic Kerry bluntness.
But his actual voting record and donations, it's
not strictly party line, is it? No. And that's
interesting. The record showed donations to Ron
Paul in 08, Gary Johnson in 16, both strong libertarians.
But then in 2020, he gave money to Joe Biden,
Tulsi Gabbard and Bill Weld. Wow. That's diverse.
Biden and Weld. It suggests he's maybe supporting
individual candidates or specific stances rather
than just sticking to one party label. Principle
over party, perhaps. Okay, moving away from politics.
Yeah. Hidden talents. This guy is full of surprises,
like the photography thing. Oh yeah, that's fascinating.
He loves soccer, we know that. Especially the
U .S. national team. But he actually works as
a press photographer at their games. On the sidelines,
taking pictures. Seriously? Like with a press
pass and everything? Yep. And he sells the photos
under a fake name. Brooks Parkinridge. Brooks
Parkinridge. Why the pseudonym? Maybe he wants
the work judged on its own merit, not just photos
by Drew Carey. It shows a genuine passion for
it, wanting to engage with it seriously. You
even did a TV show about it, right? Drew Carey's
sporting adventures on the Travel Channel, following
the World Cup. Exactly. Traveled around Germany,
photographing the matches. Proof it's a real
deep interest. Then there are the just weird,
unique pop culture moments. Like the WWE thing.
The Royal Rumble in 2001. Oh, that was brilliant.
He enters as Vince McMahon's buddy, stands there
alone for a bit. Then the next guy in is Kane.
The big, scary demon Kane. Right. And Carrie
tries to bribe him with cash. Kane's not having
it. So Drew just eliminates himself. Jumps right
over the top rope. Perfect comedy timing. Pure
self -preservation. But get this. That brief,
comedic appearance. It got him inducted into
the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011. You're kidding.
For that? Yep. Shows the power of a memorable
pop culture moment, I guess. And then connecting
back to his roots. His guest spot on NCIS in
2018. That was really poignant. He played a retired
Marine Sergeant, his actual final rank. Did they
acknowledge his real service? Subtly, yeah. In
the background, on a screen in the NCIS office,
they showed actual photos of a young Drew Carey
in his Marine uniform. A really nice touch. Let's
go. Okay, one last surprising thing. The AI experiment.
Just last year, 2023. Right. On his SiriusXM
radio show, The Friday Night Freakout, he used
an AI voice clone of himself made with 11 labs
reading jokes written by ChatGPT. He tried to
replace himself with AI. Pretty much, yeah. As
an experiment. But the listeners, they hated
it. Really? What did they say? The feedback was
that the voice sounded soulless. That it wasn't
the real Drew. Huh. That tells you something,
doesn't it? Yeah. Even with amazing tech, you
can't replicate him, the actual person, the history,
the warmth. Exactly. The audience wants the human
complexities and all. Hashtag tag six. Sports,
philanthropy, and final takeaways. Okay, let's
bring it home. His other passions. Sports is
huge for him, obviously. But it's more than just
being a fan. Definitely. He's a minority owner
of the Seattle Sounders FC, the MLS team. That's
a real financial stake in the game. And they've
done well. Won the MLS Cup a couple of times,
2016, 2019. Yeah. So it's a successful venture,
but it runs alongside his just pure, intense
fandom for his Cleveland teams. Browns, Cavaliers,
Guardians. He's famously devoted to Cleveland.
Didn't they give him a bobblehead calling him
the greatest Indians fan alive? He did. And he
apparently said that meant as much to him as
his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which
tells you a lot about his priorities. Community
connection over celebrity status. And that discipline.
It pops up again, even physically, much later
in life. The endurance events. Yeah, back in
2011, he ran the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon.
Pretty good time, too, like 1 .57. Wow. And then
later that year, he did the full Marine Corps
Marathon. Finished it in about four hours, 37
minutes. Running a marathon. That takes serious
training, serious grit. It's that same marine
level commitment, isn't it? Decades later. It
all seems connected. And that commitment extends
strongly to his philanthropy, especially libraries.
Right, because he says that's where it all started
for him. Checking out those joke books. Exactly.
He credits libraries directly. Yeah. And he's
put his money where his mouth is. He won half
a million dollars for the Ohio Library Foundation
on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire back in 2000.
Half a million. That's a serious thank you. And
he won more for them on another celebrity appearance
later. It's a clear, direct way of giving back
to the specific thing that helped him launch
everything. His charity stuff often has that
unique Drew Carey twist, too, like the FIFA video
game challenge. Oh, yeah, that was great. Challenged
U .S. soccer players to FIFA 07 for charity.
Donated like $160 ,000 total to a memorial fund
based on the games. Lost some, paid up, donated
more. Creative giving. And more recently, his
support during the writers' strike in 2023. That
was huge. Massive, yeah. Really tangible support.
He arranged to cover the cost of meals for striking
WGA writers at two different restaurants in L
.A. Just paid their tabs. Yep. Apparently his
bill at one place was running around $10 ,000
a week. $10 ,000 a week. That's incredible. That's
not just tweeting support. That's direct, significant
action. Helping people eat while supporting local
businesses. Exactly. It shows a deep commitment
to the creative community. So he's earned the
awards he's gotten. The Walk of Fame star, the
WWE Hall of Fame thing, People's Choice, and
that Lone Sailor Award in 2021. Right. From the
Navy Memorial, recognizing sea service vets who've
excelled afterwards ties it all back to that
Marine Foundation. OK, so let's wrap this up.
We started with this idea of contradiction. Marine,
comedian, sitcom star, game show host, libertarian
advocate, philanthropist. And what the sources
seem to show is that the friendly, energetic
guy we see on Price is every day. That's the
public face, sure. But it's a face built on top
of and maybe managing a really complex inner
life. Yeah, the depression, the past trauma he
wrote about. And then this incredible discipline
applied to everything. His health, his politics,
his charity, his endurance running. It seems
like that structure he found in the Marines really
became the operating system for his whole life.
Managing the chaos of fame, the personal struggles,
everything. The contrast between the easygoing
TV host and the disciplined, sometimes contrarian,
deeply thoughtful guy behind it all. That's the
real story here. So the image we know best is
maybe just the most stable, polished version
of this long, intense, evolving journey. Exactly.
It suggests that even the most familiar faces
on TV can have these incredible... rich, complicated
histories if you dig just a little deeper. Which
leaves us, and you listening, with the final
thought, maybe. What's the gap between that warm
daily TV image we all consume and the decades
of intense discipline, private struggle, and
constant reinvention that actually created it?
Something to think about. Absolutely. It was
fascinating diving into the many lives of Drew
Carey. Thanks for joining us on The Deep Dive.
We'll see you next time.