Drew Carey to Host "The Price is Right"

"The Price is Right" has finally found its replacement for Bob Barker. Drew Carey, known for his work on "The Drew Carey Show," has been tabbed to replace the gameshow icon.

Bob Barker retired in June of this year after 35 years hosting the show. That led producers on a long search to try to find the perfect replacement for him.

Many names were entered into hat for the right to host the long-running gameshow, including Rosie O'Donnell, John O'Hurley and George Hamilton, but Drew Carey emerged late in the running and is now the host of the show.

Drew Carey announced on "The Late Show with David Letterman" that he had been offered the job. He also shared with Letterman the story of how he got his new gig.

"I actually had lunch with an AP reporter today, we had a big, long lunch," Carey said on The Late Show, according to the CBS.com website. "I couldn't tell him anything because we were negotiating the deal. And they approached me right after the pilot for 'Power of 10,' and they called me, I said, 'No.' Then they called me a month later, they said, 'What if we really' - they called my agent: 'What if we really go after Drew.' This is like a month later after I did the pilot for Power of 10 and I said, 'Well, what does that mean?' and he said, 'Well, you know, I mean, maybe this kind of money.' I go, 'What kind of schedule?' He said, 'I don't know,' so I met with them and stuff and we've been negotiating ever since. Couldn't say anything, but during your Harry Potter bit - honestly it was like 15 minutes ago - they called me. It's a done deal. I'm the new host of The Price Is Right."

Drew Carey is currently hosting "The Power of Ten," also on CBS. The show will premiere August 4th and he will pull double duty, hosting both shows at the same time.

This kind of hosting would not be unprecedented. Most recently Regis Philbin pulled the same kind of double duty by hosting both his morning talk show "Live!" And "Who Wants to be a Millionaire."

Drew Carey is best known for his two ABC shows. He starred in "The Drew Carey Show" and he also hosted the wildly popular comedy show "Whose Line is it Anyway." CBS coveted Carey for his experience on the "Whose Line" show because he had experience thinking on his feet.

Information from "The Price is Right's" web page on CBS.com was used in this article. Information from Drew Carey's International Movie Database (IMDB) listing was also used.