Richard Wayne Fields (born November 30, 1960) is an American media personality, author, motivational speaker, game show announcer, and meteorologist. He is best known for having been hand-picked by Bob Barker as the announcer for the American version of The Price Is Right with both Barker and Drew Carey.
Rich Fields | |
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| Born | Richard Wayne Fields November 30, 1960[1] Bay Village, Ohio, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1979–present |
| Website | www |
Early life and education
editFields was born in Bay Village, Ohio, and raised in Avon, Ohio, before moving to Clearwater, Florida, in 1976. He graduated from the University of Florida Gainesville in 1983 with a Bachelor’s degree in broadcasting. While attending UF, Fields was diagnosed with both testicular cancer and lymphoma, both of which he survived.[2] Between 1995 and 1999, he was the announcer of the Florida Lottery game show Flamingo Fortune.[3]
In early 2000, Fields returned to college at Mississippi State University to study meteorology and later became a successful Los Angeles television weatherman.[4] Rich completed his MSU Meteorology internship at WFLA-TV in Tampa, Florida. In 2002, Fields was offered the morning weather position at KPSP-LP in Palm Springs, California. Fields was later promoted to Chief Meteorologist for KPSP and was charged with the weather forecasts on the 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. newscasts for the station until May 2004.[5]
Career
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In 2004, Bob Barker chose Fields as the new announcer of the American version of The Price Is Right, after the death of longtime announcer Rod Roddy.[6] The announcement of Fields' hiring was made official on April 8, 2004.[7]
In 1978, during a question-and-answer segment with announcer Johnny Olson at a taping of The Price Is Right, Fields asked how he could get Olson's job. Olson brought Fields onstage and asked him to give an example of how he would call a contestant to "Come on down!"[8] In 2007, Fields appeared with Bob Barker on a fictional episode of The Price Is Right in an episode of How I Met Your Mother.[9]
From 2010 to 2016, Fields was a staff meteorologist for CBS, delivering forecasts on its Los Angeles properties KCBS-TV, KCAL-TV, KNX, KFWB, and KRTH. Fields was a veteran disc jockey, having had music radio shows for over a decade on CBS' 93.1 FM frequency in Los Angeles during the 1980s and 1990s.[10]
Fields served as the announcer of the All-Star summer tournament series Gameshow Marathon from May 31 until June 29, 2006, on CBS.[11] It was during this seven-show series that Fields set a record for announcing the most televised game show titles in a single season. This U.S. version was hosted by actress and talk show host Ricki Lake.[12]
In 2009, Fields had his own comedy web series on YouTube called Rich Fields Gone Wild where he gets into some crazy situations in his daily life with Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk) and Adam West (Batman) as guest stars in those particular episodes.[13]
Fields also served as the announcer on 55 episodes of Wheel of Fortune in 2010 following the death of Charlie O'Donnell, and provided post-production voice-over work for over 11 weeks of episodes, plus specials.[14]
Fields has worked as a radio personality (starting back in 1979) at some 16 radio stations across the country, including markets like Los Angeles, California, and Tampa, Florida. From 2017[15] until 2020, Fields held down the Afternoon Drive position on Q105 (WRBQ-FM). However, after nearly three years on the air at Q105, Fields and nearly the entire air-staff were let go, during staffing cutbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]
In November 2021, Rich Fields was hired as a meteorologist at WTSP (10 Tampa Bay), the CBS affiliate in Tampa, Florida where he stayed until 2023.[17] On February 16, 2023, Fields announced he was leaving traditional broadcasting to become a motivational speaker.[18]
References
edit- ^ Shipp, Laura (September–October 2010). "Coping with Cancer Celebrity Interviews". copingmag.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
Rich Fields
- ^ "Rich Fields from the Price is Right Talks Cancer – Coping Mag". 19 September 2010.
- ^ "Come On Down". Cleveland Magazine. December 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ "Rich Fields bio". Richfields.tv. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
- ^ "Rich Fields is right for 'Price' job". Los Angeles Times. 10 April 2004. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Beacon Journal: Search Results". nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Blits, Stan (4 September 2007). Come on Down! Behind the Big Doors at The Price Is Right. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-135011-5.
- ^ Fields, Rich (22 April 2022). "Rich Fields". wtsp.com. WTSP-TV. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "KCAL Meteorologist's Contract Not Renewed". adweek.it. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ King, Susan (9 July 2006). "He always knew 'Price' was right". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Gameshow Marathon". tvtime.com. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Rich Fields". voices.com. Voices.com, Inc. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "WHAT HAPPENED TO RICH FIELDS?". tampabay.com. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Rich Fields Joins Q105". myq105.com. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Beasley Enacts Layoffs, Furloughs And Temporary Pay Cuts". insideradio.com. April 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ RICH FIELDS - METEOROLOGY Retrieved 1 March 2022
- ^ "Rich Fields, Motivational Speaking". RichFields.TV.