Growing up, one of the best things about staying home sick from school was getting to watch game shows. Now, anyone younger than Millennials may be scratching their heads. But once upon a time, GenX kids felt like adults when they got to watch daytime television.

Mornings and early afternoons on the Big Three were full of game shows like “Joker’s Wild”and “Card Sharks,” which celebrated an anniversary last week…

Big money no whammies! pic.twitter.com/s7esGPrrSk

— Hodja (@Hodja5) April 27, 2020

'Here comes my own little R2-D2…'
— Jim Perry, 'Card Sharks’ (April 24, 1978) pic.twitter.com/bCH6DGX4XH

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) April 24, 2020

And of course, the king of daytime game shows, “The Price Is Right,” hosted by Bob Barker:

It’s hard to believe it’s been this long, but comedian and actor Drew Carey took over hosting duties from Barker in 2007.

But anyone who knows “The Price Is Right” knows there’s one other, integral part of the show: the announcer.

George Gray joined Carey as announcer in 2011. Yeah, he’s the guy who gets to joke around with Carey and shout, “Come on down!” during the weekday show. And when you’re a part of the longest-running game show in television history (48 years and counting), luck is something you’re intimately familiar with.

That’s something that came into play for Gray this past week, The Wrap reports:

George Gray, the announcer for “The Price Is Right,” is currently recovering in the hospital after suffering three massive heart attacks, but according to his publicist, he is “in good spirits.”

Gray was first hospitalized in Arizona last week after suffering his first heart attack and had a second one while doctors were operating to place stents in his arteries. After the operation, the stents failed, causing a third heart attack that required a second operation.

TMZ, which broke the story on Gray’s heart attacks, shared more details:

Surgeons then performed a quadruple bypass. He was taken back to ICU where he was listed in critical condition.

Things are looking up. George’s rep tells TMZ he’s currently in stable condition and is talking.

But what might be the most amazing part of the story is that the coronavirus pandemic may have saved his life, according to his representative, Phil Viardo:

Viardo told Fox News that Gray was lucky that this happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, as he “was supposed to be in Thailand for his one year wedding anniversary if it weren’t for Coronavirus.” Had he actually traveled, there’s a chance he wouldn’t have gotten the same speedy medical treatment that saved his life.

Entertainment industry publication Deadline also reported that Viardo said “[h]is wife is by his side and he is looking to make a full recovery,” adding that Gray wants to thank his friends and fans for “the outpouring of love and support.”

Watch Drey Carey enthuse about George Gray being a total pro under pressure, on the current incarnation of “The Price Is Right”: