Bob Barker, the tenacious, dapper-looking game show host who made his name for more than half a century as the host of “Truth or Consequences” and “The Price Is Right,” has died. He was 99.
Barker – also a longtime animal rights activist – died at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday morning, publicist Roger Neal said.
“I am so proud of the groundbreaking work Barker and I have done together to expose animal cruelty in the entertainment industry and also work to improve the plight of abused and exploited animals in the United States and internationally,” said Nancy Burnet , his longtime collaborator friend and co-executor of his estate, in a statement.
Barker retired in June 2007, telling his studio audience, “Thank you, thank you, thank you for inviting me into your home for more than 50 years.”
Barker was working in radio in 1956 when producer Ralph Edwards invited him to audition as the new host of “Truth or Consequences,” a game show that required viewers to perform crazy stunts — the “consequence” — if they didn’t answer a question — the “truth” that was always the silly punchline to a riddle no one should ever have to answer. (Q: What did one eye say to the other? A: Something smells below us.)
In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Barker recalled receiving the news that he had been hired: “I know exactly where I was, I know exactly how I felt: I hung up and said to my wife, ‘Dorothy Jo, I got it!'”
Barker stayed with “Truth or Consequences” for 18 years – including several years in a syndicated version.
Meanwhile, he hosted a revived version of “The Price Is Right” on CBS in 1972. (The original host in the 1950s and 1960s was Bill Cullen.) It would become the longest-running game show on television and the last of a broadcast. In the early days of television, there were dozens.
FILE – Legendary game show host Bob Barker reacts during filming of a special prime time episode of ‘The Price Is Right’ April 17, 2007 in Los Angeles, celebrating his retirement and career on the popular game show. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, file)
“I grew old in your service,” the silver-haired, permanently tanned Barker joked in a mid-’90s prime-time television retrospective.
CBS said in a statement that daytime television had lost one of its “most iconic stars.”
“We lost a beloved member of the CBS family today with the passing of Bob Barker,” the network said, noting that it “made the dreams of countless people come true and everyone felt like a winner when asked to to come along.” ‘”
In total, he has recorded more than 5,000 shows in his career. He said he was retiring because “I’m just reaching the age where the constant exertion of being there and doing the show physically means a lot to me.” … Better to go a year early than a year late.” Comedian Drew Carey was chosen as the replacement.
Barker was back for a show with Carey in April 2009. He was there to promote the release of his memoir, Priceless Memories, in which he summarized his enjoyment of hosting the show as an opportunity to “watch people reveal themselves and…” add to the excitement and humor watch them unfold.”
“There wasn’t a day on set that I didn’t think of and thank Bob Barker. I will carry his memory in my heart forever,” Carey said wrote in a post on Xthe site formerly known as Twitter.
Barker understood the appeal of The Price Is Right, which invited viewers to “Get Down!” onto the stage – competed for prizes by trying to guess their retail value.
“Everyone can identify with awards, even the President of the United States. Viewers at home get involved because they all have an opinion on what’s on offer,” Barker once said. Its own appeal was clear: Barker played it plainly — warm, lovable, and funny — and refused to poke fun at the game show format or its contestants.
“I want the contestants to feel like they’re guests in my house,” he said in 1996. “Maybe the audience can sense my respect for them, and maybe that’s one of the reasons I persevered.”
As a TV personality, Barker kept a touch of the old school — no wireless mic for him, for example. Like the mic itself, the mic cable served as a support when freely moved and tweaked.
His career longevity was the result of his contentment, he said. “I’ve had the opportunity to do this type of show and I’ve found that I enjoy it…people doing something they really enjoy and they started doing it when they were very young , I don’t think they want to stop doing that. ”
Barker also hosted the Miss USA pageant and Miss Universe pageant for 20 years. A longtime animal rights activist who daily urged viewers to “have your pets spayed or neutered” and successfully campaigned to ban fur coats as prizes on “The Price Is Right,” he resigned in 1987 to protest the presentation of “Miss USA” from the “Miss USA” beauty pageant made of fur coats to the winners.
His activities on behalf of the animals included a $250,000 donation to Save the Chimps, the Fort Pierce, Fla.-based organization said in an emailed statement on Saturday.
“Bob Barker’s kind spirit lives on at Save the Chimps, where every day we walk the street named after him for his groundbreaking contribution,” said Ana Paula Tavares, CEO of Save the Chimps. At the time of the donation, Barker said he hoped chimpanzees who had been tortured “physically and mentally” for years while being used for research experiments “would find at Save the Chimps the first peace, contentment and love they needed.” have ever known”.
In 1997, Barker declined to host the Daytime Emmy awards show, saying it would snub game shows because no awards were broadcast in that category. He called game shows “the pillars of daytime television.”
In 1996, he had a memorable cameo on the big screen fighting Adam Sandler in the movie Happy Gilmore. “I did ‘The Price Is Right’ for 35 years and they ask me what it was like beating up Adam Sandler,” Barker later joked.
Sandler paid tribute to Barker with a series of shared pictures on Instagram on Saturday. “The man. The myth. The best. Such a sweet, fun guy to spend time with.” Sandler captioned the post. “Loved talking to him. Loved talking to laughing with him. I loved that he kicked the crap out of me.”
In 1994, widowed Barker was sued by Dian Parkinson, an 18-year-old “Price is Right” model, for sexual harassment. Barker admitted to having “handkerchief panky” with Parkinson’s from 1989 to 1991, but said she initiated the relationship. Parkinson dropped the lawsuit in 1995 on the grounds that it harmed her health.
Barker got into a falling out with another former Price Is Right model, Holly Hallstrom, who claimed she was fired in 1995 because the show’s producers believed she was fat. Barker denied the allegations.
None of the uproar affected the goodwill of the audience.
Barker was born in Darrington, Washington, in 1923 and spent part of his childhood on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where his widowed mother had taken a job teaching. The family later moved to Springfield, Missouri, where he attended high school. During World War II he served in the Navy.
He married Dorothy Jo Gideon, his high school sweetheart; She died in 1981 after 37 years of marriage. They had no children.
Barker received a lifetime achievement award at the 26th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in 1999. He ended his words of thanks by saying, “Get your pets spayed or neutered.”
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Moore, a longtime Associated Press television writer who retired in 2017, was the lead writer on this obituary. Los Angeles-based AP Entertainment writer Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.