Bob Barker, the beloved former host of “The Price Is Right” and animal advocate, has died at 99 years old. In a statement, Nancy Burnet, Barker’s friend and the co-executor of his estate, said, “I am so proud of the trailblazing work Barker and I did together to expose the cruelty to animals in the entertainment industry and including working to improve the plight of abused and exploited animals in the United States and internationally.”
CBS said in a statement that daytime television has 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 he had “made countless people’s dreams come true and everyone feel like a winner when they were called to ‘come on down.’” There was no information surrounding the circumstances of Barker’s death.
Barker hosted “The Price Is Right” from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history. He is also known for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975. Robert William Barker was born on December 12, 1923, in Darrington, Washington, in modest circumstances. Barker met his future wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon, at an Ella Fitzgerald concert while attending high school in Missouri; they began dating when he was 15.
He attended Drury College, now Drury University, in Springfield, Missouri, on a basketball athletic scholarship. While attending college in Drury, Barker worked his first media job at KTTS-FM Radio in Springfield. He and his wife left Springfield and moved to Lake Worth Beach, Florida, and he was news editor and announcer at nearby WWPG 1340 AM in Palm Beach, now WPBR in Lantana.
Barker joined the United States Navy Reserve in 1943 during World War II to train as a fighter pilot but did not serve on active duty. During leave from the military, he married Dorothy Jo on January 12, 1945. After the war, he returned to Drury to finish his education, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in economics.
In 1950, he moved to California to pursue a broadcasting career. He was given his radio show, The Bob Barker Show, which ran from Burbank for the next six years. While hosting a radio show in Los Angeles, Barker caught the attention of game show producer Ralph Edwards. Edwards was looking for a new host to replace Jack Bailey on the daytime-television version of his long-running show, Truth or Consequences, and happened to be listening and liked Barker’s voice and style. Barker would host Truth and Consequences from 1956 to 1975.
In early 1972, Mark Goodson and Bill Todman began shopping a modernized revival of The Price Is Right to stations, with Dennis James as host. CBS expressed interest in the series but wanted Barker to host instead of James. After some initial resistance, Barker offered to host another upcoming CBS game show, Jack Barry’s The Joker’s Wild, to allow James to host Price, but CBS rejected this proposal.
On September 4, 1972, Barker started hosting the CBS revival of The Price Is Right. On October 31, 2006, Barker announced that he would retire from The Price Is Right in June 2007. He taped his last episode on June 6, 2007, with the show airing twice on June 15.
After his retirement, Barker made three return appearances to The Price is Right. He first appeared on the episode on April 16, 2009, to promote his new autobiography, “Priceless Memories.” He appeared in the showcase round at the end of the show. Barker made another guest appearance on the show to celebrate his 90th birthday, which aired on December 12, 2013.
He announced a contestant for the first time on the show, along with one showcase. Barker’s latest appearance was a surprise appearance on April 1, 2015, for an April Fools’ Day switch where he took Drew Carey’s place at the show’s intro. He hosted the first bid and pricing game that day before handing the hosting duties back to Drew and later appeared during the showcase. Barker was also an advocate for animal rights, ending each show with, “This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population — have your pets spayed or neutered.”
Barker also appeared on dozens of other shows and won various awards. Bob Barker was a face that many of us grew up with in our homes. Fans will miss his distinctive voice and radiant personality. Rest in peace, Bob Barker.