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Robert William "Bob" Barker (born December 12, 1923) is a seventeen-time Emmy Award-winning American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right since September 4, 1972, making it the longest-running daytime game show in television history. On October 31, 2006 he announced that he would retire from hosting The Price Is Right in June 2007 after holding the job for nearly 35 years and having been in television for 50 years.
Born in Darrington, Washington, his mother, Matilda ("Tillie") Valandra, was a schoolteacher, and his father, Byron John Barker, was an electrical power foreman who died in a fall from a utility pole in 1929. Barker has a half-brother, Kent Valandra, from Matilda's subsequent remarriage. In the 1940s the family moved to Springfield, MO, where Barker attended, and graduated from, Central High School. He was also in a three-piece jazz band called The Scatters in the mid 1940s.
Barker attended Drury College (now Drury University) in Springfield, Missouri on a basketball scholarship. He was a member of the Epsilon Beta Chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity at Drury. His education was interrupted by World War II. Barker served in the Navy as a fighter pilot. However, the war ended before he was assigned to a seagoing squadron. After the war, he returned to Drury to finish his education, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in economics. While attending Drury, Barker worked his first "media job" at KTTS-FM Radio in Springfield.
Barker left Springfield and worked at a radio station in Florida before landing another radio job in California. He was hosting an audience-participation radio show in Los Angeles when game show producer Ralph Edwards happened to be listening and liked Barker's voice and style. On December 31, 1956, Barker took over hosting of the game show Truth or Consequences. The show made him a star; he was clearly a natural whose charisma and charm connected with contestants and viewers. He would host it for 18 years.
Bob Barker and his wife, the former Dorothy Jo Gideon, were high-school sweethearts. On their first date on November 17, 1939, Bob took D.J. (as he would often call her) to an Ella Fitzgerald concert. They married in 1945. Years later, it would be Dorothy Jo (as well as Barker's mother Tillie) who inspired Bob to become an advocate of animals. D.J. died of lung cancer on October 19, 1981. The couple had no children. Barker never remarried after her death. His mother Matilda (Tillie) Valandra lived with him until her death in 1993, after her second husband (Bob's step-father) died.
In October 2006, it was announced that Barker had accepted Drury University's invitation to receive an honorary degree recognizing his life achievements and to speak at its May 12, 2007 commencement exercises. It will be the first honorary degree Barker has received in his lifetime.
Animal rights
Bob Barker is well known for his work in animal rights. He became a vegetarian in 1979. That same year, he began promoting animal rights. Barker began ending each episode of The Price Is Right with the phrase: "Help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered" in 1981 and was named national spokesman for "Be Kind to Animals Week" in May of that year. Fellow game show hosts Jack Barry and Bert Convy eventually followed Barker's lead in promoting animal rights on the air.
During the first ten years of The Price Is Right, fur coats were often featured as prizes. After Barker became involved in animal rights, he insisted that the show not offer prizes that harmed animals, a demand to which CBS agreed; animals and fur coats have not since been offered on the program. Barker also forbids the reairing of older episodes in which fur coats and live animals are offered.
Barker hosted the Miss USA/Universe Pageants from 1967 to 1987. In 1987, he requested the removal of fur prizes and stepped down as host when those in charge of the pageant refused.
Bob Barker's "DJ&T Foundation" has contributed millions of dollars to fund animal rescue and park facilities all over the country. He works closely with Betty White as an advocate for animal rights.
Game Show Career
Truth or Consequences
Barker started hosting on December 31, 1956, and would continue with the program until 1975. The idea was to mix the original quiz element of game shows with wacky stunts. On the show, people had to answer a trivia question correctly (usually an off-the-wall question that no one would be able to answer correctly) before "Beulah the Buzzer" was sounded. If the contestant could not complete the "Truth" portion, there would be "Consequences," usually a zany and embarrassing stunt. In addition, during Barker's run as host, "Barker's Box" was played. Barker's Box was a box with 4 drawers in it. If a contestant was able to pick the 3 boxes with money it, they won a bonus prize.
In many broadcasts, the stunts on Truth or Consequences included a popular, but emotional, heart-wrenching surprise for a contestant, that being the reunion with a long-lost relative or with an enlisted son or daughter returning from military duty overseas, particularly Vietnam.
The Family Game
In 1967, Barker hosted the short-lived game show The Family Game for Chuck Barris, where he would ask children contestants questions about their family's lives, and the parents had to guess how they answered in a Newlywed Game-esque fashion.
The Price Is Right
On September 4, 1972, Barker began his most famous assignment hosting the CBS revival of The Price Is Right. In the four decades of the CBS version, he has become far more strongly associated with the show than first host Bill Cullen was with the 1950s–1960s original.
On October 15, 1987, Barker did what other emcees almost never did: he renounced hair dye and allowed his hair to go gray. It was a shock to the studio audience because it hadn't been publicized in advance; it was a shock to the home audience because the change came in the middle of the week at that time. One home viewer famously wrote Barker a letter saying "Bob, you must have had a hell of a night last night!" The episodes with dyed hair and gray hair were, in actuality, taped several weeks apart. Fellow hosts Monty Hall and Alex Trebek would follow Barker's decision to go to gray hair in the late 1980s.
In 2006, The Price Is Right celebrated 35 consecutive years on the air. It is the longest-running game show of all time in North America and is also the longest running five-day-a-week daytime entertainment program (and only The Tonight Show's 50 years on the air has surpassed it in terms of overall five-day-a-week American entertainment television programming). Overall, in daytime programming (excluding Saturday and Sunday), The Price Is Right is ranked sixth among the longest-continuing television programs (NBC's Today ranks the longest, followed by four daytime soap operas: Guiding Light, As the World Turns, General Hospital, and Days Of Our Lives). It has won its timeslot (11 a.m. Eastern) for the past 25 years with its closest competitor (currently ABC's The View) normally getting about half of TPIR's ratings.
Barker has recently had success with a prime time version of The Price Is Right. This stemmed from the incredibly high ratings for the thirtieth anniversary show in January 2002. Since then, the prime time specials have returned in spurts for sweeps weeks and on occasion when CBS's turn in the rotation occurs for the Daytime Emmy Awards, including the post-September 11 terrorist attack themed episodes honoring the different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, Navy, etc.) and public safety officers and, later, special occasions. Coincidentally, the first of the specials saluting the Armed Forces to air was the Navy, which was Barker's own branch of the military, and both CBS and RTL showed photos from Barker's own time in the Navy.
During the prime time shows, the prizes are more extravagant than in the daytime version, and the cash amounts are higher, with Plinko, It's in the Bag, and Grand Game featuring higher dollar values. In the Showcase Showdown, the $10,000 bonus was replaced during the specials. In the 2002 military specials, $100,000 can be won if the players spin $1.00 in their bonus spin but was never won. Since 2003, a $1,000,000 prize can be won on the prime time version; this has yet to be won; however, there have been a few close calls.
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Bob Barker to retire as host of U.S. gameshow The Price Is Right
On October 31, 2006, Bob made his announcement that he will retire from The Price Is Right in June 2007. After 35 years as emcee of U.S. television's longest-running game show Bob says he is ready for retirement.
Barker has revealed that Fremantle Media, the company that owns the show, has been looking for a successor in the last two to three years, and also that he had considered retirement for a while, but he had so much fun that he continued to do the show. As for a replacement host, no names have been mentioned as of February 2007.
Longevity records and celebration
Barker has set a longevity record as holding a weekday TV job continuously for 50 years as of 2006, which includes his years on Truth or Consequences. Only sportscaster Vin Scully, who is four years younger than Barker, has held a job longer than Barker in the entertainment industry, albeit a seasonal job and not a daily one.
At age 83, Barker holds the record of being the oldest man ever to host a game show and the oldest man ever to host a weekday television program since the inception of network television. Barker is now in his fiftieth consecutive year on television (network or syndication). Barker has also hosted/appeared on a five-day-a-week television program longer than anyone else in the history of television.
In 2003, Barker celebrated his 80th birthday with a prime-time special on CBS. It featured guest appearances by fan Céline Dion along with friends talk-show host Larry King and actor Chuck Norris. The show also featured taped vignettes from CBS stars like Ray Romano, the cast of Becker, and the cast of Joan of Arcadia.
On December 31, 2006, Bob Barker celebrated the anniversary of his 50th year on national television.
Legal issues
Dian Parkinson, a prize model for The Price Is Right from 1975 to 1993, filed an $8 million lawsuit against Barker for sexual harassment. Barker admitted that he had sexual relations with Parkinson but stated, "As God is my witness I never asked her to do anything she didn't want to do" and that everything was indeed consensual. Parkinson declared herself no financial match to Barker and his resources and gave up her legal fight with him in 1995.
Barker was involved in more legal trouble with a Price model in 1995. Holly Hallstrom, a model from 1977 to 1995, stated that she had gained 14 pounds due to a prescription medication and that Barker used the weight gain as an excuse to fire her, which Barker denied. Hallstrom alleged that the real reason Barker fired her was because she had refused to support Barker when Parkinson sued him for sexual harassment. Barker responded with a lawsuit for slander and libel, Barker v. Hallstrom, claiming Hallstrom was lying, but the court declared Hallstrom the prevailing party and ordered Plaintiff Barker to pay all Hallstrom's legal fees. Hallstrom countersued Barker and in October 2005 Hallstrom received a multi-million-dollar out-of-court settlement.
Since 1996, Bob Barker has been sued by six women for charges including Sexual Harassment, Racial Discrimination and Wrongful Termination (most notably by Janice Pennington and Kathleen Bradley, two other longtime and well-known models on the show). To date all the women have received out-of-court financial settlements, save one (Reigert), which is still pending.
Filmography
In 1996, Barker played himself in the Adam Sandler comedy movie Happy Gilmore. In one scene, Barker beats up Gilmore after an altercation arising from their teaming up in a Pro-Am Golf Tournament. Gilmore fights back and briefly gets the upper hand, declaring, "The price is wrong, bitch!" Bob then gets up, holds Gilmore in a strangle hold and continues to punch him before delivering a high kick to Gilmore's chin that knocks him down a grassy hill declaring "Now you've had enough...bitch!" Barker reportedly accepted the role when he learned he would get to win the fight with Sandler. "It took 46 years from the time I first came to Hollywood for me to land a movie role," Barker said about his role in Gilmore. "I hope I won't have to wait that long for the next offer." He and Sandler won the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight for Happy Gilmore, making Barker the oldest winner of any MTV award at 73. Bob's appearance in this movie is often credited with the increased popularity of TPIR among college students.
Barker also in the late 1990s played the father of Mel Harris' character on a few episodes of the NBC sitcom Something So Right.
He appeared in the Futurama episode Lesser of Two Evils in 2000, followed by the Family Guy episodes Screwed the Pooch in 2001, and The Fat Guy Strangler in 2005.
He made a cameo appearance on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2002.
He made a cameo appearance on Yes, Dear.
Awards and recognition
Barker has won 17 Emmy Awards in total. Twelve were for Outstanding Game Show Host, more than any other performer. He has also won twice for Executive Producer of The Price Is Right and received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Daytime Television in 1999.
In March 1998, on the five thousandth episode of The Price Is Right, CBS dedicated the soundstage where the show has been produced since 1972 in honor of Barker.
In 2004, Barker was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.
Health
Barker's health problems started in 1991 after he complained of having vision problems while exercising. After a visit to the doctors, they sent him to see a neurologist, where the doctors told Barker he had a mild stroke. He soon recovered and went back to work.
On September 16, 1999, Barker was in Washington, D.C., to speak about HR 2929, the proposed legislation that would ban elephants from traveling shows. While preparing for the presentation, Barker experienced what he called "clumsiness" in his right hand. He was admitted to George Washington University Hospital and diagnosed with a partially blocked left carotid artery. Barker underwent carotid endarterectomy to remove the blockage, and the procedure went well enough that he was able to return to work within the month.
Three years later, Barker also had two health crises after taping the season finale on The Price Is Right; and while lying out on the sun, he was hospitalized again with a stroke on May 31, 2002; and six weeks later, on July 11, 2002, he underwent prostate surgery both at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Both surgeries were successful.
In July 2006, Barker suffered a minor injury with his left hand. On the July 15, 2006 episode of The Late Late Show, he jokingly stated that he broke it by karate chopping "countless desks" (something he later proceeded to do to host Craig Ferguson's desk).
| Latest news about Bob Barker |
The Price Is Really Right: Bob Barker Donates $2.5 Million to PETA ...Bob Barker has always been an advocate for animal rights, from demanding that a zoo in North Carolina close their bear exhibit, to paying for. Continue reading
Bob Barker Donates To PETA CenterFormer 'The Price Is Right' host Bob Barker has donated $2.5 million for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to open a new location in Los Angeles. - Celebrity Charity News and Information. Continue reading
Bob Barker Loves PETA, Donates $2.5 Million For New OfficesLOS ANGELES — Bob Barker has donated $2.5 million to help the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals open a new location in Los Angeles. The retired game show host and spay and neuter champion will cut the ribbon Wednesday at the ... Continue reading
Bob Barker Donates $2.5 Million To Build New PETA Offices ...Bob Barker Donates $2.5 Million To Build New PETA Offices. Filed under: donations — Michael Parrish DuDell @ 10:48 am. March 10th 2010. How can you not love Bob Barker? I ask you this, I ask you this! News recently broke that “Mr. Come ... Continue reading
The PETA Files | Bob Barker, 'Come On Down!' to PETA's Los Angeles ...PETA's longtime friend and supporter, Bob Barker, along with some "Barker PETA Beauties," joined our own Ingrid E. Newkirk today to cut the ribbon on the start of renovations to our new Los Angeles office, aptly named—what else? ... Continue reading
The Price Is Creepy: Bob Barker's Sexual Harassment Greatest Hits ...Just because Bob Barker didn't achieve professional status as a sexual harasser until 2000, it doesn't mean he wasn't dominating the amateur circuit before then. Looks like the guy did pretty well for himself when it came to making ... Continue reading
Bob Barker Donates $2.5 Million To PETATelevision icon Bob Barker has donated $2.5 million to controversial animal rights charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The money was. Continue reading
Bob Barker Donates $2.5 Million To PETA | PerezHilton.comAll the $$$$$ went to the Bob Barker Building, which will open its doors on Wednesday on the corner of Sunset and Alvarado in El Lay. It will serve as home to the group's media, marketing, youth outreach and campaign departments. ... Continue reading
Bob Barker shows us what the 1970s were like. | MetaFilterBy this standard, Richard Dawson is way creepier than Bob Barker, I'd agree. Not to say that this behavior is acceptable by 2010 standards, but there are similar things that you could find "creepy" about almost any TV show from the ... Continue reading
Bob Barker Donates $2.5 Million To PETA | ICT magazineTelevision icon Bob Barker has donated $2.5 million to controversial animal rights charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The money was used to open a new PETA office for “youth outreach†in Los Angeles. Continue reading
Hollywood Actors Jessica alba Bob Barker pictures and Bob Barker biography
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