Famed “Price Is Right” host, Bob Barker, has died at the age of 99. His publicist Roger Neal released the sad news in a statement on Saturday.
It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us.
Early Years
Robert (Bob) William Barker was born on Dec.12, 1923 in Darrington, Washington. The majority of his youth was spent on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. His mother, Matilda Valandra, was a schoolteacher there. Eventually, Barker’s family moved to Springfield, Missouri where he went to high school. Afterward, he attended Drury College on a basketball scholarship.
He joined the United States Navy and became a fighter pilot after World War II interrupted his studies. However, the war ended before he was assigned to a seagoing squadron. After being discharged, Barker returned to Drury to continue his studies.
To help finance his education, Barker took a job at a local radio station. This job helped him discover his passion of hosting audience participation shows.
Career Starter
He graduated from Drury College summa cum laude with a degree in economics. Afterward, he relocated to Palm Beach, Florida where he worked for a local radio station. Barker moved to Los Angeles, California a year later. Within a week he was hosting his own radio program called “The Bob Barker Show.”
At the end of 1956, he made his TV debut as the host of “The All New Truth or Consequences” show. The creator of the show, Ralph Edwards, sold it to NBC but chose not to be the host. Hopeful candidates lined up for weeks in Hollywood and New York with aspirations of being the show’s host.
However, when Edwards heard Barker on the radio, he knew he had found the man for the job. For 18 years, Barker proved that Edwards chose correctly. The show ended in 1975. He and Edwards remain close friends, until Edwards’s death in 2005.
Additional Honors
The famed host earned a spot in the “Guinness Book of World Records” twice. Once for TV’s “Most Durable Performer,” at 3,524 shows. The second time was for “Most Generous Host in Television history” for awarding $55 million in prizes on his various shows. Over the ensuing years that figure rose to over $200 million.
Additionally, he won 11 Emmys for Game Show Host and two more as the Executive Producer of “The Price is Right.” In 1999, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award with two additional award wins. Thus bringing his Emmy total to 16. Moreover, he was awarded the coveted Carbon Mike Award of the Pioneer of Broadcasters.
In 1995, the beloved host established the DJ&T Foundation to assist pet owners with low cost spay and neuter vouchers. The foundation was named after his mother, Dorothy Jo, and wife, Matilda (Tilly). At the end of every show (from 1972 to 2007), Barker would tell fans to “Help Control The Pet Population, Have Your Pets Spayed Or Neutered.”
He passed away on Aug. 26, 2023, at the age of 99. Dying from natural causes in Hollywood Hills, California.
By Sheena Robertson
Sources:
IMDb: Bob Barker Biography
NBC News: Bob Barker, longtime ‘Price Is Right’ host, dies at 99
The New York Times: Bob Barker, Longtime Host of ‘The Price Is Right,’ Dies at 99
Featured Image Courtesy of Mr. Littlehand‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Mr. Littlehand‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
