Bob Barker, the enduring and well-dressed game show host who became a household name for hosting “Truth or Consequences” and “The Price Is Right” for more than half a century, has passed away. He is 99 years old.
Buck, also a longtime animal rights activist, died Saturday morning at his home in Los Angeles, publicist Roger Neal said.
Nancy Burnet, Buck’s longtime collaborator, said: “I’m proud of the groundbreaking work Buck and I have done together to expose animal cruelty in the entertainment industry, including efforts to improve the plight of animals that are abused and exploited,” said his friend and co-executor of the estate in a statement.
Barker, who retired in June 2007, told the studio audience, “I thank you, thank you, thank you for having me in your home for more than 50 years.”
In 1956, Buck was working at a radio station when producer Ralph Edwards asked him to audition to be the new host of “Truth or Consequences,” a game show that Viewers who fail to answer questions during the show must perform wacky stunts – “consequences”. Question – “truth”, which is always a silly punchline to a riddle that no one wants to offer. (Q: What did one eye say to the other? Answer: It’s between us, what’s the smell.)
In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Barker recalled receiving news of his hiring: “I knew exactly where I was, and I knew exactly how I felt: I hung up the phone and said to my wife, ‘ Dorothy Jo, I got it!’”
Barker stuck with “Truth or Consequences” for 18 years, including several years of syndicated releases.
At the same time, he began hosting a resurrected 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, the number of early TV networks There are dozens of them.
“I’ve grown old in your service,” joked the silver-haired, perennially tanned Barker in a mid-’90s primetime TV retrospective.
In a statement, CBS said the daytime TV show had lost one of its “most iconic stars.”
“Today, with the passing of Bob Barker, we lost a much-loved member of the CBS family,” the network said, noting that he “made countless dreams come true Feeling like a winner when called upon to ‘come on’.”‘”
In total, he recorded more than 5,000 shows during his career. He said he’s retiring because “I’ve just come to this age and it means a lot to me to keep trying to perform there. … A year sooner (leaving) is better than a year later.” Lou Carey was chosen to replace him.
In April 2009, Barker returned for a show with Carey. He was there to promote the publication of his memoir, “Priceless Memories,” in which he summed up the joy of hosting the show as “the chance to see people reveal themselves and watch the excitement and humor unfold.”
“On set, I can’t stop thinking of and thanking Bob Barker. I will always hold his memory in my heart.” Carey In X’s post wrotethe site was formerly known as Twitter.
Barker knows the appeal of “The Price Is Right,” in which viewers are invited to “Come on down!” onstage — competing for prizes by guessing their retail value.
“Everyone can agree on the price, even the president of the United States. The audience at home is also involved because they have their own opinions on the bidding.” Buck once said. His own plea was clear: Barker was outspoken — warm, gracious, witty — refusing to mock the game show format or his contestants.
“I want the contestants to feel like guests in my house,” he said in 1996. “Maybe the audience can feel the respect I have for them and that’s probably one of the reasons I’ve stuck with it.”
As a TV personality, Buck retains some old-school flair — he doesn’t have a wireless microphone, for example. Like the mic itself, the mic cable served as his prop well, with careless springs and subtly.
He said his long career was due to contentment. “I’ve had the opportunity to do this type of show, and I’ve found that I love it…People do things that they really enjoy, and they start at a very young age, and I don’t think they want to stop.”
Barker also hosted the Miss America and Miss Universe pageants for 20 years. A longtime animal rights campaigner, he daily urged viewers to “neuter your pets” and successfully lobbied for a ban on fur coats as a prize for “reasonably priced” shows. He withdrew from the Miss America pageant in 1987 to protest the display of fur coats. A fur coat is given to the winner.
His campaign on behalf of the animals included a $250,000 donation to Save the Chimpanzees, the Fort Pierce, Fla.-based group, said in an emailed statement Saturday.
Ana Paula Tavares, CEO of Save the Chimpanzees, said: “The kindness of Bob Barker lives on at Save the Chimpanzees, and we walk in the spirit of his legacy every day. Named on the road in honor of his game-changing contribution.” When donating, Barker said he hoped that chimpanzees who had suffered “physically and mentally” over the years while being used in research experiments would find “their contribution to saving chimpanzee tissue.” The first peace, contentment and love I experienced in my life”.
In 1997, Barker declined to host the Daytime Emmy Awards because he said the show would not air the category’s awards, snubbing game shows. He called game shows “the backbone of daytime television.”
In 1996, he made a memorable cameo on the big screen, facing off against Adam Sandler in the movie “Happy Gilmore.” “I was doing ‘The Price Is Right’ for 35 years, and they asked me what it was like to beat Adam Sandler,” Barker later joked.
Sandler Tribute to Buck on Instagram There was a series of pictures of them together on Saturday. “Man. Myth. The best. What a cute and fun guy to hang out with,” Sandler captioned the post. “Love talking to him. Love laughing with him. Love him kicking the shit out of me.”
In 1994, the widowed Buck was sued for sexual harassment by Dian Parkinson, a “Price is Right” model for 18 years. Barker admitted to “masturbation” with Parkinson from 1989 to 1991, but said she initiated the relationship. Parkinson dropped the lawsuit in 1995, saying it had damaged her health.
Barker was embroiled in a feud with another former “Price Is Right” model, Holly Hallstrom, who claimed she was fired in 1995 because the show’s producers believed she very fat. Barker has denied the allegations.
Neither commotion had affected the audience’s goodwill.
Born in Darlington, Washington, in 1923, Barker spent part of his childhood on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where his widowed mother worked as a teacher. The family later moved to Springfield, Missouri, where he attended high school. During World War II, he served in the Navy.
He married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo Gideon. She died in 1981 after 37 years of marriage. They have no children.
In 1999, Barker received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He ended his acceptance speech with “Sterilize your pets.”
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Associated Press Entertainment Writer Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.
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