Facts about Bob Barker
Bob Barker Biography
Bob Barker hosted the TV game show The Price is Right for a remarkable 35 years, from 1972-2007.
Bob Barker was already a veteran game show host: he had been the host of TV’s Truth or Consequences for 18 years before he signed on to host The Price Is Right in 1972. (He succeeded the original host, Bill Cullen.) The show, in which contestants compete to guess the price of potential prizes, became the longest-running game show in television history.
Bob Barker won 12 Daytime Emmys for his hosting and producing talents, and was given a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement award in 1999. Barker was also a firm advocate for animal welfare and animal rights; for years he ended The Price is Right telecasts with a reminder to viewers to spay and neuter their pets.
At age 83, Bob Barker taped his final The Price Is Right episode on June 6, 2007; the episode aired on June 15, 2007. He was succeeded as host by comedian Drew Carey. Bob Barker published a memoir, Priceless Memories, in 2009.
Extra credit
Bob Barker earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Drury College in Springfield, Missouri. He was a Navy pilot during World War II, though he did not fly in combat… Bob Barker was married to the former Dorothy Jo Gideon from 1945 until her death in 1981; they had no children… Bob Barker was sued for sexual harassment in 1994 by Dian Parkinson, a longtime The Price is Right showcase model. She later dropped the suit, but other TPIR employees also complained about Barker in the aftermath… Bob Barker had a memorable gag fistfight with Adam Sandler in the 1986 film Happy Gilmore… Bob Barker’s longtime announcer on The Price is Right was Rod Roddy.