Bob Barker, an affable fixture of U.S. television for fifty years who hosted the popular game show “The Price Is Right” for thirty-five years and was a dedicated animal rights activist, has passed away at the age of 99, according to his publicist.
The silver-haired Barker, who hosted “The Price Is Right” from 1972 to 2007, won 19 Daytime Emmys, the highest distinction in U.S. television, and was known for a memorable comedic performance as himself in the 1996 film “Happy Gilmore,” in which he beat up an Adam Sandler character.
Roger Neal, Barker’s publicist, stated that he died of natural causes at his longstanding residence in Hollywood Hills, California, on Saturday morning.
Bob Barker donated millions of dollars to pro-animal causes, including $5 million for the Bob Barker, a 1,200-ton ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to prevent Japanese whaling ships from murdering whales off Antarctica.
With Barker at the reins for 6,586 episodes, “The Price Is Right,” in which contestants attempted to predict the prices of various consumer goods and played a variety of games to win prizes, became a daytime TV institution in the United States.
The studio announcer would yell “Come on down!” as each contestant made their way from the studio audience to the stage. Bob Barker was periodically bear-hugged and even tackled by exuberant contestants.
During a performance, a woman once inquired,
“Can I kiss you?”
Barker, renowned for his good-natured wit, responded,
“No, I’m working,” with a monotone. “Meet me in the parking lot later.”
Over the years, he distributed over $300 million in cash and rewards such as automobiles, appliances, and vacations.
In 2009, Barker told the Hartford Courant,
“I believe TV hosts are like pies; some people like apple, others cherry, and others chocolate.” “I’m just very fortunate that they liked me well enough to invite me into their homes for 50 years.”
“The Price Is Right” has become the longest-running television game program in the United States. Barker appeared on the program in 2013 for his 90th birthday and in 2015 for an April Fools’ Day episode.
Barker advocated for animal-friendly causes well into his nineties. He would conclude episodes of “The Price Is Right” by imploring viewers to spay and neuter their pets to control the animal population, and he established a foundation to subsidize the procedures. Additionally, he criticized the treatment of animals in zoos, rodeos, and spectacles.
In 1979, Bob Barker quit consuming meat. Because hair pigment is tested on animals, he stopped using it, and his hair became silvery-white. Barker resigned as longstanding host of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants in 1987 when pageant officials refused to stop draping contestants in fur jackets.
In a memorable sequence from the film “Happy Gilmore,” Barker portrayed himself competing in a golf pro-am with Sandler’s character, an ebullient former hockey player turned golfer. In a chaotic, prolonged comic brawl, the two exchange strikes, with Barker ultimately defeating Sandler.
Also, In 2015, when Barker was 91 years old, they staged another fight for a promotional video. Barker had studied karate with tough-guy actor Chuck Norris.
In 1994, a model who worked on “The Price is Right” sued him for sexual harassment, but Barker argued that their relationship was consensual. The suit was eventually withdrawn.
Bob Barker, born in Darrington, Washington on December 12, 1923, began his career in radio. In 1956, NBC appointed him to anchor a television adaptation of the radio quiz show “Truth or Consequences”; he remained with the program until 1975. Barker began moderating “The Price Is Right” on CBS prior to the conclusion of his run on that program.
Barker did not remarry after Dorothy’s cancer-related death in 1981.
Will Dunham contributed reporting and writing; Paul Grant and Timothy Gardner contributed additional reporting; Bill Trott and Diane Craft edited the piece.
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