Robert William Barker (born December 12, 1923) is an American retired television

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

host. He is known for hosting CBS's '' The Price Is Right'' from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime

in North American television history. He is also known for hosting '' Truth or Consequences'' from 1956 to 1975. Born in Darrington, Washington, in modest circumstances, Barker enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He worked part-time in radio while attending college. In 1950, he moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to pursue a broadcasting career. He was given his own radio show, ''The Bob Barker Show'', which ran for six years. He began his game show career in 1956, hosting ''Truth or Consequences''. He subsequently hosted various game shows, and the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall St ...

and Miss USA pageants from 1967 to 1987, giving him the distinction of being the longest-serving host of those pageants. He began hosting ''The Price Is Right'' in 1972. When his wife Dorothy Jo died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

at age 57 in 1981, he became an advocate for

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

and of

animal rights activism The animal rights (AR) movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, ...

, supporting groups such as the

United Activists for Animal Rights United Activists for Animal Rights is an animal rights group led by its president Nancy Burnet and based in California, United States. It was founded in 1987. United Activists is supported by television personality Bob Barker, and the group expose ...

and the

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action tactics to achieve its ...

. In 2007, he retired from hosting ''The Price Is Right'' after celebrating his 50-year career on television. In the years after his retirement, Barker continued to make occasional public appearances from 2009 to 2017.

Early life

Barker spent most of his youth on the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as t ...

Mission, South Dakota Mission is a city on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in northern Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,156 at the 2020 census. Mission is home of the Sinte Gleska University. It is the largest incorporated community i ...

. The U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885–1940, list Barker as an enrolled member of the Sioux tribe. His mother, Matilda ("Tillie") Valandra ( Matilda Kent Tarleton), was a school teacher; his father, Byron John Barker, was the foreman on the electrical high line through the state of Washington. Barker's father was one-quarter Sioux and his mother was not, so Barker was one-eighth Sioux. Barker went to the Sioux school in Mission. He once said, "I've always bragged about being part Indian, because they are a people to be proud of. And the Sioux were the greatest warriors of them all." Barker met his future wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon, at an

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

concert while he was attending high school in Missouri; they began dating when he was 15. He attended Drury College (now Drury University) in Springfield, Missouri, on a basketball athletic scholarship. He was a member of the Epsilon Beta chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity at Drury. He joined the United States Navy Reserve in 1943 during

to train as a fighter pilot, but did not serve on active duty. During leave from the military, he married Dorothy Jo on January 12, 1945. After the war, he returned to Drury to finish his education, graduating '' summa cum laude'' with a degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

Career

Broadcasting career

While attending college in Drury, Barker worked his first media job at

KTTS-FM KTTS-FM (94.7 FM) is a country music formatted radio station, licensed to Springfield, Missouri and the greater Springfield area (market #140). It began broadcasting in 1948, and is one of the oldest FM stations in the United States. Programmin ...

Radio in Springfield. He and his wife left Springfield and moved to Lake Worth Beach, Florida, and he was news editor and announcer at nearby WWPG 1340 AM in Palm Beach (now WPBR in Lantana). In 1950, he moved to California to advance his broadcasting career. He was given his own radio show, ''The Bob Barker Show'', which ran for the next six years from Burbank. He was hosting an audience-participation radio show on

KNX (AM) KNX (1070 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It airs an all-news radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. KNX is one of the oldest stations in the United States, having received its first broadcasting license ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

when game show producer Ralph Edwards, who was looking for a new host to replace Jack Bailey on the daytime-television version of his long-running show, '' Truth or Consequences'', happened to be listening and liked Barker's voice and style.

Game show career

''Truth or Consequences'' (1956–1975)

Barker started hosting ''Truth or Consequences'' on December 31, 1956, and continued with the program until 1975.

''The Price Is Right'' (1972–2007)

In early 1972, Mark Goodson and Bill Todman began shopping a modernized revival of '' The Price Is Right'' to stations, with

Dennis James Dennis James (born Demie James Sposa, August 24, 1917 – June 3, 1997) was an American television personality, philanthropist, and commercial spokesman. Until 1976, he had appeared on TV more times and for a longer period than any other televi ...

as host. CBS expressed interest in the series, on one condition: instead of James, Barker would be installed as host. After some initial resistance, Barker instead offered to host another upcoming CBS game show, Jack Barry's '' The Joker's Wild'' (which had difficulty finding a host and was scheduled to debut the same day as ''Price'') to allow James to host ''Price'', but CBS rejected this proposal. On September 4, 1972, Barker began hosting the CBS revival of ''The Price Is Right''. On October 15, 1987, Barker did what other MCs almost never did then: renounced hair dye and began wearing his hair gray, which was its natural color by that time. On October 31, 2006, Barker made his announcement that he would retire from ''The Price Is Right'' in June 2007. He taped his final episode on June 6, 2007, with the show airing twice on June 15. After his retirement, Barker made three return appearances to ''The Price is Right''. He first appeared on the episode that aired on April 16, 2009, to promote his new autobiography, ''Priceless Memories''. He appeared in the Showcase round at the end of the show. Barker made another guest appearance on the show to celebrate his 90th birthday, which aired on December 12, 2013. He announced a contestant for the first time ever on the show, along with one showcase. Barker's latest appearance was a surprise appearance on April 1, 2015, for an April Fools' Day switch where he took Drew Carey's place at the show's intro. He hosted the first one bid and pricing game of that day before handing the hosting duties back to Carey, and later appeared during the showcase.

Personal life

Health

On September 16, 1999, Barker was in Washington, D.C. to testify before Congress regarding proposed legislation that would ban

captive elephants Elephants can be found in various captive facilities such as a zoo, sanctuary, circus, or camp, usually under veterinary supervision. They can be used for educational, entertainment, or work purposes. The earliest evidence of captive elepha ...

from traveling shows, such as

circuses A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicycli ...

. 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. The procedure went well enough that he was able to return to work within the month. Three years later, Barker had two additional health crises after taping the 30th-season finale of ''The Price is Right''. While lying in the sun on May 30, 2002, he experienced a stroke and was hospitalized; six weeks later, on July 11, Barker underwent prostate surgery. Both hospitalizations occurred at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Both surgeries were successful. Barker had several mild bouts with skin cancer, a result of his frequent tanning. He consulted a dermatologist regularly to make sure any cancers were caught and removed before they spread; they did not pose a threat to his life. During a televised interview, Barker told viewers, "I urge anyone who has spent some time in the sun, whether you're doing it now or not, go to a dermatologist once a year." On October 20, 2015, two police officers passing Barker's

-area home saw him trip and fall on a sidewalk. They called an ambulance that took him to

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over ...

, where he received stitches for an injured forehead and was released; he also hurt his left knee. Barker slipped and hit his head at home on June 19, 2017. His maid drove him to the emergency room, where he was checked and released. His representative said it was not as serious as his earlier fall. In October and November 2018, Barker was rushed to the hospital for severe back pain.

Lawsuits

In 1994, former model Dian Parkinson filed a lawsuit against Barker alleging sexual harassment following a three-year affair while working on '' The Price Is Right''. Parkinson, who alleged that she was extorted by threats of firing, later dropped her lawsuit, claiming the stress from the ordeal was damaging her health. In 1995, model Holly Hallstrom left ''The Price Is Right'' and later filed suit against Barker, alleging that the reason she was fired was not so much because of her 14lb medication-mediated weight gain (as documented), but because, to Barker's displeasure, she refused to give false information to the media regarding Parkinson's suit, as she alleges Barker had requested she do. Barker countersued for slander, but Hallstrom prevailed, receiving a

settlement Settlement may refer to: * Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

in 2005. In October 2007, Deborah Curling, a CBS employee assigned to ''The Price Is Right'', filed a lawsuit against CBS, Bob Barker and ''The Price Is Right'' producers, claiming that she was forced to quit her job after testifying against Barker in a wrongful-termination lawsuit brought by a previous show producer. Curling claimed that she was demoted to an "intolerable work environment" backstage which caused her to leave the job. Curling, who is black, also alleged that the show's producers, including Barker, created a hostile work environment in which black employees and contestants were discriminated against. A few months later, Barker was removed from the lawsuit, and in September 2009, the lawsuit was dismissed. Curling's attorney stated that he planned to appeal the dismissal of the lawsuit. In January 2012, the California Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal.

Animal rights

Barker has been a vegetarian for over three decades. He has also been an outspoken advocate for a variety of animal rights issues: In 1982, Barker began ending '' The Price Is Right'' episodes with the phrase: "This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population — have your pets spayed or neutered." In 1987, Barker requested the removal of fur prizes for the Miss USA pageant, and stepped down as host when the producers refused. In 1989, Barker and

publicly accused several media projects and the American Humane Association of animal mistreatment and condoning animal mistreatment, a tactic which for libel, slander and invasion of privacy.Speaking Up for 'Abused' Animals, Bob Barker Is Hit with a Lawsuit
– ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'', September 18, 1989, Vol. 32, No. 12. In 1994, Barker founded DJ&T Foundation, named after his late wife and mother, which has contributed millions of dollars for animal neutering programs and funded animal rescue and park facilities all over the United States. In 2004, Barker donated $1 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to Columbia Law School to support the study of animal rights. In 2009, Barker wrote a letter their bear exhibits. In 2009, Barker threatened to not attend the 2009 Game Show Awards, where he was to receive a lifetime achievement award, because Betty White would be attending. Although he previously worked with White, he was feuding with her over the treatment of an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

at the Los Angeles Zoo. White instead did not attend and pre-recorded her comments that she was scheduled to make about another awardee, Mark Goodson. Also that year, Barker donated $1 million (equivalent to $1.4 million in 2021) to University of Virginia's Law School to support the study of animal rights. He made similar donations to Harvard Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, Duke University School of Law, Northwestern University School of Law, Stanford Law School and the University of California at Los Angeles." In 2010,

announced that it had secretly purchased and outfitted a ship to interdict Japanese

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

operations in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-smal ...

using $5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) provided by Barker. The ship was then named the MY ''Bob Barker'', and its existence was first revealed when it helped discover the location of the

whaling in Japan Japanese whaling, in terms of active hunting of whales, is estimated by the Japan Whaling Association to have begun around the 12th century. However, Japanese whaling on an industrial scale began around the 1890s when Japan started to participate ...

. In 2010, Barker donated $2.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to renovate a building for PETA's new office in Los Angeles. The building was opened in 2012.

Film and other TV appearances

*In 1996, Barker played himself in the Adam Sandler comedy ''

Happy Gilmore ''Happy Gilmore'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds. It stars Adam Sandler as the title character, an unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a newfound talent for golf. The scr ...

''. In one scene, Barker beats up Gilmore after an altercation arising from their teaming up in a Pro-Am Golf Tournament. In 2007, during a CBS prime-time special commemorating Barker's career, the fight scene from ''Happy Gilmore'' was shown, after which, Sandler made a surprise appearance on stage to read a poem paying tribute to Barker. In 2015, during Comedy Central's "Night of Too Many Stars" benefit show for autism, Barker and Sandler reunited for a video featuring the two of them in a follow-up fight at the hospital, which ends with both of them dying and going to heaven. *Barker was a semi-regular panelist on the game shows '' Tattletales'' (1975–1976, with wife Dorothy Jo) and '' Match Game'' (1973–1980). Barker sat in Richard Dawson's former place during the first week of Dawson's permanent absence from ''Match Game''. *Barker co-hosted CBS' coverage of the Rose Parade from Pasadena, California for several years during the 1970s and 1980s. *In the 1970s, he was the host of the annual/biennial '' Pillsbury Bake-Off'' (the bake-off occurred every two years starting in 1976). In 1978, he was the first host to have a male category champ. *Barker appeared on '' Bonanza'', playing a character named Mort in the 1960 episode "Denver McKee". *Barker has appeared on various talk shows such as: '' Dinah!'', '' Larry King Live'', ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...

'', ''

Crook & Chase ''Crook & Chase'' is an American television talk show hosted by Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase, focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on country music. The pair had first worked together on the weekly syndicated program "This Week In Coun ...

'', '' Donny & Marie'', ''

The Rosie O'Donnell Show ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on May 22, 2002. This talk ...

'', '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', '' The Wayne Brady Show'', the '' Late Show with David Letterman'', and '' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''. *Barker also made cameo appearances on '' The Nanny'' and '' The Bold and the Beautiful'' in 2002 and 2014. *About one year after retirement, Barker appeared in a public service announcement promoting the transition to digital television in the United States. The advertisement was produced under the first proposed date of February 16, 2009, for the transition. *On September 7, 2009, Barker was a special guest host for ''

WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show f ...

'' (called "The Price is Raw") in

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that. Whi ...

. Aired during a period when nearly every episode of the weekly wrestling show featured a celebrity guest host, with mixed results, Barker's appearance has been ranked the best of nearly 80 hosts. *Barker agreed to be a rotating guest co-host on ''The Huckabee Show'', a daily TV talk show hosted by Mike Huckabee. Barker first appeared on the show July 29, 2010. *Barker appeared in a commercial for

State Farm Insurance State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the lar ...

's "Magic Jingle" campaign, where he made "a new car!" appear for a woman whose previous car was totaled by a giant concrete cylinder. *Barker filmed a TV advertisement endorsing David Jolly, a candidate for the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

nomination for the 2014 Florida's 13th congressional district special election. Jolly won the nomination and ultimately won the seat. *Barker voiced the character Bob Barnacle, a snail business owner on "Sanctuary!", an episode of the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

animated series ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...

''.

Awards and honors

Daytime Emmy Awards *Overall 19-time winner: **14-time winner of Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, as host of ''The Price is Right'' **4-time winner of

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show was an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was given in honor of a game show that features ...

, as executive producer of ''The Price is Right'' ** Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at the 1995 Daytime Emmy Awards WWE *2009 Slammy Award for Best Guest Host. Media *"Bob Barker Studio" at

CBS Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and Ch ...

named in his honor. *''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine's Greatest Game Show Host of All-Time * GSN Lifetime Achievement Award Halls of Fame *Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame *

Television Hall of Fame The Television Academy Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. television. The hall of fame was founded by former Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) president John H. Mitchell (1921–1988). ...

(class of 2004). *

NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame The NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame is a yearly honor from the National Association of Broadcasters. One inductee from radio and one from television are named at the yearly NAB conference. Radio For a list of award winners, see footnote * 1977: Ja ...

(class of 2008).

Autobiography

Bob Barker has written his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, assisted by former ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' book review editor Digby Diehl, titled ''Priceless Memories''. It was published on April 6, 2009, and features stories from his early life as well as stories and experiences in the 50 years of his television career.

Notes

References

External links

*
Bob Barker at Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Bob 1923 births American animal rights activists American game show hosts American male television actors Beauty pageant hosts Brulé people California Republicans Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host winners Living people Military personnel from Washington (state) Native American male actors People from Mission, South Dakota People from Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota People from Snohomish County, Washington People from Springfield, Missouri Sioux people The Price Is Right United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy reservists Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship winners