Bob Barker in full, Robert William Barker was American game show host and animal rights activist who was best known for hosting The Price Is Right .
He was a naval fighter pilot during ‘World War II.’ After graduation, he decided to pursue a career in broadcasting and moved to California in search of more opportunities. Soon, he had his own radio show titled ‘The Bob Barker Show’ that aired for six years.
Ralph Edwards, a radio show producer, made him the host of ‘End of the Rainbow’ which helped him in his career. Subsequently, he became the host of NBC’s ‘Truth or Consequences’ and hosted it for 18 years.
Although Barker is well-known for hosting ‘Truth or Consequences,’ he is more famous as the host of another game show, ‘The Price Is Right.’ The show became a hit as viewers loved the friendly and sweet-talking host.
He conducted the game show for 35 years and won 16 ‘Emmys, including the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award for Daytime Television.
Throughout his illustrious career as a television host, he was associated with many shows, such as ‘End of the Rainbow, ‘The Family Game, ‘Simon Says, and That’s my Line.
The popular television personality continues to be an active supporter of animal rights, and has donated millions of dollars towards animal welfare.
Who was Bob Barker?
Bob Barker was born on December 12, 1923, in Darrington, Washington. Barker’s father died when he was very young, and until he was in the eighth grade, he lived with his mother, Matilda, a teacher, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission, South Dakota. When Matilda remarried, the family moved to Springfield, Missouri.
Barker graduated from high school in the early 1940s and attended Springfield’s Drury College on a basketball scholarship. He left school in 1943 to train as a fighter pilot in the United States Naval Reserve, but World War II ended before he was given an assignment for active duty.
Barker returned to Drury and graduated in 1947 with a degree in economics. Barker’s job at a radio station in Florida led to his move, in 1950, to California in order to pursue a career in broadcasting. He was given his own radio show, The Bob Barker Show, which ran for the next six years out of Burbank.
In 1956 he was hired to host the daytime television version of the long-running radio quiz show Truth or Consequences. The program, which forced its contestants to perform bizarre stunts if they failed to answer a question within about one second, was syndicated in 1966; Barker stayed on as its host until 1974, when it was taken off the air. (An updated version, called The New Truth or Consequences, aired from 1977 to 1989, with a different host.)
Bob Barker Net worth
How much is Bob Barker worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Bob Barker had an estimated net worth of $70million, prior to his death in August 2023.
The site estimated Barker had an annual take-home salary of about $10million.
Barker made a cameo appearance in 1996’s Happy Gilmore alongside Adam Sandler.
In 2009, he released an autobiography, Priceless Memories.
When did Bob Barker host The Price is Right?
The Price Is Right returned to TV in 1972 – after a seven-year hiatus – and Barker went on to become the host of the beloved game show, where he stayed until 2007.
He notably ended each episode of The Price Is Right with: “Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered.”
Since his retirement, Barker has appeared on The Price Is Right numerous times – once in 2009 to promote his new book and again in 2013 to celebrate his 90th birthday.
Barker also performed an April Fool’s Day joke on the show in 2015, briefly taking over host duties from Drew Carey.
Was Bob Barker married?
In 1945, Bob Barker married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo Gideon.
She was diagnosed with lung cancer just six months before she passed away, in 1981.
In 1999, Barker told People: “We fell in love as kids. And we stayed in love.”
After her death, Barker claimed he would never remarry.
“Dorothy Jo was the love of my life,” he reportedly said at the time.
Bob Barker did not have any children.
When did Bob Barker die?
The famous host reportedly passed away on the morning of Saturday, August 26, 2023, in his home due to natural causes.
He was 99 at the time of his death.
His publicist Roger Neal said in a statement: “It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us.”
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