Bob Barker, iconic ‘The Price is Right’ host, has died at 99. ‘World’s greatest MC’
Bob Barker, the iconic host of “The Price is Right” for 35 years, has died, CBS confirmed to McClatchy News on Saturday, Aug. 26. He was 99.
“We lost a beloved member of the CBS family today with the passing of Bob Barker,” CBS said in a statement. “During his 35 years as host of ‘The Price is Right,’ Bob made countless people’s dreams come true and everyone feel like a winner when they were called to ‘come on down.’ In addition to his legendary 50-year career in broadcasting, Bob will be remembered as a dedicated animal rights activist.”
Born in Darrington, Washington, and raised in South Dakota, Barker later attended Drury University in Missouri.
He was a game show host for more than 50 years, beginning on “Truth or Consequences” in 1956. He hosted the show until 1975, and also became the leading man on “The Price is Right” in 1972.
“The Price is Right” remains the longest-running game show on television, according to People.
“That game is different with each contestant’s personality, and that is what has made it interesting for me,” he told Reuters in 2007. “Working with unrehearsed contestants, creating spontaneous entertainment, that’s what I’ve done for all these years, and I’ve enjoyed it.”
Barker went on to host more than 6,500 episodes of “The Price is Right” before retiring in 2007. Drew Carey became Barker’s successor and has hosted the show for 16 years.
During Barker’s time as a game show host, he won 15 Daytime Emmy Awards and received the award show’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. He is known as one of the most iconic game show hosts in television history.
“I had the pleasure of working with a dedicated and talented cast and crew for 35 great years. Particularly close to my heart was the ability our vast popularity gave me to remind our entire audience daily about the importance of spaying and neutering your pets,” Barker told People in 2021, alluding to his signature sign-off on the show.
He also hosted Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants for 21 years but famously stepped away in 1988 when officials insisted on giving away a fur coats.
″For years I have urged them to stop giving away a fur coat to the winner of the pageant,” he said at the time, according to The Associated Press.
An animal rights activist, Barker became a vegetarian in the late ’70s. He told uInterview in 2015 there should no longer be zoos, but instead animal sanctuaries.
Barker donated millions of dollars to animal rights causes, including $1 million to his alma mater’s animal studies program in 2018, the Springfield News-Leader reported. He was also a spokesperson for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
“As I participated more (in animal-oriented organizations), I went to meetings and I heard lectures and saw films and I read books. I became aware of the exploitation of animals, and I felt compelled to do what I could,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1987. “So I’ve become more and more involved until now it is a passion with me.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2023 at 10:19 AM.