Bob Barker
Template:Infobox actor television Robert William "Bob" Barker (born December 12, 1923) is a seventeen-time Emmy Award-winning American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right since September 4, 1972, making it the longest-running daytime game show in television history. On October 31, 2006 he announced that he would retire from hosting The Price Is Right in June 2007 after holding the job for thirty-five years and having been in television for fifty years.
Childhood
Born in Darrington, Washington, he grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Rosebud, South Dakota, where his mother, Matilda ("Tillie") Valandra, was a schoolteacher. His father, Byron John Barker, was an electrical power foreman who lost his life in a fall from a utility pole in 1929. Bob has a half-brother, Kent Valandra, from Matilda's subsequent remarriage. In the 1940's the family moved to Springfield, MO, where Bob attended, and graduated from, Central High School. He was also in a three-piece jazz band called The Scatters in the mid 40's.
College
Barker attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri on a basketball scholarship. He was a member of the Epsilon Beta Chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity at Drury. His education was interrupted by World War II. Barker served in the Navy as a fighter pilot. However, the war ended before he was assigned to a seagoing squadron. After the war, he returned to Drury to finish his education, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in economics. While attending Drury, Bob worked his first "media job", working at KTTS-FM Radio in Springfield.
Bob left Springfield and worked at a radio station in Florida before landing another radio job in California. He was hosting an audience-participation radio show in Los Angeles when game show producer Ralph Edwards happened to be listening and liked Barker's voice and style. On December 31, 1956, Bob took over hosting of the game show Truth or Consequences. The show made Barker a star; he was clearly a natural whose charisma and charm connected with contestants and viewers. He would host it for 18 years.
Marriage
Bob Barker and his wife, the former Dorothy Jo Gideon, were high-school sweethearts. On their first date, Bob took D.J. (as he would often call her) to an Ella Fitzgerald concert. They married in 1945. Years later, it would be Dorothy Jo (as well as Barker's mother Tillie) who inspired Bob to become an advocate of animals. D.J. died of lung cancer on October 19, 1981. The couple had no children. Barker never remarried after her death. His mother Matilda (Tillie) Valandra lived with him after her second husband (Bob's step-father) died until her death in 1993.
Animal rights
Ever since his wife died (October 19, 1981), Barker has been an outspoken member of the animal rights movement and is known for ending every episode of The Price Is Right since the early 1980s by saying, "Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered." This practice was also followed by now-dead game show hosts Jack Barry and Bert Convy. When the United States Postal Service created a series of postage stamps on this subject, one of the shows had a small segment whose only purpose was to publicize them. CBS respects Mr. Barker's stance and offers only those prizes that would complement Bob's cause (although for the first ten years the shows did feature fur coats as prizes, and Barker has since forbidden the airing of those past episodes that featured fur coat prizes). To this day, Bob Barker's "DJ&T Foundation" contributes millions of dollars to fund animal rescue and park facilities all over the country.
Game show career
Truth or Consequences
Barker started hosting on December 31, 1956, and would continue with the program until 1975. The idea was to mix the original quiz element of game shows with wacky stunts. On the show, people had to answer a trivia question correctly (usually an off-the-wall question that no one would be able to answer correctly) before "Beulah the Buzzer" was sounded. If the contestant could not complete the "Truth" portion, there would be "Consequences," usually a zany and embarrassing stunt. In addition, during Barker's run as host, "Barker's Box" was played. Barker's Box was a box with 4 drawers in it. If a contestant was able to pick the 3 boxes with money it, they won a bonus prize.
In many broadcasts, the stunts on Truth or Consequences included a popular, but emotional, heart-wrenching surprise for a contestant, that being the reunion with a long-lost relative or with an enlisted son or daughter returning from military duty overseas, particularly Vietnam.
The Family Game
In 1967, Barker hosted the short-lived game show The Family Game, where he would ask children contestants questions about their family's lives, and the parents had to guess how they answered in a Newlywed Game-esque fashion.
The Price Is Right
On September 4, 1972, Barker began his most famous assignment hosting the CBS revival of The Price Is Right. In the four decades of the CBS version, he has become far more strongly associated with the show than first host Bill Cullen was with the 1950s–1960s original.
In 2006, The Price Is Right celebrated 35 consecutive years on the air. It is the longest-running game show of all time in North America and is also the longest running five-day-a-week daytime entertainment program (and only The Tonight Show's 50 years on the air has surpassed it in terms of overall five-day-a-week American entertainment television programming). Overall, in daytime programming (excluding Saturday and Sunday), The Price Is Right is ranked sixth among the longest-continuing television programs (NBC's Today ranks the longest, followed by four daytime soap operas: Guiding Light, As the World Turns, General Hospital, and Days Of Our Lives). It has won its timeslot (11 a.m. Eastern) for the past 25 years with its closest competitor (currently ABC's The View) normally getting about half of TPIR's ratings.
Barker has recently had success with a prime time version of The Price Is Right. This stemmed from the incredibly high ratings for the thirteth anniversary show in January 2002. Since then, the prime time specials have returned in spurts for sweeps weeks and on occasion when CBS's turn in the rotation occurs for the Daytime Emmy Awards, including the post-September 11 terrorist attack themed episodes honoring the different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Coast Guard, etc.) and public safety officers and, later, special occasions. Coincidentally, the first of the specials saluting the Armed Forces to air was the Navy, which was Barker's own branch of the military, and both CBS and RTL showed photos from Barker's own time in the Navy.
During the prime time shows, the prizes are more extravagant than in the daytime version, and the cash amounts are higher, with Plinko, It's in the Bag, and Grand Game featuring higher dollar values. In the Showcase Showdown, the $10,000 bonus was replaced during the specials. In the 2002 military specials, $100,000 can be won if the players spin $1.00 in their bonus spin but was never won. Since 2003, a $1,000,000 prize can be won on the prime time version; this has yet to be won; however, there have been a few close calls.
On October 31, 2006, Bob made his announcement that he will retire from The Price Is Right in June 8, 2007. After 35 years as emcee of U.S. television's longest-running game show Bob says he is ready for retirement.[1]
Barker has revealed that Fremantle Media, the company that owns the show, has been looking for a successor in the last two to three years, and also that he had considered retirement for a while, but he had so much fun that he continued to do the show. As for a replacement host, no names have been mentioned as of November 2006.
Barker goes natural
On October 15, 1987, Barker did what other emcees almost never did: he renounced hair dye and allowed his hair to go gray. It was a shock to the studio audience because it hadn't been publicized in advance; it was a shock to the home audience because the change came in the middle of the week at that time. One home viewer famously wrote Barker a letter saying "Bob, You must have had a hell of a night last night!" The episodes with dyed hair and gray hair were, in actuality, taped several weeks apart.
Fellow hosts Monty Hall and Alex Trebek would follow Barker's decision to go to gray hair in the late 1980s.
Lawsuits
Dian Parkinson, a prize model for the show from 1975 to 1993, filed an $8 million lawsuit against Barker for sexual harassment. Barker admitted that he had sexual relations with Parkinson but stated the "hanky panky" (Barker's words) between them was consensual. Parkinson gave up her legal fight with Barker in 1995.
Barker was involved in more legal trouble with a The Price Is Right model in 1995. Holly Hallstrom, a model from 1977 to 1995, stated that she had gained 14 pounds because of drugs to treat a hormonal condition and had been fired for failure to lose weight. Barker responded with a lawsuit for slander and libel, and Hallstrom answered back with a countersuit for wrongful firing. The suit by Barker was dropped after Holly lost her first court decision. Holly would then file another lawsuit (Hallstrom II) claiming that Bob's slander lawsuit was frivolous. Hallstrom II would be dropped by the court the next year. Hallstrom also appealed her earlier court loss.
Five women were not rehired from The Price Is Right in October 2000 as their contracts were not renewed. The ostensible reason for their dismissal was to hire younger models to appeal to a younger demographic and to save costs (Barker was renewing his own contract on a year-to-year basis for budget reasons). Four of the women who were dismissed had testified on Hallstrom's behalf in the Hallstrom countersuit. The women included models Janice Pennington and Kathleen Bradley. All of the women dismissed sued for wrongful firing and settled out of court. After Hallstrom won an appeal decision from the California State Circuit Court of Appeals, Hallstrom's line of defense changed from weight gain to being let go for supporting Dian in her sexual harrassment lawsuit. The lawsuit then appeared before the California State Supreme Court of Appeals which in less than two months rendered their decision by dropping all provisional claims aimed towards Mr. Barker--thus stating that Mr. Barker was not liable or responsible legally for Hallstrom's dismissal. Holly would then settle with FremantleMedia out of court and drop her lawsuit. Linda Riegert, who was the last remaining defendant also settled out of court in early 2006--mostly as a result of this decision by the California State Supreme Court of Appeals. Following her settlement with FremantleMedia, Holly appeared on NBC's The Today Show and ABC-TV's The View still solely blaming Bob for her misfortune.
The plantiffs against Barker have painted a picture of an atmosphere where The Price Is Right models and employees suffer routine sexual harassment and racial slurs. Supporters of Bob Barker state that Barker's name is dragged into lawsuits and scandalous allegations in the hopes of gaining tabloid attention.
Longevity records and celebration
Barker has set a longevity record as holding a weekday TV job continuously for 50 years as of 2006, which includes his years on Truth or Consequences. Only sportscaster Vin Scully, who is four years younger than Barker, has held a job longer than Barker in the entertainment industry, albeit a seasonal job and not a daily one.
At age 82, Barker holds the record of being the oldest man ever to host a game show and the oldest man ever to host a weekday television program since the inception of network television. Barker is now in his fiftieth consecutive year on television (network or syndication).
In 2003, Barker celebrated his eightieth birthday with a prime-time special on CBS. It featured guest appearances by fan Céline Dion along with friends talk-show host Larry King and actor Chuck Norris. The show also featured taped vignettes from CBS stars like Ray Romano, the cast of Becker, and the cast of Joan of Arcadia.
On December 31, 2006, Bob Barker will celebrate the anniversary of his fiftieth year on national television.
Awards and recognition
Barker has won 17 Emmy Awards in total. Twelve were for Outstanding Game Show Host, more than any other performer. He has also won twice for Executive Producer of "The Price Is Right" and received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Daytime Television in 1999.
In 1997, he and Adam Sandler won the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight for Happy Gilmore and became the oldest winner of any MTV award at 73.
In March 1998, on the five thousandth episode of The Price Is Right, CBS dedicated the soundstage where the show has been produced since 1972 in honor of Barker.
In 2004, Barker was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.
Filmography
In 1996, Barker played himself in the Adam Sandler comedy movie Happy Gilmore. In one scene, Barker beats up Gilmore after an altercation arising from their teaming up in a Pro-Am Golf Tournament. Gilmore fights back and briefly gets the upper hand, declaring, "The price is wrong, bitch!" Bob then gets up, and knocks him down a grassy hill declaring "I think you've had enough...bitch!" Barker reportedly accepted the role when he learned he would get to win the fight with Sandler [2]. "It took 46 years from the time I first came to Hollywood for me to land a movie role," Barker said about his role in Gilmore. "I hope I won't have to wait that long for the next offer." [3] The scene won the "Best Fight" award at that year's MTV Movie Awards. Bob's appearance in this movie is often credited with the increased popularity of TPIR among college students (who often come to the show in person as well as watch it).
Barker also in the late 1990s played the father of Mel Harris' character on a few episodes of the NBC sitcom Something So Right.
He appeared in the Futurama episode Lesser of Two Evils in 2000, followed by the Family Guy episode Screwed the Pooch in 2001.
He made a cameo appearance on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2002.
Health
His health problems started in 1991 after Barker complained of having vision problems while exercising. After a visit to the doctors, they sent him to see a neurologist, where the doctors told Barker he had a mild stroke. He soon recovered and went back to work.
On September 16, 1999, Barker was in Washington, D.C., to speak about HR 2929, the proposed legislation that would ban elephants from traveling shows. 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, and the procedure went well enough that he was able to return to work within the month.
Three years later, Barker also had two health crises after taping the season finale on The Price Is Right; and while lying out on the sun, he was hospitalized again with a stroke on May 31, 2002; and six weeks later, on July 11, 2002, he underwent prostate surgery both at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Both surgeries were successful.
In July 2006, Barker had a minor injury with his left hand. On the July 15, 2006 episode of The Late Late Show, he jokingly stated that he broke it by karate chopping "countless desks" (something he later proceeded to do to host Craig Ferguson's desk).
Trivia
- Barker was a semi-regular panelist on the game shows Tattletales (with wife Dorothy Jo) and Match Game. Barker sat in Richard Dawson's former place during the first week of Dawson's permanent absence from Match Game.
- Barker, the Beauties, and Rod Roddy all played in a week-long tournament on CBS's Family Feud with Ray Combs against the cast of The Young and the Restless in a battle of the daytime shows in November 1991 with money donated to charity.
- Barker would have a luncheon with Ralph Edwards every December 21 until Edwards died in 2005.
- In a humorous ending to The Price Is Right Salutes the U.S. Navy, it shows Barker walking out of the studio and getting into a taxi cab, which transports him to New York to host the Daytime Emmy Awards.
- Barker trained and earned his black belt in the martial arts with action celebrity and famous black belt Chuck Norris. Norris was one of the many guest stars on the special primetime The Price Is Right celebrating Bob's eightieth birthday. Other guests included Ray Romano, Charlie Sheen, Celine Dion, and Larry King.
- Barker has appeared on many talk shows such as The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Wayne Brady Show, Late Show with David Letterman, Crook & Chase, and Larry King Live.
- Barker had Adam Sandler make a cameo appearance on The Price Is Right for the "Happy Gilmore showcase."
- Works closely with Betty White as an advocate for animal rights.
- He became a vegetarian in 1979 when he started to promote animal rights after being named the national spokesman for "Be Kind to Animals Week" which culminated in May 1980. He also forbids any fur prizes and animal-tested products and/or prizes from being on The Price Is Right and also does not allow the rerunning of past episodes where those products were offered on the show (except the original Bill Cullen-hosted version, which Barker had no involvement with).
- Barker is a sports enthusiast and plays golf and practices martial arts daily.
- He appeared as a sub-host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1966.
- He loves history and collects military figurines; his main area of interest is the US Civil War.
- Was formerly a host of the Miss USA/Universe Pageants (1967-1987) but stepped down in 1987 when his request for the removal of fur prizes was declined.
- Created and hosted "The Bob Barker Fun and Games Show" from 1978 to 1986 which was a combination of stunt participation in the style of Truth or Consequences and pricing games such as the Price Is Right in which Bob traveled throughout the United States and Canada in various arenas and venues.
- Played the father of Mel Harris on a few episodes of the NBC sitcom Something So Right.
- Despite his animal rights activism, Barker enjoys home taxidermy as a hobby.
- In December 2002, Bob appeared on Hollywood Squares/H2 three times in the same week to do some outro segments during Game Show Week. (It was that week where Bergeron would assume the center square and Marshall have a one-day hosting gig.) The first one had Tom Bergeron mentioning that Hollywood Squares/H2 was taped at the Bob Barker studio, the same studio where The Price Is Right is taped. Following that, Barker appears on screen and asks Tom for rent money. In the second, he's talking to host Tom Bergeron, telling him "I remember watching Hollywood Squares with my good friend Peter Marshall... Who's hosting now?" In the last, Tom replaces Bob Barker's name on the plaque outside of Bob Barker Studios/Studio 33 (where both shows taped) with his name written in marker on a piece of tape. Bob would later remove the tape, then look at the camera and say "As if!" Bob and the TPIR models also were guests on Hollywood Squares in 1987 when John Davidson was the host.
- 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 the 1978 Bake-Off, he was the first host to have a male category champ.
- Barker had Tyra Banks guest star as a model on one episode of The Price Is Right for a few segments after Banks told Barker how big of a fan she was of the show.
- Many other game show emcees made guest appearances on The Price Is Right, usually in segments involving the cast and Barker. Some of the hosts include Bob Eubanks, Bert Convy, Bob Goen, Ray Combs, and Bill Cullen.
- Two popular segments on The Price Is Right involved Bob interviewing the models and interacting with the announcer (Johnny Olson or Rod Roddy). The model interview was a throwback to Barker's experience hosting beauty pageants. Both segments have been removed from the show due to time constraints.
- He appeared on the popular NBC TV Western Bonanza, playing a character named Mort in the 1960 episode "Denver McKee."
See also
References
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External links
- 1923 births
- Living people
- American game show hosts
- American game show panelists
- American television personalities
- American vegetarians
- Family Guy actors
- Match Game panelists
- The Price is Right
- Daytime Emmy Award winners
- Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Native American actors
- People from Washington
- People from South Dakota
- Sigma Nu brothers
- CBS personalities