West News Wire: Bob Barker, a legendary TV personality who presided over “The Price Is Right” for 35 years, has passed away. He was 99.
According to Roger Neal, Barker’s longtime publicist, the actor passed away early on Saturday morning at his home. He was just a few months away from turning 100.
Neal remarked, “He had a beautiful life.
Barker, who was born in 1923, was reared in a variety of locations, including South Dakota and Missouri, before eventually serving in the American Navy during World War II. He was never in combat, and after going back home to start college at Drury University, he began working in radio.
His big break came when “Truth or Consequences” creator Ralph Edwards heard him on the radio and contacted him about hosting the game show in the middle of the 1950s. Edwards had previously hosted the programme on radio, according to Barker, and this was one of the TV iterations.
I’ve always liked Ralph Edwards’ creative output. ‘Truth or Consequences’ was performed by him beautifully. He also worked on “This Is Your Life,” according to Barker, who spoke with “Emmy TV Legends” in 2008. “He is the most amazing man,”
Contestants on the absurd show had to respond to questions and pull off actions in order to win rewards. The time that Barker spent on “Truth or Consequences” was close to 20 years. Receiving a call from the well-known Edwards, according to Barker, “was just about the most exciting thing to happen to me.”
Then, in September 1972, Barker began a job that would end up being the work he is most known for “The Price Is Right.” On this program, Barker would give the audience a chance to guess prices on everyday household items from couches to cars. Getting close to the actual price was the name of the game.
“I wasn’t thinking about the rest of my life until I was 48 years old. In 2007, he told Entertainment Weekly, “It was just another show I thought would be enjoyable and pay well.
The game show’s endurance, according to Barker, is due to a single, basic factor.
“Well, that’s a strong premise. At home, when we bring anything out for the participants to bid on, they’re thinking, ‘Oh, that’s too high,’ ‘Oh, that’s too low,’ or, ‘That’s a decent bid,'” Barker told a news channel in 2007. “They are becoming involved, whatever they may be thinking.
With “The Price Is Right,” Barker was able to apply his expertise speaking with and interviewing regular people, which he claimed he gained from his early days as a journalist.
“It’s a lot more fun to do than a person might realize. Each audience has its own personality. It’s like mining for gold. I’m looking for little gems with whom I can create spontaneous entertainment. It’s great satisfaction,” Barker added to EW. “I was right at home on ‘The Price Is Right’ the way I was on ‘Truth or Consequences.'”
Barker won 19 Daytime Emmy Awards, including 14 for outstanding game show host, as well as a lifetime achievement award from the Daytime Emmys in 1995.
Barker’s wife Dorothy Jo Gideon, whom the host met in high school and wed in 1945, was the only thing that remained the same for him from his early days in radio through “The Price Is Right.” In 2007, Barker admitted that Dorothy Jo was the inspiration behind his signature fondness of crowd engagement. She was also a driving force in his campaign to aid animals.
She was a trailblazer. She was, in fact. She removed her fur coats before everyone else did. She switched to vegetarianism before many other people did. And I progressively treated her in the same way,” he stated.
His wife passed away from lung cancer in 1981. He never wed again.
“I never had any inclination to remarry. She was my wife,” he said.
