Bob Barker, the grandfatherly TV personality who presided over “The Price is Right” for close to four decades, has died at 99.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us,” Barker’s publicist Roger Neal said in a statement sent to multiple outlets on Saturday. No additional information was given.
Bob Barker attends 23rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on May 22, 1995. (Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
With his twinkly eyes and smooth demeanor that put contestants at ease as they competed for the big prize, Barker was an endearing presence who enlivened daytime TV with an almost effortless charm. From 1972 to 2007, his near-perfect attendance on CBS’s “The Price is Right” became a ritual for millions of housewives and children staying home from school.
With his year-round tan, silver hair, and long-handled microphone, Barker was a TV icon who was often parodied but seldom equaled. Even his daily “The Price is Right” sign-off was memorable: “This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population: Have your pets spayed or neutered.”
Barker was an animal rights activist before it became fashionable, using his celebrity status to further the cause of numerous groups.
Later, he hosted the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants for two decades — resigning when they declined to use synthetic furs — and even played himself in the 1996 Adam Sandler golf comedy Happy Gilmore.
Bob Barker prepares to punch Adam Sandler in a scene from the 1996 film “Happy Gilmore.” (Universal/Getty Images)
Bob Barker and Adam Sandler during the “Happy Gilmore” Premiere in Century City, California, on February 7, 1996. (Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Bob Barker introduces Miss Australia Kerry Anne Wells as the winner of the 1972 Miss Universe Contest. Runners-up (from left, following Miss Wells) are: Miss Israel (Ilana Goren); Miss Brazil (Rejane Viera Costa); Miss Venezuela (Maria Campoli) and Miss England (Jenny McAdam). (Getty Images)
Newly crowned Miss Universe, Deborah Carthy-Deu, with MC Bob Barker at the 1985 Miss Universe Pageant in Miami, Florida. (PL Gould/IMAGES/Getty Images)
After paying his dues in local radio and TV, Barker got his big break as host of NBC’s game show “Truth or Consequences,” starting in 1956 and continuing through 1975.
He later jumped to “The Price is Right,” where his 35-year tenure earned him a citation in the Guinness Book of World Records for his consecutive appearances hosting a game show. When adding his tenure on “Truth,” he served as a TV game show host for 51 years, winning 19 Emmy Awards in the process.
Barker’s wife, Dorothy Jo, died in 1981. The couple had no children, and he did not remarry.
Television host Bob Barker poses for photographers at his last taping of “The Price is Right” show at the CBS Television City Studios on June 6, 2007, in Los Angeles California. (Mark Davis/Getty Images)
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