Legendary 'Price Is Right' Host Bob Barker Dead at 99
One of the most legendary faces and names in American television history has signed off for the final time.
The iconic and indelible Bob Barker, beloved former host of “The Price Is Right,” has died at the age of 99.
According to TMZ, Barker died peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Saturday. His death was reportedly due to natural causes.
Barker had a string of health scares over the last several years.
As TMZ noted, Barker battled “several minor bouts of skin cancer” and had multiple falls that required trips to the hospital.
In 2015 and 2017, falling incidents necessitated ER visits. In 2019, Barker was hospitalized after another fall, though it’s unclear if he had to go the the ER.
In 2018, Barker suffered from back issues so severe they required him to be transported to the hospital via ambulance two separate times.
While those may have been the headlines Barker found himself in recently, the TV legend is best known for his time hosting “The Price Is Right.”
Barker was the face of the hit game show for over 30 years, but his resume ran much deeper.
Born in 1923, Barker was raised in South Dakota and Missouri and started his career in radio, KABC-TV reported.
After a television producer just happened to catch his radio show, he was so impressed that he offered the then-unknown Barker some high-profile work.
Barker’s first big break came in 1956 with “Truth or Consequences,” a quiz show with a physical stunt component.
While still hosting that show, Barker began hosting “The Price Is Right” in 1972. He also famously hosted the Miss Universe pageant.
Barker ultimately retired from television in 2007 in a grand farewell from “The Price Is Right.” Actor and comedian Drew Carey has since taken over as host.
Apart from a television staple, Barker was also known as an animal lover and animal rights activist.
His sign-off, “This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population — have your pets spayed or neutered,” is as embedded in the annals of television history as Homer Simpson’s “D’oh!”
Barker lost his wife, Dorothy Jos, to lung cancer in 1981 and never remarried. They had no children.
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