Bob Barker: A Legendary Life of Joy and Compassion
So much happened in 1972! Don McLean’s iconic song, “American Pie,” was blasting on the radio, Richard Nixon was president, and his administration was tangled up in the Watergate Scandal. Meanwhile, NASA officially launched its Space Shuttle program, and the charming Bob Barker was hosting the game show The Price is Right, giving away brand new cars worth less than $4,000!
Bob Barker is a true entertainment legend and a name known by generations. He hosted The Price is Right for an astonishing 35 years, and this year, he is celebrating an incredible milestone—his 100th birthday!
Barker grew up on an Indian reservation in South Dakota. He is a proud member of the Sioux Tribe. It was at an Ella Fitzgerald concert that he met his future wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon. They married in 1945 while he was on leave from the United States Navy Reserve. During World War II, he trained to be a fighter pilot, but he never served in combat. After the war, he returned to school and earned a degree in economics.
Now at 99, Barker was hosting a radio show in Los Angeles when he caught the attention of Ralph Edwards, a game show producer searching for a new host for Truth or Consequences, the first game show ever broadcast on TV. He hosted this hugely popular show from 1956 to 1975, and his fame continued to grow. In 1967, he also began hosting the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants!
Then came the big moment! In 1972, Barker stepped onto the stage of The Price is Right, which launched him and the show into superstardom!
The Price is Right became the longest-running game show in history, a title it still holds today. In 1988, Barker became the executive producer and won an impressive 14 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host and four Emmys for his role as executive producer.
In a heartfelt interview with the Television Academy Foundation in 2008, Barker credited his late wife for his successful career. He said, “She gave me the confidence to even try to do what I set out to do. She didn’t just urge me on; she worked right at my side.”
Sadly, in 1981, Dorothy passed away from lung cancer at the age of 57, leaving her husband of 36 years behind. Barker expressed his feelings, stating, “I never had any inclination to remarry. She was my wife.” However, he found love again with Nancy Burnet, who has been with him for 40 years. Nancy believes one of the secrets to Barker’s good health is his limited use of medication over the years.
Just before his 99th birthday in December, Burnet, now 79, spoke with Fox News Digital and shared an astonishing fact: “He’s going to be 99, and he takes one prescription medication, and that’s for his thyroid. When health care providers ask for a list of his medications, I say, ‘Let me just show you the bottle.
That’s it!’ He does not take anything for blood pressure or cholesterol, or the umpteen other things that most people take as they grow older.” She added with a laugh, “He’s in very good health for his age, and his humor is still in good shape. He’s had a very charmed life.”
But Barker’s journey hasn’t always been easy. In 1999, he experienced clumsiness in his hand, which led to surgery to fix a partially blocked artery and reduce the risk of a stroke. In 2002, he suffered a stroke, followed by prostate surgery months later. A lover of the sun, he has dealt with several mild cases of skin cancer, falls that required hospital visits, and serious back problems.
Nancy stepped in to help him regain his strength, explaining, “It was not to replace meals but to enhance everything. He was looking tired and kind of frail, not just unhealthy. You know, if you’re going to be a vegetarian or vegan, you better know what you’re doing.”
After retiring from The Price is Right, which is now hosted by comedian Drew Carey, Barker made a few guest appearances, including a special one on his 90th birthday in 2013.
Reflecting on his time on the show, Nancy said, “He never grew tired of it. I’m not sure I could do the same show every day. But he never grew bored with it. So maybe that’s why it was so successful because he was always ready to do it and happy to do it.”
Barker expressed a similar sentiment during an appearance on Good Morning America in 2007 when he said, “I am really not ready to say goodbye to it. I think it’s a good time to say goodbye because I want to leave them wanting more.”
He left with countless great memories, like when Vanna White competed on The Price is Right before she became famous on Wheel of Fortune, or when excited contestants jumped up and down in joy and lost their tops!
But the most significant part of his legacy is how the show allowed him to advocate for animal welfare. Barker is also known as a passionate animal rights activist, and his famous catchphrase is, “This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.”
He credits his late wife, Dorothy, as the inspiration behind his animal activism. “She was ahead of her time,” Barker told Good Morning America. “She stopped wearing fur coats before anyone was stopping. She became a vegetarian before people were becoming vegetarian. And I gradually did the same thing with her.”
Through his DJ&T Foundation (named after Dorothy and his mom, Matilda or “Tilly,” both animal lovers), Barker has donated millions to establish animal rights curricula at prestigious law schools like Harvard, Columbia, and Northwestern.
He once said, “If young people are introduced to the terrible exploitation and mistreatment of animals in society, it will help influence them in anything they do,” in an interview with the Associated Press in 2015.
“When your education and encouragement fail, you have to have legislation.”
Burnet, who met Barker at an animal adoption event he hosted in 1983, joins him in advocating for animal rights and campaigning against animal entertainment.
What an incredible century! In his nearly 100 years, Bob Barker has made a huge impact on the world. We are so fortunate to have passionate individuals like him, a true champion who uses his celebrity status to help innocent animals!
What are your thoughts on Bob Barker’s amazing life? Share them in the comments!
