The Bob Barker Centennial

Multiple benchmarks go toward justifying today’s spotlight on the late Bob Barker (1923-2023). He was born 100 years ago ago today; he passed away back in August, just a couple of months shy of that big benchmark; and last year marked the 50th anniversary of his beginning to host The Price is Right.

This won’t be some rah-rah hagiography though. I ranked Barker #3 in my survey of ickiest game show hosts. In the ’90s he had multiple sexual harassment and workplace discrimination lawsuits. But he was an interesting character. Many don’t know (I didn’t) that he was one eighth Sioux Indian and grew up on a reservation. Starting in the ’80s he was a pretty rabid animal rights activist. He was also a vegetarian. Kind to animals; less considerate of women, perhaps.

Barker started out in radio as a college student in Drury, Missouri. This led at work at various local stations, culminating with The Bob Barker Show, broadcast from Burbank. In 1956, he was hired to host the tv game show Truth or Consequences (originally hosted by Ralph Edwards). It was how I first knew him; he was still hosting that show as late as 1975. The Price is Right, ultimate merchandise-fetishizing game show, was launched in 1972. Barker was its front man for an absurdly long time, passing the reins to Drew Carey in 2007. By that time he was 84 years old, resembled the Crypt-Keeper, but was still slobbering all over apparently thrilled female contestants. He also had side-gigs hosting such things as the Pillsbury Bake-Off and the Tournament of Roses Parade. Younger people (not so young any more) may know him from his cameo in the 1996 Adam Sandler movie Happy Gilmore.

For more on show business history, please see my book No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous; and keep an eye out for my upcoming Electric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.