Bob Barker, Game Show Host

Born: 12 December 1923
Birthplace: Darrington, Washington
Best Known As: The host of TV's The Price Is Right
Bob Barker was the host of TV's Truth or Consequences for 18 years before signing on to host the popular game show The Price Is Right in 1972. (He succeeded the original host, Bill Cullen.) The show, in which contestants try to guess the price of potential prizes, is the longest running game show in television history. Barker has won 12 Daytime Emmys for his hosting and producing talents, and in 1999 he was given a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement award. Barker is also a well-known advocate for animal welfare and animal rights.


Bob Barker (born Robert William Barker in December 12, 1923) is an American actor, best known for his role as host of the game show The Price is Right, a job which he has had since 1972.

Born in Darrington, Washington, he grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where his mother taught. In 1939, he met future wife Dorothy Jo at an Ella Fitzgerald concert.

In 1956, he took over hosting of the game show Truth or Consequences. The show made Barker a star, he was clearly a natural whose charisma and charm connected with contestants and viewers. He would host it for 18 years.



Barker's wife Dorothy Jo died of lung cancer on October 19, 1981. His mother Matilda Valandra lived with him until her death in 1993.

Barker is an outspoken member of the animal rights movement, and is known for ending each episode of The Price is Right by saying: "Help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered." He forced CBS to stop offering Porsche cars as prizes after one appearance when he learned they were involved in animal testing. CBS goes out of its way to offer prizes that do not violate Barker's animal rights views.

In 1993, he was accused of sexually harassing one of the show's models, Dian Parkinson. Ultimately, it was shown that Parkinson initiated the whole affair and Barker was exonerated.

Barker has set a longevity record as holding a five-day-a-week TV job continually for 49 years (2005). He is the oldest game show host of all time and oldest host of a five-day-a-week program of all time.

In 2002, The Price is Right celebrated 30 consecutive years on the air. It is the longest running game show of all time in America, and is also the longest running five-day-a-week daytime entertainment program (and only The Tonight Show's 50 years on the air has surpassed it in terms of overall five-day-a-week American entertainment television programming).

In 2002, at the Daytime Emmy Awards Barker received a lifetime achievement award.



In 2004, Bob Barker was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

Barker has recently had success with a prime time version of The Price is Right. This stemmed from the incredibly high ratings for the 30th anniversary show in January 2002. Since then, the prime time specials have returned in spurts for sweeps weeks, sometimes with themes such as honoring the different branches of the U.S. armed forces (Army, Navy, Coast Guard, etc.) and American colleges. During the prime time shows, the prizes are more extravagant than in the daytime version, and the cash amounts are higher. Usually $1 million can be won by spinning the big wheel and getting $1.00, and spinning $1.00 on one's bonus spin.