Stylish host Bob Barker, who made a name for himself in American households for more than half a century with his “Truth or Consequences” and “The Price Is Right” game shows, has died. He was 99 years old.
Barker, who was also an animal rights activist, died Saturday morning at his home in Los Angeles, said his agent, Roar Neill.
“The pioneering work that Barker and I have done together to expose cruelty to animals in the entertainment industry and even improve the conditions for abused and exploited animals in the United States and internationally is heartening,” she said in a statement. , I’m very proud of that.” Nancy Burnett, a longtime friend and co-executor of the former presenter’s estate.
Barker retired in June 2007 with his own declaration before a studio audience: “I thank you, thank you, thank you for inviting me into your homes for over 50 years.”
Barker was working for radio in 1956 when producer Ralph Edwards invited him to audition as the new host of “Truth or Consequences”, a show in which viewers could participate in some outlandish stunts – “consequences”. – If they don’t. managed to answer one question – “the truth” – which was the final joke of the impossible-to-answer puzzle. (Question: What did one eye say to the other? Answer: Something stinks between us here).
In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Barker recalled being told he had been hired: “I knew exactly where I was, I knew exactly how I felt. Happened: I hung up the phone and said to my wife, ‘Dorothy Jo, I got it!'”
Barker stayed with “Truth or Consequences” for 18 years, including several years in its versions for various television networks.
Meanwhile, he began hosting a revived version of “The Price Is Right” that would air on CBS in 1972. (The show’s original host in the 1950s and ’60s was Bill Cullen.) This game show would go on to become the longest-running on television, and the last game show as opposed to the dozens that existed in the beginning.
“I have grown old at your service,” Barker, with his permanent gray and brown hair, quips in a prime-time television flashback to the mid-1990s.
CBS said in a statement that daytime television had lost one of its “most iconic stars”.
“We lost a beloved member of the CBS family today with the passing of Bob Barker,” the television network said. He added, “He made the dreams of countless people come true and when he said ‘come here’ everyone felt like a winner.”
In total, Barker recorded over 5,000 shows in his career. He said he was leaving because “I’m getting to the age where it’s too much for me to be there and physically do the show…” Better to leave a year too early than leave a year too late . He was replaced by comedian Drew Carey.