Robert William Barker is a renowned TV game show host famously known for hosting CBS’ The Price is Right. He hosted the game show for 35 years, from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running game show in the history of North American television history.
Bob was born in December 1923, and he will celebrate his 100th birthday this year. He was born in Darrington, Washington, in modest circumstances and joined the US Navy during World War II. While attending college, Bob joined radio as a broadcaster before moving to California in 1950 to pursue his career as a full-time radio broadcaster.
After relocating to California, Bob started hosting his own game show on radio called, The Bob Barker Show. The show ran for six years.
He was hosting a game show in Los Angeles when he was noticed by Ralph Edwards, who was looking for a host for his new game show, Truth or Consequences. The show was to be broadcasted on television, and it was given to Barker as a host.
Truth or Consequences became immensely popular among the masses and continued for nearly two decades – from 1956 to 1975. While he was still hosting the game show, Bob’s popularity was continuously increasing, and he eventually started hosting Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants.
In 1972, Bob eventually rose to stardom after he started hosting The Price is Right.
His accolades include fourteen Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host and four Emmys for his role as an executive producer.
As for his personal life, the game show host married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo Gideonin 1945. The couple stayed together for thirty-six years till Gideonin’s passing in 1981. She died of lung cancer.
“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,” Bob said about his late wife.
A few years after his wife’s death, Barker found himself another partner in Nancy Burnett; the couple has been together for the last 40 years.
Before his 99th birthday, Burnet spoke to Fox News Digital in an interview and said the retired game show host is still in a very good shape and always takes his medicines on time.
“He’s going to be 99, and he takes one prescription medication and that’s for his thyroid. And his health care or anyone who comes in to see him, they’ll say, ‘Well, we’d like a list of his medications.’ I’ll say, you know, let me just show you the bottle. That’s it. So, he does not take anything for blood pressure, cholesterol, the umpteen other things that most people take as they grow older,” she joked.
“He’s in very good health for his age and his humor is still in good shape. He’s had a very charmed life.”
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Source: Fox News
