Come On Down!
As the host of The Price Is Right for 35 years, America grew up with Bob Barker. Hundreds of children across North America had Bob Barker nursing them through their “homesick” days—The Price Is Right is an American institution, and so is its host. However, Bob Barker might not be as squeaky clean as his television image might present.
1. He Was Proud Of His Heritage
Born in 1923 to Matilda and John Barker, Bob Barker grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission, South Dakota. His father was a quarter Sioux, and his mother was a teacher at the Reservation school. Barker was always proud of his heritage: “I've always bragged about being part Indian because they are a people to be proud of. And the Sioux were the greatest warriors of them all”.
2. He Found Love Early
Barker was among the few people who got lucky in love early in life. His family had left the Reservation by the time that Barker had reached his teenage years, and he attended high school in Missouri. One night, he met Dorothy Jo Gideon at an Ella Fitzgerald concert; he was 15. However, he and Dorothy would only be parted for one brief period from that point on.
3. He Didn’t Wait
Although Barker joined the Navy Reserve during WWII and trained as a fighter pilot, he never saw combat. However, the chance of doing so loomed for Barker just as it did for any other man at that time. So, Barker and Dorothy Jo Gideon didn’t wait for the conflict to end. Barker was on leave on January 12, 1945, when he and Gideon married. Once joined, only a higher power would part them.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
4. He Had A Passion
Barker attended Drury College (since been renamed Drury University) on a basketball scholarship, and graduated summa cum laude in economics, but it was neither of these things that spoke to him. Barker was meant for something bigger, and his first media job at KTTS-FM Radio in Drury’s hometown of Springfield got him started on that path.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
5. He Put His Career First
Barker and Dorothy traveled several times for the sake of Barker’s career. Their first move took them to Lake Worth Beach, Florida where Barker served as news editor and announcer for a station in Palm Beach. While Barker did well there, it wasn’t until he moved to California that his career truly began to take off.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
6. He Had His Own Show
Barker and his wife moved to California in 1950. In Burbank, they allowed Barker to host his radio show, The Bob Barker Show, which ran for six years. However, Barker did not sit idly, enjoying his success, during this time. Barker’s life could have been much different if he hadn’t taken every opportunity that came to him.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
7. He Took Opportunities
Despite hosting The Bob Barker Show, Barker continued to take other opportunities when they came to him. One of these opportunities was hosting an audience participation show in Los Angeles. The show, which was on KNX (AM), allowed Barker’s voice to reach a wider audience—including game show producer, Ralph Edwards.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
8. He Stepped Into A New Role
Truth or Consequence was an American game show that ran from 1940-57 on radio, and from 1950-1988 on television. The game show played off of the premise of “Truth or Dare”, designed to ultimately force contestants into ridiculous and embarrassing stunts. Although forgotten by most audiences today, Truth or Consequences propelled Barker’s career to new heights.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
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9. He Had The Voice
During its original radio run, as well as the first four years on television, Ralph Edwards hosted the show himself. In 1954, Truth or Consequences switched hands for the first time, with Jack Bailey stepping into the host role and Edwards remaining in a producing role. As the show was looking for another resurgence in 1956, Bailey was out and Edwards needed a new host. Barker sounded perfect—literally.
10. He Left Radio Behind
Listening to Barker on the radio engaging with the audience during his LA audience participation show, Edwards liked Barker’s style. He liked the sound of Barker’s voice. Barker got the job, and he first appeared as the host of Truth or Consequences on December 31, 1956. Barker would never return to radio again. His career as a television host had begun, and the only direction was up.
11. He Wasn’t In The Mix
From 1956 until 1963, Mark Goodson and Bill Todman ran The Price Is Right, a game show in which contestants bid on items in an auction-style format with the aim to get their price closest to the price of the item. It gained wide popularity during its initial run. Which is why Goodson and Todman were looking to revive it in 1972—without Bob Barker.
12. He Didn’t Want It
Bob Barker has become synonymous with The Price Is Right. It is almost impossible to imagine a world in which he was not a part of. However, in the early days of the show’s revival, that was the case. Initially, Goodson and Todman were shopping for their modern adaptation with Dennis James as the host. That’s the show that NBC bought. Barker didn’t want a part of it.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
13. He Respected Others
NBC bought the nighttime syndication of The Price Is Right with James as host. However, CBS also expressed interest in the series. A series that needed a host. Now was the time for Barker, who was still working on Truth or Consequence, to come into the picture. CBS wanted Barker as their daytime host; yet the had a problem: Barker didn’t want to be involved.
October 16 1972 Dennis James Price is Right, Game shows n weather
14. He Tried To Refuse
CBS and the public viewed Dennis James as the “NBC” host. More than that, there was fine print in James’s contracts that complicated the matter. CBS wanted Barker. However, Barker didn’t want to step on James’s toes. He even offered to host a different show (The Joker’s Wild, which was also struggling to find a host), to leave The Price Is Right open for James. CBS wouldn’t have it.
October 16 1972 Dennis James Price is Right, Game shows n weather
15. He Was The Host
In the end, this back-and-forth didn’t matter. Dennis James has been mostly forgotten by history, and when The Price Is Right aired on CBS on September 4, 1972, Bob Barker was its host. However, James did make one appearance as the CBS daytime host—in Barker’s 35 years with The Price Is Right, James was the only host to replace Barker for any period of time.
16. He Never Missed
For one week in December 1974, daytime audiences saw Dennis James as the host of The Price Is Right, not Bob Barker. Barker had been ill and missed a single day of tapping (approximately four to five episodes). James filled in. He was the only man to do so. Still, it wouldn’t be long until Barker took his job too.
17. He Crept Ahead
Initially, James’s nighttime version of The Price Is Right held higher ratings than Barker’s CBS daytime show. However, the tide began to turn in the late 70s. When the show’s contract with NBC ended in 1977, NBC did not pick it back up. CBS swooped in to take the reigns—however, they had one stipulation.
18. He Took Someone’s Job
Now that CBS owned both the primetime and the daytime variations of The Price Is Right, they saw no reason to keep Dennis James around. They opted not to renew James’s contract. Instead, they put Barker in the primetime host spot to keep both shows in line. Barker hosted the nighttime Price is Right until it ended in 1980. His career was set, but his personal life was about to crumble.
Broadcasted in NBC, Wikimedia Commons
19. He Lost It All
While the 80s continued to be a time of great success for Barker’s career, it was a period in which Barker also had to deal with great grief. In early 1981, doctors diagnosed Barker’s wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon, with lung cancer. She passed six months later on October 19, 1981. Barker was never the same after this loss.
20. He Threw Himself Into Work
Over the next few years that followed the loss of his beloved wife, Barker threw himself more deeply into his work. It was also around this time that he started to become known for his animal activism. Barker had been a vegetarian for several years, thanks to his late wife, and he began to be more vocal about the cause.
21. He Became An Activist
These days, Bob Barker is famous for speaking about his passion for animals. However, it was something that did not appear until the early 80s. It wasn’t until 1982, that he began ending every episode of The Price Is Right with the now famous, “This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population—have your pets spayed or neutered”. Barker credits Dorothy for his passion.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
22. He Kept Her Alive
Dorothy inspired Barker to become involved in animal activism. He told Good Morning America that his late wife had been ahead of her time, stating that she stopped wearing fur coats long before others. Although he did not say it, it seemed activism may have been part of Barker’s way of keeping his late wife’s memory alive. It also brought love back to him.
23. He Refused To Remarry
The loss of his wife devastated Barker. He wouldn’t even consider marrying again. He stated, “For some men, maybe a second or third marriage would work out fine. In my case, I had my marriage and she was the love of my life”. However, that didn’t mean that he didn’t find love once more, and in the most unlikely of places.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
24. He Met Another
It would take two years for Barker’s heart to mend enough to consider looking for anything close to love again. In March 1983, Barker hosted an animal adoption event along with actor Earl Holiman. It was here that he met Nancy Burnet, a fellow animal activist who just so happened to know nothing about the now-famous Barker at all.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
25. His Love Grew From Passion
Some might think that Barker was a catch because of his growing fame. However, it didn’t interest Burnet. She barely knew what The Price Is Right was. It was Barker’s involvement with the spay-neuter campaign that interested her. She approached him as one activist to another—and love grew from there.
26. He Changed His Mind
Bob Barker and Nancy Burnet remained companions for the rest of Barker’s life. However, they never married. They never even lived together. They kept their lives separate, and they were happier that way. Or at least, they thought that they were. In the end, Barker might have wanted something more after all.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
27. He Couldn’t Win Her Over
Although Barker initially stated that he never wanted to remarry, Burnet reported that he changed his mind as the pair got older. Burnet claims that Barker proposed to her many times. Burnet always refused. Barker reportedly went as far as drafting a prenup for them; Burnet never signed it nor revised it. She was happy with things exactly the way that they were, and Barker would rather keep her as a companion than nothing at all.
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28. He Didn’t Have Time
Barker may have regretted not getting Burnet to walk down the aisle with him. However, he never regretted his choice to not start a family. Despite two long relationships, Barker never had a child with Dorothy or Burnet. He felt that he was too busy with his career, and did not want to have a child who he did not have time for. His career and his activism were his legacy; he put a lot of time into each. However, sometimes they clashed.
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29. He Took A Stand
Bob Barker was the host for the Miss USA pageant on CBS from 1967 to 1987. To date, he is the longest consecutive host for the show. He could have carried on for much longer. However, the Miss USA pageant went against his principles, and Barker opted to stand by them, even at the risk of his career.
Miss USA 1977- Traditional Walk & Crowning
30. He Stepped Down
As Barker got deeper into his animal rights activism, he began to see the injustice in the use and creation of furs. In 1987, he demanded that the Miss USA pageant remove furs from their list of prizes. When they refused, Barker stepped down as host, ending his 20-year run of doing so. This would be the start of Barker’s troubles.
Miss USA 1977- Traditional Walk & Crowning
31. He Made Accusations
The Miss USA pageant was one of the least explosive stands that Barker took when it came to animal rights. In 1989, things took a far more dramatic turn when he decided to join forces with the United Activists for Animal Rights (led by his partner, Nancy Burnet), and turn their attention to the American Humane Association.
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32. He Spoke Out
Barker took a stand against the American Humane Association around the same time that he was stepping away from the Miss USA pageant. He, along with Burnet, spoke out about the harm to animals they claimed to have evidence of on several movie sets. The American Humane Association was responsible for the animal welfare on these sets. They were not happy with Barker and his claims.
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33. He Was Sued
In response, the American Humane Association sued Barker for $10 million. They sued Barker, along with the United Activists for Animal Rights and Burnet, for libel, slander, trade libel, interference with prospective business relations, conspiracy, and false-light invasion of privacy. They reported they needed to take a stand least people believe they were guilty of animal cruelty. Barker didn’t back down.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
34. He Avoided Trouble
The American Humane Association felt that Barker’s accusations were based on a two-year-long “vendetta” rather than actual sources. Regardless, it dragged on for nearly five years. In 1994, Barker’s insurance company settled the suit, though they only gave out a fraction of the money. They paid $300,000 instead of the original $10 million. However, Barker’s troubles were just starting to rise.
35. He Had Beauties
The American Humane Association was not the only person to hit the television personality with a lawsuit. The lawsuits that followed for Barker were far more personal. Models have long been a part of The Price Is Right. Often known as “Barker’s Beauties”, they would display the prizes. That name would take on a far more sinister meaning in the wake of Barker’s next lawsuit.
36. He Parted Ways
Among the “Barker Beauties”, there were some who were almost as much of an institution to The Price Is Right as Bob Barker himself. Dian Parkinson started with The Price Is Right in 1975. She remained until she left in 1993, supposedly to “pursue other interests”. That motive came under question only one year later.
37. He Was Accused
In 1994, only a year after leaving The Price Is Right, Parkinson landed Barker with a lawsuit for sexual assault and harassment. According to one source, Parkinson claimed that Barker would use his position to proposition her for “favors” that she felt she could not refuse lest she lose her job. Barker had a different story.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
38. He Defended Himself
As the allegations began to swirl and the lawsuit continued to get more traction, Barker felt that he had to comment. In Barker’s version of the story, he and Parkinson did engage in a consensual relationship. It was only after Barker called things off that Parkinson began to speak out in revenge for ending things. They were pitted together, one story against the other. Who did you believe?
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
39. He Was In A He Said-She Said
The lawsuit quickly turned into a mess of “he said-she said”. Without any “evidence” to back her claims up, the lawsuit ran itself in circles. In the end, Parkinson dropped her lawsuit due to the stress that it caused her. It negatively impacted her health. The fight wasn’t worth it for Parkinson—but it also wasn’t over for Barker.
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40. His Troubles Continued
A year later, another “Barker Beauty” stepped forward to take on [corroborate?] Parkinson’s case. Holly Hallstrom was another model that had been with The Price Is Right since the 70s. They dismissed Hallstrom in October 1995, supposedly because she had gained 14 pounds thanks to a new prescription. That, in and of itself, is a scandal. However, what Hallstrom claims really happened is worse.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
41. He Needed Control
According to Hallstrom, the reason that they fired her was not because she had gained weight. Rather, it was because Barker wanted her to publicly claim on talk shows that Parkinson was lying. Hallstrom did not want to become involved, nor run the risk of perjury, so she refused. In Hallstrom’s version of events, Barker fired her after this.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
42. He Sued
Hallstrom refused to go quietly. Immediately after her firing, she went public with her version of events. Barker and the show began receiving livid letters from the fans. So, Barker sued her for libel and slander. However, he dropped the suit two days before it went to trial, and he was ordered to pay her court fees. The case would follow Barker for the rest of his life.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
43. He Defended Himself Poorly
Barker went on to say in a 2002 interview that they fired Hallstrom due to business; they were streamlining the show and that made Hallstrom unnecessary. He further went on to say that if her weight had been her reason for being fired, “we would've fired her years ago”. If he was attempting to control the narrative, he could have chosen better words.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
44. He Got Countersued
Hallstrom countersued Barker for discrimination against her age, weight, and need for medicine. She won a sizable payout. However, it could have been more. She refused a higher payout as it came with the nondisclosure agreement against Barker. Following these lawsuits, The Price Is Right lost two more models and several players behind the scenes. This paused the troubles, but it did not stop them.
A & E Biography (1999)-Bob Barker, Andre T.
45. His Troubles STILL Continued
If Barker thought that would be the end of his troubles, he would be sorely mistaken. In 2007, around the same time he announced his departure from the show, another employee, Deborah Curling, stepped forward to speak out against Barker’s controlling behavior towards her. She directed her lawsuit at Barker and other producers.
CBS tv, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
46. He Was Tarnished
Curling claimed that there were several reasons that Barker and the producers went after her, creating a work environment so deplorable she had to quit. Among those reasons were the color of her skin—Curling was Black—and her having testified against Barker in another lawsuit. In the end, they dropped this lawsuit too, though the damage was already done.
Iaksge, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
47. He Continued The Fight
They dismissed Curling’s lawsuit against Barker in 2009. However, it seemed Barker wasn’t quite done fighting yet. It was around this time that Barker was getting into a more unusual feud. This time with Hollywood sweetheart, Betty White. Barker called Betty White his “Sworn Enemy”—and the reason for this? Well, the entire feud was over an elephant.
David Shankbone, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
48. He Wanted Freedom
In 2009, America was divided on the matter of Billy, an elephant at the LA Zoo. Billy exhibited behavior that animal professionals felt showed he was in distress and uncomfortable. Barker supported the move to a sanctuary; White wanted Billy to stay at the zoo. It got so contentious that at one point, the pair refused to be in a room together.
Rebecca Roth, Wikimedia Commons
49. He Refused To Go
In 2009, Barker was up for a lifetime achievement award at the Game Show Awards. Betty White was set to attend as well to make remarks about Mark Goodson, another awardee. Barker stated he would not come if White was there. In the end, White pre-recorded her comments and did not show. This was as tense as the feud ever got. White won, and Billy is still in the LA Zoo today. Barker would go on to other fights, for a time at least.
Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
50. He Was An Icon—Wasn’t He?
Bob Barker passed at the age of 99. He had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for several years, though Nancy Burnet remained at his side through it all. While most of America celebrated him as a hero and icon, there would always be a few questions about his past, and those who wondered which version of Bob Barker was the truth.
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