Robert William Barker, best known as Bob Barker, the face of the game show The Price is Right from 1972 to 2007. Throughout North American television history, he had the longest-running daytime game show, giving him the legendary status in hosting. It’s been a long time since his retirement, and fans haven’t heard much of him in recent years.
Early Life
Barker was born in Darrington, Washington, on December 12, 1923. His father died while he was only a few years old. He resided on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission, South Dakota, with his mother, Matilda. They moved to Springfield, Missouri, after Matilda remarried.
With a basketball scholarship, Barker studied at Drury College in Springfield in the early 1940s after graduating from high school. In 1943, he dropped out of school to join the US Naval Reserve as a pilot.
However, he was not sent to active duty during World War II. As a result, Barker returned to Drury and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1947.
Broadcasting Career
Barker began his career in the media at KTTS-FM Radio in Springfield while going to college in Drury. Bob and his wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon, moved to Lake Worth Beach, Florida, where he worked as a news editor and announcer for a local radio station.
In 1950, he was granted his own radio show, The Bob Barker Show, which he hosted from Burbank for the following six years. He was engaged in 1956 to anchor the daytime TV version of the radio quiz program Truth or Consequences.
Unfortunately, in 1966, the show was syndicated for pushing contestants to perform odd stunts if they didn’t answer a question in under a second. Until 1974, when it was pulled off the air, Barker served as its host.
The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right, which Robert hosted before his stint on Truth or Consequences, was his second game show. There were about 60 different games on the show, each of which challenged competitors to guess the price of a variety of items.
As the first hour-long game show in television history, The Price Is Right premiered in November 1975. It became the biggest daytime game show in 1990, surpassing Truth or Consequences in terms of airing time.
Back on October 31, 2006, Barker announced that he would retire in the next several months. On June 6, 2007, he recorded his farewell episode. The one who replaced him is Drew Carey, who still holds the current role.
Is Bob Barker Still Alive?
Since his goodbye, there hasn’t been much news that fans got about their favorite host. Many are not even sure if the renowned personality is still alive. The good news is, Bob Barker is alive and well. He celebrated his 98th birthday on December 12, 2021.
Current Health Condition
After experiencing falls, which are typical in individuals of senior age, he was admitted to the hospital in 2017 and 2019. When he was still working, he suffered a few cases of skin cancer.
He was not seriously injured in either event. He states that the reason for his long life and strong body is the vegetarian diet he’s been strictly adhering to for over 40 years.
