Game Over for Bob Barker: Host of The Price Is Right, dies at 99
Bob Barker was a prominent American television game show host, best known for hosting The Price Is Right on CBS from 1972 to 2007. Before that, he spent 18 years as the host of Truth or Consequences. Prior to his television career, Barker worked in radio, where he hosted his own program, The Bob Barker Show.
Personal life
Bob Barker married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo Gideon, in January 1945. Their marriage lasted 36 years until Dorothy’s passing in 1981. The couple had no children, and Barker never remarried.
In 1989, he began a relationship with former beauty pageant winner Dian Parkinson, which ended in 1991.
Barker had a long-term relationship with Nancy Burnet, an animal rights activist. The two met in the early 1980s and remained close companions for decades. While they never married, Burnet was a significant presence in Barker’s life and supported his advocacy for animal welfare, a cause they both deeply cared about.
How did Bob Barker die?
Bob Barker passed away at his home in the Hollywood Hills on August 26, 2023, at the age of 99.
It was revealed after his passing that he had been privately battling Alzheimer’s disease for several years—a diagnosis kept confidential by his longtime companion Nancy Burnet and his publicity team.
According to his Los Angeles County death certificate, secondary health conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia), and hypothyroidism also contributed to his death.
Burial
He was buried next to his late wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
Quotes
""Networks decide who will have a chance to do shows, but it is the viewers who make the final decision of who stays and who goes. I am very fortunate, in that the television viewers of our country have decided that Bob Barker can stay."
""I'm a vegetarian - I think there's a strong possibility, had I not become a vegetarian, I would not be working now. I became a vegetarian about 25 years ago, and I did it out of concern for animals. But I immediately began having more energy and feeling better."
""Many people have the idea that game shows are easy to come up with. And nothing could be further from the truth."
""I'll tell you one thing, in what I do for a living, there's no substitute for experience. I don't care how much natural talent you may have... In the type of show I do, you can depend on surprises."
""You can't fool television viewers with dancing girls and flashing lights."