Bob Barker, longtime ‘The Price Is Right’ host, dies at 99

MicroWave@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 771 points – Bob Barker, longtime ‘The Price Is Right’ host, dies at 99
nbcnews.com

When producers hired Barker to host “The Price Is Right” in 1972, they hit the jackpot. The game show had faded significantly from its glory days in the late ‘50s and had been punted by two networks before it landed at CBS.

66

So close to 100 without going over. :(

Holy shit that's genius. He got us, he really got us.

Damn, I'm totally stealing that. Bravo.

It’s the first comment just about everywhere this is posted on the internet, so you aren’t the only one.

How appropriate that International Dog Day is today. Bob was truly a hero to our furry friends. "The Price is Wrong, bitch!" lol.

Fun fact Bob Barker wasn’t only like “spay and neuter your pets”, he also gave $5MM to Sea Shepherds which is a little more “proactive” of an animal rights group.

He also spent $1 million getting 3 elephants transported to a sanctuary. Truly an ambassador for the animal kingdom.

he also gave $5MM to Sea Shepherds

Enough to get an entire ship named after him!

He donated $3.1 million to his alma mater here in my city, and it was enough for the university to establish an animal studies program.

Wow. 99! That's impressive, he had a long life. RIP

I always remember it was so fun as a kid to watch The Price is Right with my grandma when I'd miss school. Those were seemingly mundane moments then, but I'd give anything to go back for just one episode like that again. Good times.

When I was a kid and too young to stay home alone in the summer I would go to my grandma's and we would watch The Price is Right! That would have been in the very early 90s... I miss grandmas house lol

After a close family friend of mine died, I sat on the floor and watched old episodes of price is right on youtube. I felt like I was 5 years old again

I’d give anything to go back for just one episode like that again.

Check out the Pluto.TV streams! They run a 24/7 stream of old TPIR episodes. It's ad-supported, but it's free and doesn't require an account.

Thanks! I meant to go back to my childhood, on a carefree day, and have fun watching it with my grandma. But I appreciate it!

LOL, I also used to watch TPIR with my grandparents, too! My mom would drop me off with them during the day while she went to work. I've got a lot of fond memories of watching the show with them. Even into my adulthood, they used to bring up TPIR whenever they'd call me, and tell me about all the great prizes they saw people win. They used to live in the area and went to a few tapings, too. I'm not sure who in the family it was that took their belongings when they died, but somewhere there's a Polaroid of my grandparents with Bob, Diane, Jan, and Holly. I wonder if I can find out who has it and get a scan of it somehow.

I really do miss those days, though. Simpler times.

I will always remember him as the guy I watched on TV when I was too sick to go to school.

We had a vcr and three tapes.

I will always remember him as the guy who beat up Happy Gilmore.

Ha! Exactly right! I was not the healthiest kid and I remember being home sick and watching The Price is Right a bunch of times. Don't forget to spay and neuter your pets.

Wow. I didn’t realize he was that old.

I will always associate The Price Is Right with staying home sick from school.

How do you do, fellow late-x/early millenial? Spent many a sick or "sick" day watching cartoons and then Price at 10AM. Good times.

Me too, but everyone was always watching it in college.

For me, it's let's make a deal and the British version of who's line is it anyway.

(Still with the geniuses Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles)

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Don't forget to have your pet spayed or neutered folks!

Damn. I mean, I knew it was going to happen soon, given he was 99. But still, damn.

For anyone interested, Pluto.TV has been running a 24/7 channel showing a bunch of Price is Right episodes from the 70s and 80s for a few years now. I often put this on my TV for background noise while I'm working, because that show just has such an amazingly fun energy, largely due to Bob's presentation. I'm gonna be watching some TPIR tonight, I guess. Gonna miss ya, Bob.

https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/5f7791b8372da90007fd45e6

I could've sworn he was already dead. I guess I'm from a different universe and have a good memory, it's the only logical explanation.

He retired from hosting the show a while ago (Drew Carey has hosted since 2007). Maybe that’s what you remember, and somewhere along the line, your memory mistakenly replaced “retired” with “died”.

That’s my boring, single-universe guess, anyway.

Entertainers who stop entertaining do tend to lead to assumptions that they passed away.

I knew he didn't die then, I guess I just thought he retired for health reasons as opposed to old age. idk.

I thought so too, I guess I combined him with Alex Trebek’s death.

When I was touring the country with a marching band the daily joke was “Bob Barker Died” because most of us wouldn’t keep up with news.

Sad to hear that he’s gone, but it seems like he lived a good life.

Satan: “Come on down!”

/s RIP Bob, absolute legend.

Other than the same memories you all have of being sick and watching during elementary school, when I was older my friend and I had off campus privilege in high school and we would go to her house quick where her grandma would make us sandwiches and we would watch him the price is right.

Well, time to watch some price is right on pluto for the rest of the day I guess!

Fkn sexual abuser, good that's hes fkn dead what a POS human

Elaborate

One of the models from the show (you know, "Barker's Beauties") sued for harassment in the 90s, arguing that he forced her into sex to keep her job. He acknowledged the relationship, but said it was consensual, and I don't think anything came of the suit.