| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | Barker made a guest appearance on The Price Is Right (1972), on April 1, 2015. In fact, he led the first bid and the pricing game, which was "Lucky $even.". |
| 2 | Was idolized by: Bob Goen, Pat Finn, Wayne Cox, Adam Sandler, Rosie O'Donnell, Wayne Brady, Ron Pearson, Jimmy Pardo, Graham Elwood, Todd Newton, Guy Fieri, J.D. Roth and Marc Summers. |
| 3 | Lifelong friends with Wink Martindale, Bill Cullen and Gene Rayburn. |
| 4 | Had feuded with Betty White. |
| 5 | Despite his busy schedule with his daytime show, the job for The Price Is Right (1972) nighttime was given to Tom Kennedy, in 1985. Unlike Barker, and like fellow game show host Bill Cullen, Kennedy's job became too demanding, as well. |
| 6 | Unlike his fellow game show host Richard Dawson, Barker had been kissed by females on his cheek. |
| 7 | Had complained of vision problems while exercising. After a visit to his doctor, he was sent to see a neurologist, who told Barker he had had a mild stroke. He recovered and went back to work to tape the start of the 20th Season of The Price Is Right (1972). [1991]. |
| 8 | The police and rescue personnel were summoned nearby Barker's Los Angeles-area home, where they found the game show host tripped and fell on his head on the sidewalk, where the ambulance rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, for lacerations on his head that were not seriously injured. He was soon recovered. [22 October 2015]. |
| 9 | Won the 2009 WWE Slammy Award for Best Raw Guest Host, just a couple days after his 86th Birthday. [14 December 2009]. |
| 10 | As of 2015, Barker has survived a series of health problems over the years, from a mild stroke, to a carotid endarterectomy, to a stroke, to prostate surgery, to skin cancer, to an adverse drug reaction and finally to a fall. |
| 11 | During GSN's 2009 Game Show Awards, Barker was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by Tom Bergeron. However, prior to the taping of the awards, Barker and Betty White were involved in a feud between the two of them over a plan to relocate an elephant to a sanctuary in San Andreas. In response, Barker threatened that he would not show up at the ceremony if White was there. White did not appear at the ceremony, however taped a dedication to Mark Goodson. [6 June 2009]. |
| 12 | He is known to be a very private man. |
| 13 | His idol was Buddy Ebsen. In fact, when Barker was growing up, he was a huge fan of his. |
| 14 | Is a Republican. |
| 15 | Was a spokesperson for the public service announcement, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), in 2011. |
| 16 | His wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon Barker, died on October 19, 1981, at age 57. |
| 17 | As a young man, he used to listen to Bill Cullen's very first radio show. |
| 18 | Never had any children. |
| 19 | Barker's long life has contributed to exercising, eating vegetables and genetics. |
| 20 | Hobbies: golfing, karate, dining out, pets, gardening and playing games. |
| 21 | Was a spokesperson for the public service announcement, promoting the transition to Digital Television in the United States. The advertisement was produced under the first proposed date of February 16, 2009, for the transition. |
| 22 | Like fellow game show hosts, Bill Cullen, Gene Rayburn, Geoff Edwards and Wink Martindale, Barker was known to be a very busy television personality. |
| 23 | His birthplace, Darrington, Washington, is 46 miles, north of Everett, Washington. |
| 24 | Long lives ran in his family. |
| 25 | Was a semi-regular on Dinah! (1974). The most coincidental thing is her show was taped in the same studio as The Price Is Right (1972). Even more incredible was Barker did original stunts on The New Truth and Consequences (1950), on her show. |
| 26 | Does not sing, act nor dance. |
| 27 | It was his late wife, Dorothy Jo, who had a love for animals, before Barker followed her. |
| 28 | On one of the tapings of The Price Is Right (1972), a young lady had unfortunately chosen to wear a tiny tube top that warm day in 1977, when she sat in the studio audience awaiting that fateful call. When Johnny Olson called her name, she did that and more. As she bounded down the stairs, she was blissfully unaware that her top had slid down to a precarious level. When Barker eventually took the stage, he suspected that the cheers, hoots and hollers were not necessarily directed towards him. |
| 29 | Had a weekly show for Southern California Edison, the electric power company, which aired locally on CBS. With Dorothy Jo, who was his producer, he traveled to two cities a day to visit Edison's "Electric Living Centers," where he interviewed homemakers about the latest electrical wonders. |
| 30 | His mother, Matilda Valandra, died on February 26, 1989. She lived to be 92. |
| 31 | His former The Price Is Right (1972) producer Roger Dobkowitz, along with his wife, Valerie Dobkowitz, occasionally go out dining with him, since retirement. |
| 32 | During his 35-year-run of The Price Is Right (1972), Barker had 82 winning contestants, who were also "Double Showcase Winners.". |
| 33 | On a taping of The Price Is Right (1972), he had a contestant playing 3 Strikes Plus, where somebody partially drew a chip out of the bag, then quickly put it back in before anyone else could see what it was. A few seconds later, the contestant drew the number and won. Although the show's staff has never publicly accused the contestant of cheating, 3 Strikes Plus, was not to be played again. |
| 34 | On The Price Is Right (1972), Barker's producers changed the design of the bag to make it harder for contestants to "peek" at the disks, and they probably figured that was enough of a security. Also from this point until the mid-90s, Bob would often instruct the contestant to 'not look at the number until you have it clear out of the bag.'. |
| 35 | Met fellow game show hosts Wink Martindale and Jim Lange, while working in the Chuck Barris Studios, in Los Angeles, California, prior to becoming a game show host in 1967. The other host in the same studio was Bob Eubanks. |
| 36 | Had a contestant on The Price Is Right (1972) who won $42,695 in cash and prizes, who also won $5,000 on Punchboard and $11,000 on the Big Wheel. |
| 37 | In 2013, Barker made a guest appearance on The Price Is Right (1972) with Drew Carey to celebrate his 90th Birthday. |
| 38 | Is the only The Price Is Right (1972) host, not to give the 'Mountain Climber' any names, as either Hans or Fritz, in the pricing game, 'Cliff Hangers.'. |
| 39 | The first Double Showcase Winner on The Price Is Right (1972), was a newlywed, who won a car in 'Any Number.'. |
| 40 | Announces intentions to retire from The Price Is Right (1972) in June 2007 after thirty five years on the series and fifty years on television. [October 2006] |
| 41 | Release of his autobiography, "Priceless Memories" by Bob with Digby Diehl. [2009] |
| 42 | When one of Chuck Woolery's three sons, Chad, had died in a motorcycle accident in 1986, he wrote a letter to Woolery, expressing his condolences. |
| 43 | At age 26, Barker moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1950, to pursue a career in Broadcasting. |
| 44 | After his 35-year stint as host of The Price Is Right (1972), he retired from hosting game shows, in June 2007, at age 83. Prior to his retirement, Barker made a cameo appearance with Drew Carey to promote his book, 'Priceless Moments,' when he was featured in the showcase, in 2009. |
| 45 | Did not participate in the 40th Anniversary Special of The Price Is Right (1972). |
| 46 | Inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 1980. |
| 47 | Was the most frequent guest on Dinah! (1974). On that show, he was doing original stunts from The New Truth and Consequences (1950). |
| 48 | Mentor and friend of Roger Dobkowitz and Rich Fields. |
| 49 | Another game show that he produced was "Lucky Numbers". It ran on local Southern California television and was hosted by former actor and disc jockey Geoff Edwards. |
| 50 | Ranked #1 on Life's 15 Best Game Show Hosts. |
| 51 | Before Marjorie Goodson co-hosted Classic Concentration (1987) which was produced by her father, Mark Goodson, she appeared on Barker's show The Price Is Right (1972), dancing in a showcase skit. |
| 52 | Had missed only 4 tapings of The Price Is Right (1972) due to illness. Dennis James substituted for him for almost a week in 1974. |
| 53 | On the premiere episode of The Price Is Right (1972), the first three games he got the contestants to play separately were: 'Any Number,' 'Bonus Game,' and 'Double Prices.'. |
| 54 | After fellow game show host Richard Dawson left the second incarnation of Match Game 73 (1973), Barker sat in his former place for the entire week, on the first week. |
| 55 | He became a vegetarian in 1979, out of concern for animals. |
| 56 | Long before Chuck Norris was a successful actor, he made a guest appearance with Barker on The New Truth and Consequences (1950), where Barker first met him. |
| 57 | On the very first episode of The Price Is Right (1972), a contestant who played the game, 'Any Number,' won a Chevrolet Vega, whose price was $2,746. |
| 58 | Collapsed at an L.A. shooting range. He was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was treated for an adverse drug reaction and released. [17 September 2010]. |
| 59 | Ranked #1 as GSN's Top 10 Game Show Hosts of All Time. |
| 60 | Was Ralph Edwards's first choice as host of The New Truth and Consequences (1950). When Edwards was tired of doing double duty for two shows (the other one being This Is Your Life (1952)), he asked Barker to host it, which launched Barker's 55-year career in game shows. |
| 61 | Best known by the public as host of The New Truth and Consequences (1950) and The Price Is Right (1972). |
| 62 | After the original The Price Is Right (1972) producer, Frank Wayne passed away, Barker was promoted to executive producer of the show for 19 years, until his retirement in 2007. |
| 63 | Classmate of Jim Lowe. |
| 64 | Graduated from Drury College, in Springfield, Missouri, with a degree in political science, in 1949, with honors. |
| 65 | Before he was a game show host, he was a news writer. |
| 66 | Played basketball in both his junior high and high school years. |
| 67 | Attended Todd County High School, in Mission, South Dakota, before attending Central High School in Springfield, Missouri, years later. |
| 68 | When he was 15, his family moved to Springfield, Missouri, with his family. |
| 69 | After his mother's second marriage, Barker's family moved to Springfield, Missouri. |
| 70 | Before he was a successful game show host, producer and animal rights activist, he was a radio disc jockey and announcer. |
| 71 | In 1931, when he was only age 7, Barker moved with his mother to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission, South Dakota. |
| 72 | Is the second television personality ever to have hosted a game show longer than anybody else in the business, behind Mike Wallace, but in-front of Vin Scully. |
| 73 | Has a ship named after him that is owned and operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose donation of $5 million to the society facilitated the purchase of the ship. It first started operating for the group in late 2009/early 2010 in its campaign against whaling by Japanese fisheries. |
| 74 | Friends with: Bill Cullen, Gene Rayburn, Charles Nelson Reilly, Alex Trebek, Bob Eubanks, Bob Goen, Geoff Edwards, Wink Martindale, Richard Dawson, Pat Sajak, Pat Finn, Tom Kennedy, Peter Marshall, Monty Hall, Jim Perry, Jim Lange, Chuck Woolery, Chuck Norris, James Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Johnny Carson, Mike Wallace, Joan Rivers, Regis Philbin, Jeanne Cooper, Peter Tomarken, Dick Clark, Larry King, Céline Dion, Rosie O'Donnell, Carol Burnett and Adam Sandler. |
| 75 | Bob Barker is 1/8 Sioux. |
| 76 | Inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in 2007. |
| 77 | Is a very good friend of another retired game show host Richard Dawson, who was also employed at Mark Goodson Productions, for 10 years, as host of Family Feud (1976). |
| 78 | Future The Price Is Right (1972) announcer, Rich Fields, said Barker was his childhood television hero. |
| 79 | Before she became a talk show hostess, Jenny Jones was one of his contestants. She also won several prizes. |
| 80 | Nine days after his birthday, and until Edwards' death in 2005, he would have luncheon with Ralph Edwards, every December 21 of each year, at 12:05 P.M. |
| 81 | Future psychologist Phil McGraw, and his wife, Robin McGraw, were both in the audience on The Price Is Right (1972), during their honeymoon in 1976. In 2007, Dr. Phil paid tribute to him at the The 34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (2007), which was aired after Barker's final episode. |
| 82 | On September 26, 2008, Springfield, MO named a street behind Drury University in honor of him. This street is called Bob Barker Boulevard. |
| 83 | He was not the producers first choice to host The Price Is Right (1972). It was only when Mark Goodson found out that Bill Cullen had a great difficulty walking around the set because it was too strenuous for him. |
| 84 | In 2006, he donated $1,000,000 to Georgetown University to endow a fund at its law school that will focus on the study of animal rights. |
| 85 | On stage after one of his last tapings as host of the Price is Right, he was given an award for his lifetime of animal activism from the spca-LA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Los Angeles) by its President, Madeline Bernstein, and its honorary board member and celebrity animal ambassador, Vicki Roberts. |
| 86 | He announced his retirement as host of The Price Is Right (1972) effective in June, 2007. He later announced the date would be June 15th. (31 October 2006). |
| 87 | Won an MTV Movie Award for his fight scene with Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore (1996), during which he uttered the immortal line, "Now you've had enough... bitch!". |
| 88 | The first game show that he produced was "Lucky Pair". It ran on local Southern California television and was the first game show hosted by Richard Dawson. Dawson would later become host of Family Feud (1976), which was also produced by Mark Goodson, who produced Barker's The Price Is Right (1972). |
| 89 | Created and ran "The Bob Barker Fun and Games Show", which were personal appearances by him at parties and social events. They utilized aspects of his two shows, The New Truth and Consequences (1950) and The Price Is Right (1972). He did these until the mid-1980s. |
| 90 | Is a huge sports fan. In his spare time, he enjoys golf and even martial arts. |
| 91 | Was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in May 2004 by Dick Askin, Chairman & CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Askin is also President & CEO of Tribune Entertainment Company. |
| 92 | Created The Price Is Right (1972) pricing games "2 for the Price of 1," "Bonkers!," "Coming or Going," "Eazy az 1 2 3," "Let 'Em Roll," "Triple Play," and "More or Less". |
| 93 | Is good friends with Rosie O'Donnell, and appeared on her show in 1998, shortly before his 75th birthday. |
| 94 | Before she became a game show hostess, Vanna White was one of his former contestants. |
| 95 | Had nine biggest winners in the 35 years of hosting The Price Is Right (1972): One was a contestant that had won $54,772 in cash/prizes, six years later (3 in the same year), a veteran Marine has won $65,261, in car/prizes, followed by a former Pepperdine University student who won $88,865 in cars/prizes, then, a mother who won $79,845 in cash/prizes. Three years later, a childhood hero of Barker's won $71,377, in prizes. Then, on his 5,000th show, a college student won $60,766 in car/prizes. Six years later, on his 6,000th show, the other contestant won $97,130 in cars/prizes, at the beginning of his final year, a University of Tennessee volleyball player/mother who won $147,517 in cash/prizes, a loyal fan of Barker's who won $98,484 in cash/prizes on his second-to-last appearance and a childhood hero of Barker's, who was born 9 days after the show's debut, won $140,235 on Barker's last appearance. |
| 96 | Appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show (1989) twice. |
| 97 | Appeared on The Wayne Brady Show (2002) for his 80th Birthday. |
| 98 | Enlisted in the United States Navy on November 24, 1942. Was assigned the service number 7033834 and became a naval aviation cadet on June 10, 1943. Was commissioned an ensign on December 6, 1944 and served on active duty until November 24, 1945. Was awarded the American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal. Served as a Flight Officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Remained on the rolls of the Naval Reserve until December 7, 1960, when he was discharged from service as a lieutenant junior grade. |
| 99 | He is a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity. |
| 100 | After filming the 30th Season Finale of The Price Is Right (1972), and only 6 weeks after recovering from a stroke, he was in another health crisis when he underwent prostate surgery at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., to remove his enlarged prostate. His third operation was so successful that he recovered just in time for him to go back to work. (11 July 2002). |
| 101 | 1987: He requested and received permission from The Price Is Right (1972) producers and network executives to stop coloring his hair and allow it to go gray, a move that met with approval from his fans. |
| 102 | Has a half-brother named Kent Valandra. |
| 103 | His father, Byron John Barker, a power-line foreman, died in 1929 from complications after falling off a pole. |
| 104 | December 1999: Had his Hollywood home - a 1929 5,000-sq.-ft. Spanish Colonial Revival-style house - designated a historic-cultural monument by the city of Los Angeles. |
| 105 | Has a black belt in karate. Also earned a red belt in tang soo do karate under Chuck Norris. |
| 106 | A Civil War buff. |
| 107 | Broke the record set by Johnny Carson for hosting the same network TV show continuously, with 29 years, 7 months, 22 days as host of The Price Is Right (1972). (26 April 2002). |
| 108 | Barker and Syd Vinnedge, a senior executive with FremantleMedia (formerly Pearson Television) presented $500,000 to the Harvard Law School to fund courses on animal rights law. The gift is being given by FremantleMedia in honor of Barker's 30 years as host of The Price Is Right (1972) and his long involvement with the animal rights movement. FremantleMedia produces Barker's long-running CBS game show. (2001). |
| 109 | Hosted two of the longest-running game shows in television history. He hosted The New Truth and Consequences (1950) for 18 years, followed by The Price Is Right (1972) for 35 years, surpassing What's My Line? (1950), which had a 17-year run. |
| 110 | Graduated from Springfield Central High School in Springfield, Missouri, in 1941. |
| 111 | From 1967 to 1988, Barker was the long-time host of Miss USA Beauty Pageant. |
| 112 | In 1994, he was sued for sexual harassment by one of the models on The Price Is Right (1972). |
| 113 | Barker was in Washington, D.C. to meet with congressmen to try to get elephants banned from circuses and traveling shows. |
| 114 | Underwent surgery at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC, to clear a severe blockage in his left carotid artery, which carries blood to the brain. (September 20, 1999). |
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