The United States is mourning a true veteran of the TV landscape: Bob Barker, who hosted the game show “The Price Is Right” for over 35 years and several thousand episodes, died on August 26 at the age of 99, according to US media. “It is with deep sadness that we announce the departure of Bob Barker, the world’s greatest host who ever lived,” Variety quoted a statement from Barker’s publisher Roger Neal as saying.
Barker set several records in his long career. With his “The Price Is Right” job in combination with the show “Truth or Consequences”, which he previously hosted, he managed to run a weekday game show for 51 years in a row. “The Price Is Right”, which first appeared on RTL in 1989 under the title “The price is hot” and was moderated by Harry Wijnvoord (74), is considered the longest-running game show on US television.
Drew Carey, 65, who replaced then 83-year-old Barker as The Price Is Right host in 2007, called his predecessor’s death “a very sad day for the Price Is Right family and for animal lovers around the world. Not a single day went by on set that I didn’t think of and thank Bob Barker. I will always carry his memory in my heart.” Carey points out that Barker has always been a strong advocate for animal rights. According to PETA, he was one of the first stars to go vegetarian.
Hollywood star Adam Sandler (56) also made a special farewell to the late Barker. Captioning a series of pictures taken together, Sandler wrote on Instagram: “The man. The myth. The best. Such a lovely and funny guy […]. I loved laughing with him. And I loved being by getting the shit beaten out of him.” Sandler is alluding to a scene from the golf comedy Happy Gilmore, in which Barker guest-starred as himself and got a good beating on the title character.
Bob Barker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame back in the 1970s. He has collected 19 Emmy Awards over the course of his career. December 12 of this year would have been 100 years old.
