BOB Barker had an amazing career ranging from his start as a U.S. Navy pilot to his beloved 35-year stint as host of Price Is Right before retiring in 2007 - and his death at 99.
The iconic television star's achievements include 19 Emmys, a Guinness World Records award, and being inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame - but Bob had humble beginnings enlisting as a Naval Aviation cadet when World War II broke out.
TAKE FLIGHT!
Bob was born in Darrington, Washington, in 1923, but he was living with his mother, Matilda, and his stepfather, Louis Valandra, in Springfield, Missouri, when he enlisted.
His father, Byron, died in 1929 from complications of injuries he had endured through his line of work as a power line foreman.
After finishing high school in Springfield, Bob received a basketball scholarship to Drury College but dropped out to join the U.S. Navy in 1943.
He reported to William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, for his initial ground school and then began his pre-basic flight training at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
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Bob continued on to the University of Georgia for Preflight School; the Naval Air Station (NAS) Millington outside of Memphis, Tennessee, to fly a N2S Stearman trainer; and then reported to NAS Beeville in Texas to fly a Vultee SNV Valiant, according to avgeekery.com.
Completing more flight training in Texas, Bob was commissioned as Ensign Robert Barker USNR.
Bob's time as a U.S. Navy Aviator brought him to Daytona Beach, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois.
By the time the war ended, he was discharged as a lieutenant junior grade.
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RISE OF A STAR
Eventually, Bob returned to school at Drury College in Springfield, where he majored in economics and graduated summa cum laude in 1947, according to The New York Times.
While Bob was back at school, he began his first job in radio at KTTS where he was a disc jockey, news writer, sportscaster, and producer.
After earning his degree, Bob traveled to work at WWPG in Palm Beach, Florida, and then KWIK in Burbank, California.
The famous television host got his big break in 1956 when a producer named Ralph Edwards discovered him at a Los Angeles radio station.
Through the connection, Bob became the host of Truth or Consequences - an NBC radio game show mixing trivia with stunts - from 1956 to 1975.
CLAIM TO FAME
Bob was selected as the host of The Price is Right in 1972 and held an impressive 35-year run before his retirement in 2007.
His iconic tag line at the end of each episode was: “Help control the pet population.
"Have your pet spayed or neutered."
Aside from his time spent on game shows, Barker was a well-known animal rights activist.
GETTING PERSONAL
In 1945, Bob married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo Gideon.
She was diagnosed with lung cancer six months before she passed away in 1981.
In 1999, Bob told People: "We fell in love as kids and we stayed in love."
After her death, Bob claimed he would never remarry.
"Dorothy Jo was the love of my life," he reportedly said at the time.
ICON GONE
The famous host reportedly passed away on the morning of Saturday, August 26, 2023, in his home due to natural causes.
He was 99 at the time of his death.
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His publicist Roger Neal said in a statement: "It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us."
Bob is survived by his half-brother, Kent Valandra, and his longtime friend Nancy Burnet, a fellow animal rights activist who had been overseeing his care.
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