Iconic game show host and animal rights activist Bob Barker has died at age 99.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us,” publicist Roger Neal stated in a statement this morning.
After being discovered hosting a show on the radio in the mid 50s, Bob became host of the TV show, Truth or Consequences which he continued to host until its cancellation in 1975. Bob is best remembered for hosting The Price is Right from 1972 until his retirement in 2007.
As children, to many of us, Bob and The Price is Right were required viewing when home sick from school. In fact, bedrest, plenty of fluids and Bob Barker seemed to be the best way to cure whatever ailed an elementary school student back in the day.
Of course, Bob’s fame reached an entirely other level in 1996 when he played himself opposite Adam Sandler in the movie Happy Gilmore.
More than just a game show host, I am sure Bob would most want to be remembered for his role as an animal rights activist who for many years ended his shows employing people to have their pets spayed or neutered.
In case it’s not patently obvious, at 99, Bob appears to have died of natural causes.
