Bob Barker Dies: Longtime ‘Price Is Right’ Host Was 99

Bob Barker, the iconic host of The Price Is Right, has died. He was 99.

Barker passed away Saturday morning of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, his publicist Roger Neal told the Associated Press.

The legendary television personality hosted The Price Is Right from 1972–2007. Barker was also an avid animal rights activist and urged viewers on the game show to “have your pets spayed or neutered.”

Barker was a 19-time Daytime Emmy Award winner, with 14 of those awards in the Outstanding Game Show Host category for The Price Is Right.

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He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys in 1995, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1976.

Born Robert William Barker in Darrington, Washington, on Dec. 12, 1923, Barker grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He was a member of the Sioux tribe.

He attended Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. He joined the Navy Reserve in 1943 during World War II, but did not serve on active duty.

Barker landed his first media job during college at KTTS-FM Radio in Springfield, Missouri. He later worked at WWPG 1340 AM in Palm Beach, Florida, before moving to Southern California.

He hosted the self-titled radio program, “The Bob Barker Show,” in Burbank for six years.

Barker started hosting Truth or Consequences in 1956, replacing original host Jack Bailey. He remained with the show from 1956 to 1975, and was also asked to host and produce the CBS revival of The Price Is Right in 1972.

He taped his final episode of The Price Is Right on June 6, 2007. He told the audience, “I thank you, thank you, thank you for inviting me into your home.”

Barker was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2004 and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2008.

He married high school sweetheart Dorothy Jo Gideon in 1945. Gideon died in 1981. The couple never had children.