Bob Barker (née Robert William Barker, born December 12, 1923) is an American actor, best known for his role as host of the game show The Price is Right, a job which he has had since 1972.

Born in Darrington, Washington, he grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where his mother taught. In 1939, he met future wife Dorothy Jo at an Ella Fitzgerald concert.

In 1956, he took over hosting of the game show Truth or Consequences. The show made Barker a star, he was clearly a natural whose charisma and charm connected with contestants and viewers. He'd host it for 18 years.

In 1972, Barker began his most famous assignment hosting the CBS revival of The Price is Right. In the three decades of the CBS version, he has become as synonymous with the show as first host Bill Cullen was with the 1950s-60s original.

Barker's wife Dorothy Jo died of lung cancer on October 19, 1981. His mother Matilda Valandra lived with him until her death in 1993.

Barker is an outspoken member of the animal rights movement, and is known for ending each episode of The Price is Right by saying: "Help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered."

In 1993, he was accused of sexually harassing one of the show's models, Dian Parkinson. Ultimately, it was shown that Parkinson initiated the whole affair and Barker was exonerated.

Barker has set a longevity record as holding a five-day-a-week TV job continually for 48 years (2004). He is the oldest game show host of all time and oldest host of a five-day-a-week program of all time.

In 2002, The Price is Right celebrated 30 consecutive years on the air. It is the longest running game show of all time in America, and is also the longest running five-day-a-week daytime entertainment program (and only The Tonight Shows 50 years on the air has surpassed it in terms of overall five-day-a-week American entertainment television programming).

In 2002, at the Daytime Emmy Awards Barker received a lifetime achievement award.

In 2003, Bob Barker celebrated his 80th birthday with a prime-time special on CBS. It featured guest appearances by fan Celine Dion along with friends talk-show host Larry King and actor (and Barker's karate instructor) Chuck Norris. The show also featured taped vignettes from CBS stars like Ray Romano, the cast of Becker, and the cast of Joan of Arcadia

In 2004, Bob Barker was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

Barker has recently had success with a prime time version of The Price is Right. This stemmed from the incredibly high ratings for the 30th anniversary show in January 2002. Since then, the prime time specials have returned in spurts for sweep weeks, sometimes with themes such as honoring the different branches of the U.S. armed forces (army, navy, coast guard, etc...) and American colleges. During the prime time shows, the prizes are more extravagant than in the daytime version, and the cash amounts are higher. Usually $1 million can be won by spinning the big wheel and getting $1.00, and spinning $1.00 on your bonus spin.

External links

IMDB entry http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0054837/