Bob Barker had a long career on The Price Is Right, even appearing on the show long after Drew Carey took over as host. However, he and the show have become the focus of a new docuseries. Since then, a few figures close to him have shared a bit about Barker over the years. In particular, one friend discussed a rather tense time for the star.
Bob Barker Hosted The Price Is Right From 1972 To 2007, But Still Made Appearances Nearly A Decade Later
Many know Barker best as the host of The Price Is Right, a role he had from 1972 to 2007. Even after retiring, however, he continued to make appearances well into 2015. He was also known as an advocate for various groups, including the United Activists for Animal Rights and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
In 2023, Barker died at his Los Angeles home at the age of 99. This followed several years of the host dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that his publicity team had kept hidden from the public.
Recently, Barker’s time on the show was touched on in a new E! docuseries, Dirty Rotten Scandals. At the time, Barbara Hunter, a friend of Barker’s and a producer on his show, shared that one death hit him particularly hard: his wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon.
Bob was married to Dorothy, his high school sweetheart, from 1945 to her unexpected death in 1981. She was 57 at the time, with lung cancer being reported as her cause of death.
One Source Claimed That Dorothy’s Death Led To A Surprising Change In Barker
Looking back, Hunter shared, “They went to Hawaii in August and she was diagnosed with lung cancer and died two months later.” She continued, noting that the game show host reached a dark point in his life: “Bob really went into a funk after that. He was ready to take his own life. That’s what he shared with me.”
Holly Hallstrom, who was one of “Barker’s Beauties” on the long-running game show, similarly shared, “He was devastated, really, by her death. There was a long period of mourning.”
The model noted that Barker came out of this a changed man. She shared, “All of a sudden, he became Mr. Man About Town, you know? He knew he was the star of the biggest show in daytime.” She also claimed, “Dorothy Jo wasn’t there anymore, keeping him reined in.”
In 1995, Hallstrom filed a suit against Barker, claiming that she was fired from the show after not giving false information to the media regarding former series model Dian Parkinson. As Radar Online noted, the year prior, Parkinson filed a suit against Barker alleging sexual harassment while working on the show. The suit was later dropped, with Parkinson claiming that stress from the suit was impacting her health.
The E! series takes a look at what happened behind the scenes at various shows. Previous episodes focused on The Dr. Phil Show and America’s Next Top Model.
What is your reaction to this recent share? Have you been following the docuseries? Did you watch Bob Barker on The Price Is Right? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest TV and celebrity news.
John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.
