The long goodbye to "The Price Is Right" host Bob Barker begins in earnest next week, as CBS honours the legendary host five decades on television.
"After 50 years in show business and 35 years on CBS, we want to give Bob a prime-time send-off befitting of an entertainment icon,'' Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement.
Barker, 83, started his national television career in 1956 on "Truth or Consequences,'' which he hosted for 18 years. Then, in September 1972, came "The NEW Price is Right," so named because it was a remake of a show first launched in 1956 and hosted by Bill Cullen.
The show was dreamed up by rookie producer Bob Stewart and hosted by Bill Cullen. But the show might never have happened at all. A rehearsal before their first broadcast was so bad, the network told Stewart, "We'll give you seven weeks of money, as if you were on the air, and let's forget the whole thing," he recalls.
The producer fought for, and won, a 13-week run, not knowing "The Price Is Right" would be a hit, would become the highest rated daytime game show and the longest running game show in television history.
Barker has hosted every episode except three -- Dennis James subbed for him briefly in December 1974 because of an illness. These days, a scheduled taping is postponed in the event that Barker is unavailable.
Barker would go on to win 17 Emmy awards -- 13 as TV host (more than any other performer), three as Executive Producer of "The Price Is Right" and the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award for Daytime Television in 1999. He was installed into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2004.
Part of what has made the show so appealing is that anyone can become a contestant, just by showing up for a show taping. So even now, people come from all over to line up early for one of the 325 seats in the studio, just to hear those words, "Come on down! You're the next contestant on 'The Price Is Right'!"
For generations of fans, Bob Barker is "The Price Is Right," with skills admired by other TV hosts.
"I would honestly steal from him," admits "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek.
Barker has an easy-going charm that is adored by fans. The affection is mutual. For Bob, it started the first time he heard an audience laugh.
"I thought, 'That's a beautiful sound. I'm going to try to make them do that again.' And that's what I've been doing for 50 years on television," the television legend says.
Barker plans to travel with his brother and devote more of his time to his daily exercise regimen in retirement.
He also plans to continue working with his animal-welfare charity, the DJ&T Foundation. Named for his late wife, Dorothy Jo, and his mother, Matilda ("Everybody called her Tilly," he said), the organization provides grants for spay and neuter services nationwide. Barker has financed the program since he established it in 1995.
