The Price is Right star Bob Barker, who hosted the show from 1972 to 2007, has entered the news cycle again after several women have come forward claiming they were sexually harassed on set by members of the crew in the ’90s and ’00s.
Former The Price is Right models Kathleen Bradley and Holly Halstrom detailed instances of alleged harassment on the set in the documentary Dirty Rotten Scandals, including being stared at constantly by male crew members and even being inappropriately touched.
While the allegations have cast a renewed spotlight on the series’ behind-the-scenes culture, Bob, who was not accused of any inappropriate behavior, was also widely known for a different legacy away from the cameras.
The late TV personality was a lifelong animal rights activist who famously signed off the show with the phrase “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.” This love of animals spilled over into his personal life, with the star’s wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon, being an early adopter of vegetarianism, and his long-term girlfriend, Nancy Burnet, founding an animal rights organization in 1987.
His commitment to animals ultimately shaped his lifestyle in other ways. Bob adopted several stray animals over the years, including cats, dogs and ducks, and never felt the need to have children of his own, as he told Esquire. “We didn’t have time for children,” he explained.
“I don’t regret it, not when so many of my friends are having so much trouble with their children. I have 13 ducks, and that’s a lot of work.” Despite Bob’s lack of desire to start a family, he shared in his 2009 memoir Priceless Memories that he enjoyed working with kids on set.
© NBCUniversal via Getty Images“Little kids can be marvelous contestants,” he wrote. “If a little girl or little boy will talk in a natural way with you and you can’t get laughs with him or her, you’re in the wrong business.”
See Bob onscreen with Adam Sandler below…
He was seen as a father figure to many watching at home, as The Price is Right announcer Rod Roddy shared with Deseret News. “He’s a father figure, like the guy on Dynasty. He’s a handsome, stately, older man,” Rod shared.
Bob met his wife Dorothy when he was 15, and the pair eloped in 1945. They were married for 36 years until her death from lung cancer in 1981. “She was with me all the time until she died,” Bob told Esquire. “For some men, maybe a second or third marriage would work out fine. In my case, I had my marriage, and she was the love of my life.”
© NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesHe met his girlfriend, Nancy Burnet, two years after Dorothy’s death, at an animal shelter event in Orange County. Together, they worked to help animals across the world, as Nancy told Fox News.
© FilmMagic“Just about everywhere we ever traveled, we became involved in some animal issue or something,” she explained. After Bob’s death in August 2023, Nancy shared a touching tribute to the late host.
“I am so proud of the trailblazing work Barker and I did together to expose the cruelty to animals in the entertainment industry…including working to improve the plight of abused and exploited animals in the United States and internationally.”
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