Bob Barker Passes Away at 99 Transcript

And now here’s the star of the Price is Right… Bob Barker.

I have been blessed in that I have had 50 years doing something that I have thoroughly enjoyed and I’ve been paid for. How good can you have it?

(00:16)
There they are $25,000.

(00:21)
I’m constantly looking for a contestant with whom I can get laughs.

So I had a dream about you, so I had to come down here.

What were we doing in the dream?

You were chasing me in the hayloft.

Bob started his career in radio while he was still in college. And even though when you think of the Price is Right, you think of Bob, his big break was actually Truth or Consequences in 1956.

You very much ladies and gentlemen.

(00:48)
And I became the host of a national television show just overnight. It was the break of my lifetime.

It was 16 years later in 1972 when Bob landed the job he would hold for nearly 35 years.

No matter how tired you get, there’s always a place to take a little rest.

Bob helps thousands of contestants win big on the show, but those wheel spins and car giveaways help him win 17 Emmys, the most of any game show host.

How about that? Give it back now.

Love it.

Thank you.

But in 2007, Bob decided to drop his signature skinny mic and hand the prices right over to Drew Carey.

Drew Carey, come on down. It seemed to me that it was a neat time to retire. The show has been a hit since day one and is still right up there at the top, and I thought this was just a good time to quit.

He wasn’t gone for long though. Bob returned to the show three more times. First in 2009 to promote his autobiography.

And with your permission, I would like to give everyone in the audience a copy of my book.

Then again in 2013 to celebrate his 90th birthday.

Oh, everybody say hi to the birthday boy Bob Barker!

And finally in 2015 for an epic April Fool’s Day prank, taking Drew’s place for a while before handing the reins back over.

Here’s your host, Drew Carey.

Now I’m here because I was selected by the Price is Right to be their April fool. That’s right.

How do you keep in such marvelous shape?

Well, I am a vegetarian and I try to get my rest and I drink.

That sounds like a nice start for my life. I’m going to change it all over to that.

Bob had other iconic gigs. His appearance in Adam Sandler’s, Happy Gilmore in 1996 was his first ever movie role in that fight, comedy gold.

I don’t want a piece of you. I want the whole thing.

ET was on the set with Bob, where at 72 years young, he did his own stunt work.

Let’s go.

Fellas on the Price is Right, we were talking about this in the dressing room and I told him that I was going to be doing this and that I won the fight and so on. And they said, “Well, you got to do it yourself. You got to do it yourself.” And so I suggested that and they’re letting me do it myself. I’m pleased.

(03:30)
Here’s a young man who watched me as he was growing up and look at him. He’s a star. He’s a success.

See that’s what happens.

It could happen to you if you watch me on television.

Bob went on to do cameos and other shows like How I Met Your Mother and Family Guy and even dropped in on the Everybody Loves Raymond set for a gag.

Brad… Hi. Oh, this is Brad? Brad. Brad.

Yes Bob.

How are you? I’ve been your fan for years.

Ah, you’re the guy. Thank you.

Brad.

But perhaps his favorite role was that of devoted husband to his wife of 36 years, Dorothy. The couple met when Bob was just 15 years old and remained together until her death from lung cancer in 1981 at age 57. It was true love for Bob, who always credited his wife with his success.

My wife and I had our own radio show, years and years and years ago, and when we’d go on vacation, we’d be talking about this show. If we had a long weekend, no matter what we were doing, we’d say, “You know, for the show we could…” And it was always the show. The show.

Bob never remarried. And in his later years, he was often seen visiting Dorothy’s grave. But here’s something else most people never knew about Bob.

I am a karate enthusiast. Chuck Norris was my first instructor. I had never even seen karate, let alone do it. And I had Chuck Norris as a guest on Truth or Consequences, and he did a demonstration that was so impressive that I thought, “Ooh, I want to do that.”

(05:01)
Here’s my friend in retirement. She sees more of me and I see more of her and we’re happy about it, aren’t we with Jesse?

And while Bob’s TV legacy is undisputed, he hosted everything from the Rose Parade to the Miss USA pageant and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy’s in 1999.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to all of these nice things said about me, things that in the past only I’ve said about me.

(05:31)
Well, you can’t get too many of them.

He was also universally admired as an animal activist using his platform to raise awareness with his famous signoff.

To help control the pet population, have your pet’s spayed or neutered.

That signoff was immortalized by Eddie Murphy decades later in Shrek 2.

I say, we take the sword, neuter him right here. Give him the Bob Barker treatment.

Well, I’ve always loved animals. I felt compelled to try to do what I could to change the situation.

Bob took a hard stance when it came to fighting for the humane and ethical treatment of animals around the world. He was a vocal campaigner against all forms of animal cruelty and exploitation. Protesting publicly on behalf of his four-legged friends.

Release those elephants and let them go into a sanctuary.

(06:24)
I would prefer that animals were not exploited in any way. Circuses, rodeos, movies, zoos, you name it.

(06:33)
Now, look up there and smile. There you are.

(06:36)
We need more voices like mine and we need more voices, period. I think that the fact that I have the opportunity to be with you on Entertainment Tonight is important. The fact that I have the opportunity to talk about animals to your vast audience is important.

Bob even took on movie studios demanding the ethical treatment of animals on set, no matter how cute and cuddly or large and majestic, Bob was their champion and made no apologies for it.

You get the idea I have an opinion.

You sure do. I’ll tell you that much.

You should see me when I get councilman to listen.

In his later years, Bob was plagued by health problems including a torn ligament in his ankle, prostate surgery, and neck surgery.

I had a carotid artery that had become blocked and I had some surgery from which I’ve recovered very well. Thank you. And I am back at work and we’re grinding out one hit after another.

In 2015, he suffered a bad fall on the sidewalk outside his home.

So I twisted and landed right over here, but my head was up on the cement and so I cut my head all up and cut my knee and scraped it.

Bob recovered from the scrapes and bruises and enjoyed relatively good health well into his late nineties, but we will always remember him for his warm smile and good nature, and the happiness he brought to millions of fans.

I’ve enjoyed the whole thing. I really have.

(08:09)
Where am I going to be? I hope I’m up there looking down on the whole thing. I’d hate to think I’m looking up.

(08:16)
I would like to have them remember me as a man who loved all living things and did all he could during his life to make ours a better world for animals and at the same time did a lot of television shows.