Robert William "Bob" Barker (born December 12, 1923) is an Emmy Award-winning American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right since late 1972, making it the longest-running daytime game show in television history.

Childhood

---

Born in Darrington, Washington, he grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Rosebud, South Dakota, where his mother, Matilda ("Tillie") Valandra, was a schoolteacher. His father, Byron John Barker, was an electrical power foreman who lost his life in a fall from a utility pole in 1929. Bob has a half-brother, Kent Valandra, from Matilda's subsequent remarriage. Both Tillie and Kent have joined the studio audience for numerous tapings of The Price Is Right.

College

---

Barker attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri on a basketball scholarship. He was a member of the Epsilon Beta Chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity at Drury. His education was interrupted by World War II. Barker served in the Navy as a fighter pilot. However, the war ended before he was assigned to a seagoing squadron. After the war, he returned to Drury to finish his education, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in economics. He was hosting an audience-participation radio show in Los Angeles, when game show producer Ralph Edwards happened to be listening and liked Barker's voice and style. 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 would host it for 18 years.

More on [ Bob Barker ]

Subscribe to Barker,_Bob RSS feed