What Bob Barker Loved Most About His Time On The Price Is Right
Jobs we hate are an evergreen hot topic. But what about jobs we loved and look back on with fondness and longing? You know the kind. These are workplaces where we made lifelong friends and had loads of fun, despite the tasks piling up all around us. Nostalgia for a position like this only intensifies if you happened to have a great boss. A fat paycheck at the end of each week never hurt the cause either. And if you haven't yet achieved such a milestone, it's still a solid goal for the future.
In Bob Barker's case, he landed a job that on the surface sounds so amazing it hardly counts as work at all. Greeting guests and explaining games on "The Price is Right" wasn't exactly labor intensive. He got to be on TV and surely earned a nice salary in the bargain. Yet even with all the perks he enjoyed, there was one particular aspect he loved most about being on the show.
He had an important message to spread
Barker joined "The Price is Right" in 1972, in the era that marked the release of "The Godfather," the invention of PONG, and the formation of the new wave band Devo (via HuffPost). At 48 years old, he was no newcomer to the workforce, nor to entertainment. He'd already had a radio career, and he started hosting a TV game show called "Truth or Consequences" in 1956. He held onto that job for the next 19 years.
In the meantime, however, another opportunity came along and he jumped on it. Barker started hosting the revival of "The Price is Right," which had originally aired from 1956 to 1965. For a while there, he had two amazing jobs, but the demands on his schedule didn't stop him from making "The Price is Right" his own (via Brittanica).
Barker had a soft spot for animals, and as the show grew more popular, he gained fame and a platform he put to good use. In 1979, he started ending the show with a personal message to viewers. He asked them to "help control the pet population." That message became part of his legacy and made a real difference in how pet owners managed their pets' care. This, Barker told People magazine, was what he loved most about his time on the show. "Particularly close to my heart was the ability our vast popularity gave me to remind our entire audience daily about the importance of spaying and neutering your pets," he said.
Even after retirement, his legacy lives on
Of course, Barker wasn't immune to the other benefits his "Price is Right" position afforded him. By 2021, he was no longer hosting, having retired years earlier. At 97, Barker remembered his work on the show with a winning mix of humor and gratitude. Did he love the pay? Sure, he did! But he also spoke glowingly to People magazine of those he worked with, who deserved just as much credit for the game show's success as its popular host. "I had the pleasure of working with a dedicated and talented cast and crew for 35 great years," Barker noted.
When Drew Carey took over hosting duties on "The Price is Right" in 2007, he set out to put his personal spin on the role, the way his predecessor had. Barker even advised him to go that route. "I knew I could never be Bob, and I wasn't going to try to be Bob," Carey said. "We went out to lunch, and his advice was, 'Don't try to copy me. Just make it your own show.'"
But Carey wasn't about to let go of the message Barker had always felt was so important to convey. He helps preserve Barker's legacy by continuing the practice of signing off each episode with a reminder to spay and neuter pets. "It's been part of the show," Carey told NPR. "I'm more than happy to honor his presence and honor everything [Bob Barker] did for his 35 years and show some respect to that."