Television host Bob Barker dies

Robert William “Bob” Barker, iconic game show host and animal rights activist, died on Saturday at the age of 99. He holds the record for the longest game show career in television history. He retired in 2007 with a total of 19 daytime Emmy awards.

How did he get into television? He began his rise to fame in 1950 with his on-air broadcast, The Bob Barker Show. Six years later, Barker began his 18-year stint hosting the television program Truth or Consequences. He made four short-lived attempts to start other game shows before CBS enlisted him to host The Price is Right in 1972. Barker hosted the popular show for 35 years.

Barker spent part of his childhood on a South Dakota reservation and was a member of the Sioux tribe. He served in the Navy in World War II. After his wife Dorothy Jo’s death in 1981, Barker devoted himself to animal rights and donated millions of dollars to the cause. He ended every show by reminding viewers to have their pets spayed or neutered. In the 1990s, Barker was the subject of several lawsuits over sexual harassment and workplace discrimination on the show. He has no surviving family.