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As a kid too young to fully comprehend the horrors of the ongoing Vietnam War, I became misty-eyed when Bob Barker, then the host of a game show called “Truth or Consequences,” surprised families of military service members by reuniting them with their uniformed relatives onstage as the studio audience cheered.
Whenever I stayed home sick from school, I religiously watched “The Price is Right,” and got a gleeful kick out of correctly guessing the value of a prize package — without going over.
It’s fair to say that Barker, who died at 99 on Saturday, was a major part of my childhood as an inveterate TV fan and game show watcher. The South Dakotan’s silken voice, smooth demeanor and gentle humor — never mean or caustic — made him the absolutely perfect game show host.
And while he retired from an impressive 35-year run on “Price” in 2007, save for a handful of appearances with his successor, Drew Carey, his death also coincides with the end of an era for such classic hosts — from Dick Clark (“Pyramid”), Jim Lange (“The Dating Game”), Monty Hall (“Let’s Make a Deal”), Gene Rayburn (“The Match Game”) and the subversive Bob Eubanks (“The Newlywed Game”) — to beloved “Jeopardy” emcee Alex Trebek, who died of cancer in 2020 at 80, and, with his retirement from “Wheel of Fortune” next spring at age 77, Pat Sajak.
A look back:Game show icon Bob Barker, tanned and charming host of ‘The Price is Right,’ dies at 99
Barker’s unique secret? His commanding (but never intimidating) presence, warm (but never unctuous) smile, an aversion to the leering double entendres of so many colleagues of the era, and most of all, his ease in conveying the feeling that he was just as excited as you were about knowing how much an avocado-green Amana refrigerator might cost. May he forever “come on down” in our memories.
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