Roger Neal, his publicist, confirmed that Bob Barker, a long-time television personality and a member of the family died on Saturday aged 99.
Neal released a statement saying, “It’s with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Bob Barker, the greatest (master-of ceremonies) in history.”
Barker’s more than 30-year tenure as the emcee for “The Price is Right” saw him change in one significant way: He stopped dying his hair in early 1990s. This was two decades after the show began.
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Barker said that while he was known for his daytime television work and dedication to animals, the most common thing people talked about was a similar event — the fight scene from the Adam Sandler golf film “Happy Gilmore”.
Barker joked, “They say you could really beat Adam Sandler up in real life.” They say you could really beat Adam Sandler in real life. I’d say, ‘Are you kidding? Adam Sandler could not beat Regis Philbin. ‘”
The producers had not originally planned for Barker to appear with Sandler. Sandler, along with others, tried to get Ed McMahon to play the part, Johnny Carson’s sidekick. However, McMahon never responded to their inquiries.
Barker agreed to join the project with two conditions: that the writers would rework the scene so that Barker could beat Gilmore in the fight, and that he could film his own fight scenes instead of having a body-double.
Barker, who had been trained by Chuck Norris and wanted to display his skills, was training with Chuck Norris.
Barker said to Sandler in the filming, “We train every night.” “He helps with my kicks and punches, but I must win this fight.”
