Bob Barker Was a Mean Bitch

At least his show didn't offer prizes from Dicker and Dicker of Beverly Hills.

OP- The big American Cars of the 1970's were the last time car had nice styling. By the 1980's cars were FUCKIN ugly.

He's a prominent example of someone whose work in animal rights and rescue gave cover to his general shittiness.

I sometimes keep that channel on for background noise while working. While he certainly had snark then, I remember him being much worse when he stopped coloring his hair. Maybe that was when Dian stopped blowing him and he was very grumpy.

Barker was a real asshole, but didn't come close to Gene Rayburn on Match Game. What a shithead.

Wait 'til you find out what that asshole did to me.

During Covid we watched Price is Right with Drew Carey and boy did we miss Bob's snark. So many contestants were complete morons, bidding $399 after a bid of $400. There's a clip of Barker making fun of contestants who did that as well as other gaffes.

I know he was an asshole of infinite diameter but his slap down of audience members who had no idea how to play the game was priceless.

I was also watching yesterday and there was a cute, little blonde lady that you could tell Bob had a thing for. He was engaging in some light banter with her before the Showcase Showdown. She said she was glad she won some money because she just got a puppy. "I'm sure you're going to have your puppy spayed or neutered?" Bob asked her. She said, "after she has a litter of puppies so I can make some money" was her reply. HAHAHA!!! You can't make this shit up. He basically said "you can't make money from puppies" or something. He was nicer to her than I imagine he'd be with someone else because she was perky, cute and young.

He flashed me when I was only 63!

R8 You should check out the episode when a young and unknown Vanna White was a contestant. Bob practically slipped on the saliva falling from his mouth when she came on down.

He used to do a syndicated show called Truth or Consequences. We got 2 channels when I was a kid, so it was on sometimes despite sucking. On one show he made fun of a challenged person. Not cool at our house as one of my siblings is blind and another is mentally challenged. My older sister fired off a letter that got to ol’ Bob himself. I don’t remember the exact wording but it smacked of who the hell do you think you are? Fuck off. A charmer for sure.

R11 I remember Truth or Consequences. Some of the stunts they pulled on that show were really mean.

Bob Barker - in spite of all his supposed sexual harassment of woman- never seemed particularly heterosexual to me.

Supposedly the ratings went up dramatically when he came out with his "silver fox" hair for the first time. The response was so favorable, he stopped dying his hair immediately. I think I read somewhere he was the first gray haired host on television. R13, I always noted how gingerly and dramatically he handled the game props. His nails were always groomed to perfection. I still think he was a dirty old pussy hound.

Back then, can you think of any TV host (all male, all white) who wasn't an asshole in some way ? That was their shtick - and the audiences loved them for it. Which is why they kept watching every day.

Bob's whole shtick was playing the weary, put-upon host who had to deal with ignorant contestants all his life. His affectionate teasing was always meant to pinch but never wound. Lots of people still found it obnoxious.

Drew has gotten better over the years, but when he first started he was the opposite of Bob, in that if a contestant played cleverly or used a strategy, Drew mocked them for being a nerd. To Drew, TPIR was that dumb show you watched in a waiting room or while you were home sick. Only losers actually knew the rules of the games. I think that mostly stemmed from the hardcore fans, the "loyal friends and true" as Bob called them, didn't welcome Drew with open arms and didn't have much confidence in him. Once Drew started feeling more secure in the role he let up on the scorn for good players.

On the other hand, my scorn for people who can't grasp the concept of bidding on a prize continues to grow unabated. I'm convinced that a substantial number of people don't understand getting closest to the price and think everyone spits out a random number and the winner is chosen through some mysterious process. If you doubt me, take note of how many people screech out "One dollar!" when there are two more players waiting to bid.

Barkers are meant to be colorful, edgy and shaming, with subtle vitriol flowing past by our game show host teeth. The Price is Spite, was more like it.

Rocky the Marine was sooooo dreamy! Spoiler alert: he wins BOTH showcases! He's probably in his late 60s/early 70s by now.

A couple of years ago someone on DL called Dian Parkinson “a straight motherfucking dick pig” and that’s true.

I went to a TPIR and Barker was a cunt. Two of the original four contestants were still in contestant’s row in the second half of the show and he told them “hurry up and make another bad bid, I need to feed my dogs.”

R16 That bugs me as much as Wheel of Fortune contestants who buy a vowel when they know damn good and well it's an "E" at the the end of "TH."

R3 , same can be said of Betty White.

[quote] Back then, can you think of any TV host (all male, all white) who wasn't an asshole in some way ?

Dick Clark on the $10,000 Pyramid wasn't an asshole. Neither was Alex Trebek.

R18 Dayum! Rocky looks like could have stepped out of an 80s gay porn movie about sailors on leave starring Jack Wrangler.

R22 Check out Alex Trebek on old episodes of Classic Concentration. He was a straight up asshole and an old lech whenever a pretty girl contestant was on.

They show episodes on BuzzTV. One time, there was a black contestant on, and one of the prizes on the board was a tanning bed. Alex said to the guy, "Well, you can't use that, but maybe you have some white friends who can."

R24, OK, I believe that. Trebek was an after-thought. Dick Clark, though, does seem unassailably nice.

R25 Although Dick Clark could be a bit of an idiot on American Bandstand. I remember when ABBA made their first appearance on the show, and he called their music "Kraut rock." Oy!

Shocked BB is still alive. Seriously.

One of my favorite Price is Right episodes was when there was a contestant named Penelope. From start to finish, Bob Barker kept pronouncing her name as if the "e" was silent.

"What do you bid, Peneloap?"

"Peneloap, you could win this prize!"

[quote] We got 2 channels when I was a kid,

Why didn't you get all three networks, r11? What year was that?

R27 because miserable, shitty people always live the longest. See Dick Clark (who may have had a "nice guy" persona on TV but was known to be a total dick), Barbara Walters, Jerry Lewis, Trump, etc.

Dick Clark wasn't all *that* old when he died. He was 82. Plus, he had been suffering from partial paralysis for years as a result of a stroke.

He was very nice to me and rubbed my shoulders when I went to the Pyramid, r30.

Same, r27. I used to watch the Price Is Right when I was a kid in the 80s and he looked like an old man even way back then. I can't believe he's still alive. What is he now, 112?

[quote]in spite of all his supposed sexual harassment of woman

Just the one, dear?

[quote]We got 2 channels when I was a kid, so it was on sometimes despite sucking.

Why wouldn’t you concentrate on the sucking?

See, that’s the problem with bottoms back then, they were always distracted.

If you can watch the Barker years, do yourself a favor. It's hilarious. He would never have lasted a week today with how he acted back then. He actually said on one episode that he was a male chauvinistic pig and proud of it,

In one show he stopped the three models as they were walking off and said "come here girls" and they did and he said those aren't mini skirts show everyone what a real mini-skirt is and he had them raise their skirts up high.

And the prices are hilarious, a new microwave would be $700 and a fully loaded car $4,000.

Arlene became the first female game show hostess when she subbed for Bill Cullen on The Price is Right. You could win a house back then. I saw one show where you could win a mink trimmed couch.

A mink trimmed couch?

How gauche.

He was a real dick to Holly and she was my favorite of the models. One time the turntable turned and a folding screen fell down and hit Holly on the head.....

Bob said: Holly will do anything to get attention......

He's 99!!

R36, I really encourage everyone to watch too. The occasional YouTube clip is fun, but to see the shows again in their entirety is total nostalgic fun! I'm surprised the TikTokers haven't gone after some of the shit Bob Barker said on TPIR. Maybe when he finally croaks they will. The female contestants having to reach in Bob's pocket for the $100 bill alone was pervy as hell. I wonder if they told them they have to kiss him on the cheek too?

"Perfect Bid" is a documentary about a man who watched TPIR and took copious notes / data. He ended up competing, IIRC.

When I was little, my dad took us to a taping (Barker days). The studio was small and dinky. All the "come on down" contestants were attractive, young women. During a break, there was a Q&A with the audience. One guy asked: "How come all the chosen contestants are attractive, young women?" The guy who answered said contestants are picked while standing in line to get into the studio, you want someone who will be interesting on TV, blah blah blah.

It is amazing how big those studios look on TV. People are always shocked how tiny they actually are.

Thanks for the great clip, R18. Rocky was hotter than hell. I bet he'd have Momma's mussy bouncing like a Plinko chip! Winning a double showcase is amazing, but frankly both showcases were kind of crappy. Still, it was $68,000 worth of crap in today's dollars. Did anyone else notice the background music for Rocky's showcase was the Monty Python theme? (I know it's John Phillip Sousa, but the association still would have been strong in the 1980s.)

Holly must have taken a sick day when they taped this. During this period the lovely Kyle was the first alternate model that filled in when one of the three were absent, but the blonde in R18's clip doesn't look like her. Am I wrong?

[quote]He's a prominent example of someone whose work in animal rights and rescue gave cover to his general shittiness.

He's not the only one.

R28 There was another episode with a contestant named Pepé.

He kept calling her PeePee.

[quote][R22] Check out Alex Trebek on old episodes of Classic Concentration. He was a straight up asshole and an old lech whenever a pretty girl contestant was on.

The stories I could tell ...

Chuck Woolery (Love Connection) and Bob Eubanks (Newlywed Game) were both cheesy.

[quote] The female contestants having to reach in Bob's pocket for the $100 bill alone was pervy as hell.

I vaguely remember that. That is pervy as hell.

Holly was probably my favorite of the old school presenters. She won a large settlement for Bob's harassment. But - the case was long and drawn out. She said she lived in her car for a while.

Looking up Holly ....

All of those old game show guys were so pervy. Remember Richard Dawson on Family Feud? He practically molested the hot young female contestants.

I miss Dick Clark slurring in the New Year DRUNK. OFF. HIS. ASS!!!

R51 That was just him being all strokey.

Allen Ludden was an asshole?

And I've always been suspicious of Betty White. Maybe just because Bea Arthur hated her.

The things you learn on Datalounge! Oh and what about that snarky guy that hosted the Newlywed Game. So hot!!

sorry R48 - Bob Eubanks, yes, him!

Dick Clark was a bit handsy with me, r50.

Just wait until OP finds out why Barker's Beauties kept getting rotated off the show.

Paternity Suits, come on down!!!!

[quote] Paternity Suits, come on down!!!!

Old time Hellcat pilots were studs

[quote]Dick Clark was a bit handsy with me, [R50].

I was molested.

Him and Dick Clark seemed cut from the same cloth- and I never really liked either of them.

Dick Clark had an affable public persona, but he was a total asshole IRL.

On May 2, 1960, Dick Clark concludes his second day of testimony in the so-called Payola hearings—testimony that both saved and altered the course of his career. If Alan Freed, the disk jockey who gave rock and roll its name, was Payola’s biggest casualty, then Dick Clark was its most famous survivor.

At the Payola hearings, Clark would testify to holding an ownership stake in a total of 33 different record labels, distributors and manufacturers that all profited handsomely from the rise of Clark-anointed stars like Danny and the Juniors and Frankie Avalon. One of the companies in which Clark had a financial interest was Jamie Records, the label that made Duane Eddy famous and returned a tidy profit of $31,700 to Clark on an initial $125 investment.

“Believe me this is not as unusual as it may seem,” Clark told the Payola committee. “I think the crime I have committed, if any, is that I made a great deal of money in a short time on little investment. But that is the record business.”

[quote]Him and Dick Clark

Oh, dear!

For those who want to watch, the 1980s Price is Right channel is on Pluto TV, which is free.

Most game show hosts seem very phony. They emit a "used car salesman" vibe. Off camera, I sense their arrogance, cruelty, and egomania.

I don't know if he was mean, but it's well known he was a horny old coot. He loved animals, that much I do know, so I doubt he was truly mean. Well, unless it was toward someone who needed to be treated badly.

[quote]I saw one show where you could win a mink trimmed couch.

That sounds heavenly!

This IG account is fun, it is composed of clips from 1970s/1980s Price Is Right episodes of contestants winning cars.

Their showcase stories are so over the top, like Johnny Olson dressed like Elton John.

I wonder how many times Barker had romps with Holly and Diane over at the Farmer’s Daughter Hotel! It’s located right across the street from CBS.

R69 He never fucked Hollie. He was repulsive to her and he thought she was too fat to be a model.

Bob's late wife Dorothy Jo always looked kind of dykey to me...

I assumed it was one of those "lavender marriages"

R66 For a PETA activist, he sure loved to batter the beaver!

When Dorothy Jo was asked the secret to their long marriage, she said (paraphrasing), "We had the most important thing in common: I was head over heels in love with Bob, and so was he."

We never endured such shenanigans on Concentration.

Shenanigans are normal on a game show set

I would certainly sexually harass the current Price is Right model James.

Oh good Lord, Barker’s wife looks like a man.

To me, Bob always pinged to high heaven.

There was a 20-something girl who made it up on stage in the early 80s. A close-up shot showed her looking at Bob and she eventually said, "You look like a mannequin." Holy shit she pissed him off. He tried to make light of it but you could tell he was pissed.

[quote] Most game show hosts ... emit a "used car salesman" vibe. Off camera, I sense their arrogance, cruelty, and egomania.

Yes, used car salesman vibes. Also -- I'm sure all of these guys felt that hosting a game show was beneath their talents and dignity. Pat Sajak probably thought he should have been in movies.

Instead of walking red carpets and rubbing elbows with George Clooney, they're kissing fat ladies from Flyover.

Someone older, post-peak, with a sense of humor would be good. Didn't Rosie O'Donnell and/or Roseanne Barr want to host TPIR? That would be great to see Rosie O. host TPIR. She's be hilarious.

[quote] Pat Sajak probably thought he should have been in movies.

He was a local weatherman who fell into the job of a lifetime. I've never seen any sign he had the pomposity you project on to him

R80 He may not be pompous, but he's an asshole, all right.

Sajak is MAGA-adjacent. He got ripped for posing with MTG at some right-wing event.

Bob Barker ate so much showcase pussy his mouth looked like a glazed doughnut.

[quote]I'm sure all of these guys felt that hosting a game show was beneath their talents and dignity.

Gene Rayburn definitely did.

One of the most likable things about Peter Tomarken was that he clearly reveled in being a game show host and acknowledged the cheesiness of it.

Richard Dawson seemed to throw himself into the job (Family Feud). I don't think the kissing on the lips would be tolerated, now, though.

Does James have *an* OnlyFans?

No way r86! He would be fired in a week.

Then there was that other Family Feud host

Take it from someone who works at “the front office” of aircraft. A lot of people get deluded into thinking their station in life is greater than it really is.

Barker, Sajak, Convy, and that douche from Love Connection all share this delusion. They happen to be men of a certain generation that fell into a wonderfully lucky and lucrative job. But they’re still plain white (blue collar) white trash.

At least Alex Trebek tried to learn a thing or two from each evening’s categories and guests. Regardless of the tanning bed story told upthread.

When I was 14, I'd rush home from my freshman year of high school to jerk off to Rolf Benirschke hosting the afternoon addition of Wheel of Fortune.

At the time, I had no idea he was battling a debilitating bout with Crohn's disease and that his ass, that I lusted after, was probably really leaky and stinky.

I was crushed when he was replaced with that facsimile of a human being, Bob Goen.

R83- I think he sucked a lot of showcase COCK .

[quote] I'd rush home from my freshman year of high school to jerk off to Rolf Benirschke hosting the afternoon addition of Wheel of Fortune.

You shouldn’t have left school early.

Oh, DEAR!

^^What is the damage with our grammar and spelling trolls? What happened to them that makes them feel the need to correct grammar/spelling errors on a bullshit entertainment forum where people type their stream of consciousness thoughts? It's just so sad, pathetic and downright odd.

The first guy who replaced Richard Dawson on Family Feud committed suicide. I forget the details - seems like he was married with five or six kids. Ray Combs? I think that was his name.

I liked him. He had a fetching sense of humor. I wonder if they were gonna fire him though because Dawson was such a HUGE success, and under Combs, the ratings probably sank.

R95, yes, it was Ray Combs. IIRC, there's an E! True Hollywood Story about him. Lots going on behind the façade. He seemed like a nice but troubled guy, IIRC.

Janice Pennington's second husband disappeared while mountain climbing. I wonder if she was triggered by the Cliffhangers game.

R94, we are an erudite bunch here and will not tolerate ignorance, nor will we permit this site to sink to Facebook level. If you don’t want to be called out for your poor grammar, proofread or learn proper grammar.

And if you’re offended by someone anonymous posting a snarky comment in response to your error, you have bigger problems than they do.

r98 get a fucking life. It's a bullshit internet forum, not a legal brief. And half the posters on this site are fucked up on a variety of substances at any given time.

R65 love it

[quote]we are an erudite bunch here

Well, not exactly erudite. Extremely stereotypical gay men? That's more accurate.

Claudia Jordan (black woman), a former TPIR presenter, spilled some gossip. She said that Bob found out that one of the white woman presenters had slept with Smokey Robinson. Bob didn't like the idea of a black man and a white woman sleeping together. So, Bob had the woman fired.

We can *feign* erudition, r101...

[quote]Claudia Jordan (black woman), a former TPIR presenter, spilled some gossip. She said that Bob found out that one of the white woman presenters had slept with Smokey Robinson. Bob didn't like the idea of a black man and a white woman sleeping together.

Interesting. Did that mean Bob didn't go all horndog on Claudia? Because she was gorgeous. She also was a briefcase model on Deal or No Deal.

[quote] She also was a briefcase model on Deal or No Deal.

Figures

He's a fussy old queen, and his beard marriage to Dykey Jo fooled only the frauiest of fraus.

I always assumed Rolf Benirschke got his job by servicing Merv Griffin.

I hope he didn't lose control of his bowels while doing that, R107.

His health problems got worse in the 1979 season, when, on the team plane coming home from a road trip, Benirschke collapsed. He underwent two surgeries to remove his large intestine and he was in the intensive care unit for weeks. When released from the hospital, he weighed only 123 pounds and had to adjust to life with two ostomy appliances. His ileostomy was eventually reversed in a Kock pouch procedure.

Figures...

That fuckin' whore wasn't satisfied flashing her shit in Playboy.,

He lost his whole large intestine at 24. Wow! He's had ostomy bags for fortysomething years.

Old perv Bob trying to get Dick pig Dian to flash her titties on morning television. What a perv.

Bob did seem mean-spirited at R112. He does ping to me, now. Yes, his hands are a little creepy and too well-maintained.

Bob!

I always hated how after a contestant would lose a game, Bob would practically shove them off the stage.

Ugh! The thought of Bob Barker on top of me about to cum is nausea inducing.

Imagine all the tanning oil being smeared all over you while he bumps and grinds r116!

You think he made Dian swallow?

Dian ended up with a bleeding ulcer from working with Bob, so I say yes R118

[quote]You think he made Dian swallow?

Merv made me do it.

he was friends with betty white, he had to be.

r99 you like us, you really like us.

I've always preferred the old lush Richard Dawson.

Interestingly, Richard was a teetotaler.

Richard Dawson was very handsy with the young female contestants.

[quote]Richard Dawson was very handsy with the young female contestants.

Harrumph.

[quote]Interestingly, Richard was a teetotaler.

Could have fooled me! To me he always gave the impression that he was buzzed, especially on [italic]Match Game.[/italic]

I miss Brett Somers. That old lush.

I miss her and Charles.

Richard Dawson wasn't so bad.

Watching clips of Match Game on Youtube is fun. They taped a whole week's worth of shows in one day and they drank their way through each taping. By the Thursday and Friday shows they were all completely bombed. That's when the questions and answers got really heavy on the sexual innuendo.

No, r121, he wasn't.

But knowing his taste in dykey women, I'm sure he was on Team Bea.

My mom was a big fan of Bob Barker and Jerry Lewis. She had the worst taste in people.🙄

R133 At least your mom didn’t have a thing for Jerry LEE Lewis!

Actually I have a brother named Jerry Lee!😆

[quote]Actually I have a brother named Jerry Lee!

Tell me you're white trash without telling me you're white trash.

Bob fucked Dick Pig Dian in the back of that VW Bus.

The contestant looks like he could be Dustin Diamond’s dad.