Bob Barker has fascinated me for a long time. Please tell us about him, his life, and his family, so we can know what makes him always so happy.
—V.S., California
Bob Barker, who just turned 80, has hosted The Price Is Right for 32 years. Barker recalls that when he did a show at his college radio station, his wife told him that was what he should do. “She didn’t say I was really good, she simply said that I did it better than I did anything else. And I decided that this is what I would like to do. I found it stimulating, fascinating, exciting, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” says Barker, who has won 15 Emmys during his career. In every show, Barker says he’s looking for contestants who are fun. “You’re always looking for those little nuggets that will make that particular show memorable,” he says. Barker, who relaxes by simultaneously patting his dog, Winston, and scratching his cat, Dulce, recently established the DJ&T Foundation to fund grants, which support low-cost spay/neuter clinics. The foundation is named in memory of his wife, Dorothy Jo, and his mother, Matilda Valandra, who both were animal lovers.
