Mark Davis
More than Sajak, more than Trebek, more than Dawson, Bob Barker deserves his place on the Mt. Rushmore of game-show hosts. Longevity alone would earn him a spot: For more than six decades he hosted Truth or Consequences and The Price Is Right. And when he wasn’t running game shows, he was emceeing beauty pageants, hosting Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day parades, and supplying voice talent for Futurama and SpongeBob.
But outlasting his competition was not his only claim to fame. Barker, who died Saturday morning of natural causes at the age of 99, according to TMZ, always had an edge that the others lacked.
Behind his smooth, professional delivery, there was always a little snark peeking out. And that was pure Barker: on one of his first jobs as a radio announcer on KTTS in Springfield, Missouri, he signed off one night with a not very subtle dig at the drinking habits of a fellow announcer: “This is KTTS—Keep Ted Tucker Sober in Springfield, Missouri.” That wisecrack foreshadowed controversial ad libs that peppered his fifty years in television. With Barker, you just never knew. That’s why you kept tuning in.