Who Was Bob Barker’s Wife: Major game shows on CBS, such as ‘The Price Is Right,’ continue to be lucrative and well-respected for one reason: they always have the right hosts. Bob Barker, who hosted the iconic game show from 1972 to 2007, is the most well-known individual to have held the position.
However, he passed away on August 26, 2023, at the age of 99, and many are curious about his family, especially his wife and children. Learn more about his personal existence by reading on.
Who Was Bob Barker’s Wife?
Bob Barker was only married once during his lifetime. He married Dorothy Jo Gideon at the age of 22. Barker and Gideon fell in love when they were children. The deceased couple met in Springfield, Missouri, while attending Central High School.
Barker had recently relocated to Springfield when he asked Gideon on their first date to accompany him to an Ella Fitzgerald concert, and she consented.
During World War II, while Barker was on leave from his training as a Navy fighter pilot, the couple wed in St. Louis. They tied the knot on January 12, 1945. In 2007, the Price Is Right actress disclosed to Esquire, “I was married at age twenty-one; Dorothy Jo was twenty.”
Dorothy Jo Gideon, Bob Barker’s wife, passed away on October 19, 1981, after more than four decades of marriage.
Barker vowed not to marry again after Gideon’s passing, as he tenderly held her memories. “I will never again married. In 1999, Barker told PEOPLE that Dorothy Jo was the joy of his life.
The two were thereafter inseparable, co-creating commercial jingles and living together. “She was always with me until her passing,” Barker told Esquire. “For some males, a second or third marriage might be successful. In my situation, I was married to the passion of my life.”
Even though Barker has been associated with animal rights activist Nancy Burnet since 1983, he has remained loyal to his word, never marrying and preserving the memory of his late wife. On the 36th anniversary of her death, on October 19, 2017, he was photographed with a bouquet of daisies visiting her burial, according to images obtained by the Daily Mail.
Approximately six years later, in August 2023, Barker perished of natural causes. During this period, he was 99 years old.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker, has left us,” his longtime publicist Roger Neal said in a statement.
What Was Dorothy Jo Gideon’s Identity?
Dorothy Jo Gideon was born on February 25, 1924 in Springfield, Missouri, United States. She was previously married to Bob Barker. Dorothy Jo Gideon, wife of Bob Barker, worked in the entertainment industry and advocated for animal rights.
Barker credits Gideon for his own animal activism. In 2009, he said of his late wife on Good Morning America, “She was ahead of her time.” “She was in fact. She ceased donning fur coats before everyone else.”
Gideon, who co-starred with her husband in twenty episodes of the 1970s quiz programme Tattletales, began her career by singing commercial jingles.
“I had been working at a radio station,” Barker revealed on Good Morning America about the couple’s early days in the television industry. And I eventually had the chance to perform an audience participation show… Dorothy Jo heard the news. When I returned home, she told me, “That’s what you ought to do.”
Gideon “became his sidekick,” and she contributed her vocal talents to commercial jingles for radio talent shows in Los Angeles.
According to Barker, Gideon was also influential in his practise of vegetarianism for over four decades. “My wife Dorothy Jo became a vegetarian before I did,” he told Vegetarian Times in 2012. “She prepared delicious delicacies, which I ate. I eventually became a vegetarian. I owe it to her, and I am grateful to her for it, as I believe it has significantly enhanced my life. I am an ardent supporter of it.”
What caused Dorothy Jo Gideon’s demise?
After decades of marriage to Bob Barker, Gideon was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 1981. She perished at the age of 57 on October 19, 1981, just six months after being diagnosed.
Her spouse was profoundly affected by her passing. Kent Valandra, Bob’s half-brother, asserted, “Bob fell into a deep depression and was a completely different individual for two or three years.”
During that period, “I immersed myself in [work],” says Barker. I just attempted to keep myself busy.
Barker established the DJ&T Foundation in 1995 to honour his late wife and mother, Tilly. The charity was dedicated to assisting low-cost spay and neuter clinics in their efforts to control animal overpopulation until it ceased operations.
Bob Barker had any children, right?
The legendary game show anchor Bob Barker was not considered a parent and therefore had no children. During their decades-long marriage, there were no reports of him and his late wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon, having a son or daughter.
“We didn’t have time for children,” Barker told Esquire in 2007, adding that they had no misgivings. I have thirteen ducks, which is a lot of labour.”
