Bob Barker: One Class Act
There will never be another Bob Barker.
50 years on TV! What a run.
Some of my greatest childhood memories are sick days spent skipping school. Whenever I could convince my mom I was truly sick (droopy eyes were always good for at least one day at home), I was assured of receiving a catered day on the couch. From being encouraged to drink plenty of liquids (often Sprite and Pepsi among them) to being fed Pine Brothers and Smith Brothers cough drops, daytime television (and library books) were a constant companion. Of course, The Price Is Right was never to be missed. What in it appealed to me as a child I cannot say, but I always felt a touch better whenever I heard the show's jingle.
As an adult I took few sick days when working corporate jobs. In fact, I often went to work ill when I should probably have stayed home. But, such was my work ethic (even if it meant infecting poor innocent coworkers). On those days, though, that I did call in sick, daytime television again helped pass the time. Most of the programming noticeably turned to rubish, but there was always something soothing provided by the consistency of The Price Is Right. How wrong could things be, after all, if Bob Barker was still inviting contestants to play Plinko?
Sure, you might be missing an incredibly important budgeting meeting with a 102-degree fever, but if Bob Barker was on you had a tie to your childhood. Things would again be all right.
Unfortunately, that's no longer the case. After an incredible 50-year run, Bob Barker is entering a well-earned retirement.
What a class act this guy was. You never read about him in trouble, he parodied himself wonderfully in Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore, he encouraged millions to spay and neuter their pets, and he spoke out against wearing fur. You can't get much better than that, I suspect.
50 years on TV! What a run.
Some of my greatest childhood memories are sick days spent skipping school. Whenever I could convince my mom I was truly sick (droopy eyes were always good for at least one day at home), I was assured of receiving a catered day on the couch. From being encouraged to drink plenty of liquids (often Sprite and Pepsi among them) to being fed Pine Brothers and Smith Brothers cough drops, daytime television (and library books) were a constant companion. Of course, The Price Is Right was never to be missed. What in it appealed to me as a child I cannot say, but I always felt a touch better whenever I heard the show's jingle.
As an adult I took few sick days when working corporate jobs. In fact, I often went to work ill when I should probably have stayed home. But, such was my work ethic (even if it meant infecting poor innocent coworkers). On those days, though, that I did call in sick, daytime television again helped pass the time. Most of the programming noticeably turned to rubish, but there was always something soothing provided by the consistency of The Price Is Right. How wrong could things be, after all, if Bob Barker was still inviting contestants to play Plinko?
Sure, you might be missing an incredibly important budgeting meeting with a 102-degree fever, but if Bob Barker was on you had a tie to your childhood. Things would again be all right.
Unfortunately, that's no longer the case. After an incredible 50-year run, Bob Barker is entering a well-earned retirement.
What a class act this guy was. You never read about him in trouble, he parodied himself wonderfully in Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore, he encouraged millions to spay and neuter their pets, and he spoke out against wearing fur. You can't get much better than that, I suspect.
Labels: bob barker price is right
posted by Erik Eckel at 8:33 PM
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