Bob Barker, Longtime Host of ‘The Price Is Right,’ Dies at 99

variety.com:

Carmel Dagan Emmy Award-winning gameshow host Bob Barker, who spent five decades associated with “The Price Is Right” and “Truth or Consequences,” has died.

He was 99. “It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us,” Barker’s publicist Roger Neal said in a statement on Saturday.Barker was cited in the Guinness Book of World Records for his consecutive appearances hosting gameshows and doling out hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and prizes over the years before Alex Trebek surpassed him.

Barker hosted “The Price Is Right,” the longest-running gameshow in TV history, for 35 years, retiring in June 2007.In “The Price Is Right,” enthusiastic contestants are invited by the deep-voiced announcer to “Come on down” and play mini-games based on guessing the cost of merchandise.

Barker was a strong advocate for animal rights, and donated millions of dollars to animal neutering programs. He was known for ending his shows by saying, “And remember folks, always spay or neuter your pets!”“The Price Is Right” was the last man standing in the daytime gameshow genre at the time, having survived 12 years after its last competitor had been canceled. (CBS would later revive daytime gamers in 2009). “The Price Is Right” continued on the network under host Drew Carey.Barker held a weekday TV job continuously for 51 years, which included his years on “Truth or Consequences.”He won 19 Emmy Awards in total, including 14 for gameshow host, more than any other performer.