The death of the legendary Bob Barker was confirmed at the weekend, just a few months before the TV host would have turned 100.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us,” Barker’s rep, Roger Neal, shared in a statement on Saturday, August 26.
In the wake of Barker’s death all manner of tributes have flooded the internet, while it has been confirmed that there will be no funeral or memorial service held despite his high-profile status.
Though Barker resonated with many people over the course of his long and storied career in the entertainment industry, few can claim to have known him half as well as Nancy Burnet.
According to TODAY, Barker and Burnet had a romantic relationship that began in the early ’80s, though Burnet revealed that their connection had “evolved into more of a friendship” toward the end of Barker’s life.
Even so, Burnet remained an extremely close companion to the 99-year-old, and opened up on his final days in an interview this weekend…
To say that Bob Barker is a legend of TV almost doesn’t do his career justice. Born in 1923, Barker moved to California in 1950 to pursue a career in broadcasting. He later hosted various game shows, as well as the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants between 1967 and 1987.
It was in 1982, however, that the Washington-born host got his big break through The Price is Right.
Making a return to television – its predecessor’s run had ended in 1963 – The Price is Right proved a massive hit, propelling Barker to fame in the US.
Barker would remain host of the celebrated show, which became one of the longest-running game shows in TV history, until 2007. After departing the role, the much-loved TV personality preferred to keep himself out of the spotlight, though he did return for several appearances before his definitive retirement in 2015.
Following his death, Barker will reportedly be laid to rest beside his wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon, at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills. After falling in love while in high school, Bob and Dorothy were married some 35 years before her death from lung cancer in 1981.
In 1983, Barker then met Nancy Burnet at an animal adoption event, with the two bonding over their common ground where protecting and caring for pets and wildlife was concerned.
The pair soon began to meet for lunches and dinners together, though Burnet says neither one of them had any intention of remarrying.
“When we started seeing each other, that was one of the things we talked about at the beginning, about ever remarrying or anything,” Burnet said, as per TODAY.
“And he said ‘No, no, he would never remarry.’ And I said, ‘Perfect because I have no intention ever remarrying.’ And then some years passed, and he proposed many times.”
She added: “I think it was in 2011, maybe, he had his attorney draw up a prenup and sent that to me. I just didn’t accept that. I didn’t want to. I just never wanted to remarry, to anyone. And so we just continued on as we were.”
The couple would remain close all the way through the Bob’s final days, with Burnet describing him as a “friend and companion”.
“I did oversee every aspect of his health, of his care,” she added.
“Even in his final stages, he wasn’t that gaunt. You know, some people at that age are very gaunt and thin and frail. He was not.
“I was in touch with the caregiver nurses every day, all day, and they checked in with me at night, if ever there was a problem and I was speaking with them until late … It was my pleasure to do it. To make sure that he was cared for in a way that everybody should be, frankly, but not everyone has that benefit that he did.”
As for the incredible legacy Barker leaves behind, Burnet said:
“A lot of people did appreciate him or enjoy his work or certainly appreciated what he did for animals. He was aware, of course, of all of that. He was always grateful for it.”
Rest in peace, Bob Barker, and thanks for all the incredible memories.
Please join us in paying tribute to an iconic TV personality.
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