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E!’s latest documentary series, Dirty Rotten Scandals, delves into a challenging chapter in the life of iconic daytime host Bob Barker.
Those who collaborated with Barker on The Price is Right disclosed how he grappled with profound grief after the death of his wife, Dorothy Jo Barker, who succumbed to lung cancer in 1981 at 57.
“They went to Hawaii in August and she was diagnosed with lung cancer and died two months later,” shared The Price is Right producer Barbara Hunter, according to People.
Interviewees on the docuseries described Dorothy Jo as Barker’s “biggest cheerleader.” The couple had enjoyed nearly four decades of marriage before her unexpected passing.
Hunter further revealed, “Bob really went into a funk after that. He was ready to take his own life. That’s what he shared with me.”
Later, Holly Hallstrom, a model on The Price is Right, claimed Barker’s attitude changed behind the scenes and began to impact the show.
“He was devastated, really, by her death,” Hallstrom revealed in the doc. “There was a long period of mourning. And then, all of a sudden, he became Mr. Man About Town, you know?”
Hallstrom claimed Dorothy Jo kept him “reigned in” when they were together.
“He knew he was the star of the biggest show in daytime, and Dorothy Jo wasn’t there anymore, keeping him reined in,” she said. “It was like he was unleashed and turned into this narcissistic egomaniac.”
Barker later began dating his girlfriend, Nancy Burnet, in 1983, two years after Dorothy Jo’s death. The couple stayed together until he died in 2023 at the age of 99 from natural causes.
But Hallstrom claimed Barker and Burnet were known to have arguments on set that impacted production after he allegedly had an alleged affair with Dian Parkinson.
“It took a toll. There was fighting on the sets, yelling, and it was massive. And it ultimately, I think, destroyed The Price is Right,” she said, per People.
Dirty Rotten Scandals: The Price Is Right will premiere with two episodes March 18 at 9 p.m. ET on E!
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