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Remembering TV Legend Bob Barker; Wolf Like Me Returns in October on Peacock

Emmy Award-winning television game show host Bob Barker, who hosted The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, has died. He died on August 26 at his home in Los Angeles from complications of Alzheimer's disease. Mr. Barker was 99.

Barker began his game show career in 1956, hosting Truth or Consequences. He started hosting on December 31, 1956 and continued with the program until 1975. He traditionally ended each episode with the phrase, "Hoping all your consequences are happy ones."

He began hosting the CBS revival of The Price Is Right on September 4, 1972. He hosted the show for 35 years until his final episode aired on June 15, 2007. After retiring from the show, he returned for three guest appearances in 2009 to promote his autobiography Priceless Memories, in 2013 to celebrate his 90th birthday, and in 2015 for an April Fools' Day switch where he took Drew Carey's place at the show's intro. He was a 14-time winner of the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host. As an executive producer, he was a 4-time winner of the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1999 Daytime Emmy Awards. He was a longtime animal rights activist. In 1982, he began ending episodes with the phrase: "This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population – have your pets spayed or neutered."

Barker made his acting debut as Mort in a 1960 episode of Bonanza. He played himself in a 1994 episode of The Nanny. He made two guest appearances as Ben Davis, Carly's (Mel Harris) widower father, in Something So Right in 1996 and 1997. In 2001, he played himself in an episode of Yes, Dear. He played himself in a 1998 episode of Martial Law. His voice credits included Futurama, Family Guy (3 episodes), and SpongeBob SquarePants.

He appeared in a 2007 episode of How I Met Your Mother. In "Showdown," Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) is chosen as a contestant on The Price Is Right giving him the opportunity to fulfill one of his life wishes: to meet Bob Barker, who he delusionally believes to be his father.

Barker played himself in the sports comedy film Happy Gilmore (1996). In one scene, he beats up Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) after an altercation arising from their teaming up in a Pro-Am Golf Tournament. He parodied the Happy Gilmore fight in a 2014 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, where he fought Wyatt Spencer after arguing with him.

He was interviewed for The Interviews: An Oral History of Television on July 7, 2000.

Mr. Barker was a true TV legend. He won 19 Daytime Emmys overall for his work on The Price Is Right. He hosted more than 6,500 episodes. We thank him for the many hours of entertainment that he brought us during his 50-year career on television. He will be greatly missed.

We also remember actress and writer Arleen Sorkin. She played Geneva on the Fox sitcom Duet. She died on August 24 in Los Angeles, California, of complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis. Ms. Sorkin was 67.

Sorkin was known for portraying Calliope Jones on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. She appeared in 427 episodes from 1984 to 1990, 1992, 2001, 2006, and 2010. The wacky but lovable Calliope Jones was employed in Liz Curtis's clothing business and her first scenes featured her making a dress for Anna DiMera. One of her trademarks was her endless collections of hats, which were very creative and sometimes very outlandish.

She had a recurring role as Geneva, a sexy maid to yuppie couple Richard (Chris Lemmon) and Linda Phillips (Alison LaPlaca), in 25 episodes of the 1987-1989 Fox sitcom Duet. The cast included Matthew Laurance, Mary Page Keller, Jodi Thelen, Larry Poindexter (1987-1988), and Ginger Orsi (1988-1989).

Sorkin reprised her role of Geneva in three episodes of the Fox sitcom Open House in 1989. The 1989-1990 sitcom was a spin-off of Duet. The cast included Alison LaPlaca, Philip Charles MacKenzie, Mary Page Keller, Chris Lemmon, Danny Gans, Ellen DeGeneres, Nick Tate, Ginger Orsi, and Ray Buktenica.

She guest starred in a 1990 episode of Dream On. She appeared as Rachel, the owner of a monkey, in the final episode of Frasier in 2004.

Sorkin and Paul Slanksy created the 1997-1998 NBC sitcom Fired Up. She was the co-writer of the story and screenplay of the 1997 Jennifer Aniston film Picture Perfect.

She co-hosted the first two seasons (1990-1992) of ABC's America's Funniest People with Dave Coulier. The show focused on people intentionally trying to be funny, doing things such as telling jokes, doing impressions, singing, dancing, performing scripted material, attempting wacky stunts, pulling pranks, etc. She was replaced by Tawny Kitaen for seasons three and four.

Sorkin was the real-life inspiration and voice for DC Comics villain Harley Quinn, co-created by her friend Paul Dini on Batman: The Animated Series. She also voiced the character for episodes of The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Gotham Girls, Static Shock, and Justice League.

She was married to television writer-producer Christopher Lloyd in 1995. He has worked on Frasier, Modern Family and other sitcoms. They had two sons, Eli and Owen.

Ms. Sorkin was a talented and funny actress. We thank her for her onscreen work and voiceover performances as Harley Quinn. She will be deeply missed.

We're having a baby! Season 2 of comedy Wolf Like Me arrives October 19 on Peacock. In the second season of Wolf Like Me, Mary (Isla Fisher) and Gary (Josh Gad) leap into the next phase of their relationship and face their biggest challenge yet: pregnancy. As much as they try to have a "normal" pregnancy, it seems impossible with so many questions looming over them. Will their child be a baby or a wolf pup? Just how long can they keep things secret from the rest of their family? And will what happened in the outback come back to haunt them? But when Mary's former professor, Anton (Edgar Ramirez), suddenly reappears in her life, new secrets from Mary's past are revealed, leaving Mary and Gary to question whether they're even meant to be together. The series stars Isla Fisher and Josh Gad, along with Ariel Donoghue, Edgar Ramirez, Emma Lung, Anthony Taufa, and Honour Latukefu.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:05 PM

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Labels: Bob Barker, Obits, Peacock, The Price is Right, Wolf Like Me