Bob Barker and his wife never had the chance to enjoy the trappings of his success following his retirement in 2007. Dorothy Jo Gideon died in 1981, and Barker turned to the single life after leaving “The Price is Right.” In 2007, he opened up to “Good Morning America” about why Gideon would forever remain the one and only Mrs. Barker. “I never had any inclination to remarry,” the widower shared. “She was my wife.” Gideon wasn’t just Barker’s beloved spouse, though. She was also his philanthropic muse and the reason why he dedicated his spare time to animal rights.
“She was ahead of her time. She really was. She stopped wearing fur coats before anyone was stopping,” Barker told “GMA.” “She became a vegetarian before people were becoming vegetarian. And I gradually did the same thing with her.” Over the decades, Barker regularly visited Gideon’s resting place in LA’s famous Forest Lawn Memorial Park. According to the New York Daily News, he paid a touching tribute to his late wife on the 36th anniversary of her death. The then-93-year-old was photographed laying daisies on Gideon’s grave and polishing her headstone while paying his respects.
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However, proving that you can never say never, Barker popped the question to his longtime partner, Nancy Burnet, shortly before his death. “He’s doing pretty well … he’s happy, he’s engaged. He’s just doing remarkably well for almost 99 years of age,” his 79-year-old fiancée, Nancy Burnet, told Closer.
