Bob Barker Celebrates 99th Birthday As Longtime Girlfriend Gives Update On His Health

The legendary television personality Bob Barker, who famously hosted the game show “The Price Is Right” from 1972 until 2007, is celebrating his 99th birthday today. To mark the occasion, Barker’s girlfriend of nearly 40 years Nancy Burnet is speaking out to let fans know how he is doing, assuring them that he’s in “very good health for his age.”

Barker Turns 99

“He’s going to be 99, and he takes one prescription medication and that’s for his thyroid,” Burnet, 79, told Fox News. “And his health care or anyone who comes in to see him, they’ll say, ‘Well, we’d like a list of his medications.'”

“I’ll say, you know, let me just show you the bottle,” Burnet continued with a laugh.”That’s it. So, he does not take anything for blood pressure, cholesterol, the umpteen other things that most people take as they grow older. He’s in very good health for his age and his humor is still in good shape. He’s had a very charmed life.”

Burnet went on to say that she and Barker are planning to have a “very simple and quiet” birthday celebration at his home with “cake and the usual things.”

Related: Bob Barker, 97-Year-Old Ex-‘Price Is Right’ Host, Discusses Show’s Legacy – ‘There Was Much To Love’

Barker’s Good Health

Burnet claimed that Barker’s health became much better around 20 years ago, when he took her advice by taking a full vegan meal-replacement. 

“It was not to replace meals but to enhance everything,” Burnet explained. “To take that in addition to his meals, because he was not doing well.”

“He was looking tired and kind of frail, not just not looking healthy,” she stated. “And, you know, if you’re going to be a vegetarian and vegan, you better know what you’re doing.”

Burnet credited taking supplements like collagen with how Barker “kept his skin looking great, kept him strong.”

“Especially after he had his injury in 2018, I really started pushing it then because he was going to be in bed for quite a while for his L1 to heal,” she said. 

Barker was rushed to the hospital with major back pain in October and November of 2018, and he then had to get treatment at home in January of 2019 after suffering a nasty fall. According to his girlfriend, Barker has recovered well in the years since these setbacks.

“His doctors are quite surprised, anytime that they have seen him, how healthy he looks for his age, and they’re surprised that he takes nothing else,” she said.

Barker was married to his late wife Dorothy Jo Gideon from 1945 until she died of lung cancer in 1981. He started dating Burnet a few years later, with the two of them bonding over their shared passion for animal rights. 

Related: ‘The Price Is Right’ Goes On Tour To Celebrate 50 Years

Barker’s Fond Memories Of ‘The Price Is Right’

Though it’s been 15 years since Barker retired from his gig hosting “The Price Is Right,” Burnet said that he still looks back fondly at his time on the show. 

“He never grew tired of it,” she said. “I’m not sure I could do the same show every day. But he never grew bored with it. So maybe that’s why it was so successful because he was always ready to do it and happy to do it.”

Burnet added that Barker’s favorite episodes were “when something went wrong. Because he would just roll with it, make light of it, and it would be fun.”

When asked if Barker has something he wants to tell fans on his 99th birthday, Burnet replied with his usual catchphrase, “Remember to have your pets spayed or neutered.”

“I hope the day will come when people say, ‘What do you mean by that?’” she concluded. “Unfortunately, it’s still timely.”

Making it to the age of 99 is quite an accomplishment, and it’s especially rare that a man is able to live to see that birthday. We’d like to wish Barker a very happy birthday, and we hope that he has many more to come!