Did CBS oust Bob Barker because of one too many lawsuits?

I'm sorry but Holly Hallstrom is lying like a sleeping dog!! To start Hallstrom verbally accepted early retirement-she was NOT fired-particularly by Bob who does not have the power to do so.
Secondly, Holly's defense at the time on why she reneged on her retirement offer was that SHE believes that it was due to weight gain in regards to medication she was taking-it also certainly WAS NOT about supporting Dian. Not once in her first lawsuit does she ever mention that her job loss was due to supporting Dian,all one has to do is dig out the old "Hard Copy" episode from 1995 to hear Holly's whining sob story about losing her job due to weight gain to KNOW that she's lying!!
Barker and the company's defense at that time and is still maintained today is that Holly was let go due to economic downsizing. Bob also further stated at the time that if weight gain was the issue of her dismissal, Holly would have been let go long ago. For Holly to reverse her reasons and place that on Bob is truly dispicable but not surprising.
Furthermore, it was only after Holly filed an appeal concerning the earlier ruling(a day after Bob dropped his lawsuit) that the defense of her supporting Dian became an issue that was because the weight gain issue was ruled invalid and unproven on HER part!!

Let's also not forget what touched off the lawsuits-and that was Dian Parkinson's failed blackmail attempt against Bob which led Bob to admit the relationship he had with Dian before the media. So I guess if Holly's defense was supporting Dian I guess this means Holly supports blackmail too?!
Don't forget to write about these issues too Mr. Mann!!

Thank goodness we are finally hearing the other side of the Bob Barker publicity machine! I loved that show until he fired Janice and Kathlene for being too old, what a hypocrite! I hope that they get a great new host and make Price Is Right fun again like it used to be! I say "Have Holly be the host!"

Thank goodness we are finally hearing the other side of the Bob Barker publicity machine! I loved that show until he fired Janice and Kathlene for being too old, what a hypocrite! I hope that they get a great new host and make Price Is Right fun again like it used to be! I say "Have Holly be the host!"

ouman makes a very good point in that what started all these lawsuits was Dian's failed blackmail attempt. How come the media doesn't acknowledge this fact!? I too recall that Jonathan Goodson received the letter of Dian wanting money in exchange of having the relationship with Bob hushed up.
Kudos to Bob for exposing her and shame on these models for continually trying to extort money from the man.

I love the quote from Diane! Whata vixen! Does anyone know what she's doing now? Radar is so cool, more articles like this!

I grew up watching the show and always liked the models. I was sad when Bob fired them, but now I'm happy for them knowing they sued hijm and won all that money. I guess the price was right!

I grew up watching the show and always liked the models. I was sad when Bob fired them, but now I'm happy for them knowing they sued hijm and won all that money. I guess the price was right!

Mr. Mann,

I bought, read and thoroughly enjoyed "Come and Knock On Our Door." I found it to be an exceptionally well-researched account that strived to give every viewpoint in the unpleasant series of events on the "Three's" set.

I have no reason to believe that your forthcoming book on "The Price is Right" will not be an equally good, FAIR account of things.

What dissapoints me is that you would attempt to exploit Barker's final week on the air to raise interest in the book.

Okay, so Bob Barker isn't everyone's lovable Grandpa offstage. The fact remains that he entertained Americans day-in-day-out for 50 years, and he's earned a peaceful, celebratory retirement (forced or otherwise). Would it have killed you to wait on this story one more week?

Jason W.,
Thank you for your comments and nice words about my Three's Company book. I'm so glad you liked it and found it to be fair and accurate. As you know, John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt liked it so much that they endorsed it in numerous TV interviews--even though even they had bones to pick with each other in that book. Ironically, I think their airing their feelings of hurt, frustration, etc. in the book gave them an opportunity to understand each other, reunite and heal before it was too late. I'm proud of that.

The decision to run this story at this time was based in large part due to its newsworthiness. Mr. Barker made comments last week after his last taping indicating his interest in remaining with this show. I was stunned that CBS had not yet publicly responded to his offer, given his 35 years of service and the popularity of his primetime specials. He also recently told USA Today that Janice, Kathleen, Holly and Dian caused many problems and are "disgusting," and his specials last month did not show clips of any former cast members. The media did not include anyone else's side of the story--at least not that I have seen during this news cycle--but I made several efforts to get Mr. Barker to comment, as well as Roger Dobkowitz, Fremantle and Jonathan Goodson. They all declined comment. So the story was run with as much balance as possible, even pulling in glowing comments about Mr. Barker from those who worked with him in the 1970s and humanizing him, in my opinion, with Barbara Hunter's comments about Dorothy Jo and Mr. Barker's mom. I really tried to show as much of the picture in the limited space this article allows.

I find it striking that the media has not widely reported that Mr. Barker retired only months after signing a five-year contract extension, and after telling ET how much he loved doing the show. So I tried to ask some of the questions that apparently hadn't been asked. With the story coming out this week, it gives CBS, Mr. Barker and Fremantle an opportunity to respond at the height of media and public interest, and tell longtime viewers such as myself why Mr. Barker wasn't immediately taken up on his offer to return for a few months. Why shouldn't this be addressed now, before he is no longer on CBS and the media in general returns to obsessing over Brittney Spears?

I grew up watching this show and absolutely loved Bob Barker. My relatives lived down the street from him and Dorothy Jo, and one of my happiest childhood memories was meeting him during my summer vacation with my aunt and uncle in 1982. He is a legend, and he's deserved every accolade for his unparalleled career accomplishments. I merely wanted to give texture to the story, report some breaking developments, quote some longtime employees whose contributions have been entirely overlooked, connect the dots and show the many dimensions to an icon. I delivered the story on time to my editors, and I applaud Radar for publishing an in-depth piece illustrating a number of the many behind-the-scenes challenges Mr. Barker has survived, while not shying away from the other sides of the story. This article does not take away from his brilliance as the host and star of the longest running game show in TV history.

Thank you again for your comments. I think you'll be happy with the book, which I've been working on for years.

Chris,

Thanks for such a considerate, classy reply. You do raise some good points--and you reminded me about the unfortunate omission of previous "Price is Right" performers in those primetime tribute specials, which is frustrating.

I appreciate your efforts and I will indeed be in line to pick up this book when it comes out.

Jason

The idol hath feet of clay.

...and a heart of stone, it doth appear.

I like Bob Barker. He has always been a good example for American youth, unlike gangsta rapers who use the term bitches and hoes like it was everyday vocabulary. OOPS!!, excuse me. We're talking about black ARTISTS, I forgot.

Anyway, Bob gave many of his Barker's Beauties a chance at name recognition not often available to those with only beauty as an obvious talent.

And let's face it, whether your a guy or gal, you must admit, his models were what America views as good looking, well built, classy women. Not stick figures or bimbos dressed like whores.

Yea for Bob. He had a great run & will be hard to replace. I'd like to see Chuck Wollery who use to do the "Love Connection" since he has a great personality when interacting with contestants that's similar to Bob's.

My best friend worked on Price for years. She was outstanding at her job, made a good salary, had children. Unfortunately she had the bad luck misfortune to be in the dressing room next-door when Bob Barker fired Holly because of her weight (a fact he would later deny because of negative audience backlash, then claim Holly was lying and sue her for slander).

What do you do when you know that if you tell the truth, you'll lose your job? I watched my dear friend go thru Hell because of Bob Barker. She was a smoking gun in the "who's telling the truth, Bob or Holly" drama. She was pressured to change her testimony in order to back Bob, to lie and ignore what she had heard. Her job was threatened. (Would YOU lie to keep your job?)

In the end my friend testified truthfully and lost her job, as did other Price employees whose testimonies, along with evidence clearly showed that Barker did in fact fire Holly because of her weight (duh!). Models Janice and Kathleen were NOT fired for being old, as the Price mythology explains it, but rather for the facts they told at their depositions. Their testimony along with others devastated Barker's lawsuit against Holly. Barker was livid. Heads rolled. People lost their jobs. And for what? In the end Barker wasn't about to go to court and lose, so he dumped his lawsuit. Holly was declared the winner, and got millions.

But it didn't end there. Firing someone for refusing to perjure themselves is ILLEGAL, as is firing someone for refusing to provide sex or be sexually harassed, or creating a work environment where people can be humiliated and discriminated against because they are African American. These are all things that Bob Barker has been sued for in the last ten years, and he has never won any. Millions of corporate dollars have been spent in out-of-court settlements to make the charges against him go away. In the business world it's well known that it's "better to settle" if you know you're going to lose.

But as sweet as all that settlement money was for those people who were illegally fired, how hard must it have it been these past weeks watching the CBS/Barker media machine proclaiming Bob a daytime TV hero? ("Pay no attention to those lawsuits behind the curtain!") The man ruled that show with an iron fist. What about the people who lost their jobs because they wouldn't lie for this man, or have sex with him? And why was there only one reporter in the entire media who could dig back far enough (thirty years) to find an original Price castmember to say something nice about Bob Barker now?

Finally there is Chris Mann's article in Radar. For those people who actually know Bob Barker, Mann's article is a surprisingly accurate portrayal of the real person. Bob Barker is a game show host that is beloved by his TV audience, but not well liked by people who work for him. He IS mean, vindictive and sadly alone. Mann presented an in depth portrait of the man. Radar reported many sides of a newsworthy story, for those who care to know. ( If you want to know more about The Price Is Right, the testimonies, evidence, rulings, etc. are all public record now, and available at Los Angeles Superior Court and accessible online.) Go and see for yourself. Or be glad that there are reporters like Mann who get behind the scenes, get the interviews and report ALL the facts fairly and accurately. And be grateful that there is an independent outlet like Radar Magazine that can tell the story beyond a network press release.

A word of warning: If you don't like what you've read in Radar, you're probably not going to like all that's coming. There's another lawsuit against Bob Barker in the works that's based on racism. Now that he's off Price there are books by people from the cast and crew, in the courtrooms, a behind-the-scenes TV movie, etc., able now to tell the real stories of the Price Is Right......stay tuned.

I've been a gamer my whole life. I really love TPIR and watched it always but since Bob fired the original models the show went downhill. The models were a big part of the show then, not now. Everybody agrees that the show isn't good as it used to be. When I read the Radar story I was interested in TPIR again for the first time in years. I think what went on backstange that caused the show to go downhill is more interesting than the same old TPIR history. I also notice that not many gamers are interested in bob anymore. Maybe it's true that what's left of his audience is blue-hairs that are dying off. I agree with "stilavictor" that Price Is Right is the greatest game show ever, now let's get a new host with great models and put it back the way it was. PS Does anyone know when Chriss Mann's book is coming out and where can we get it?

First off to WLA Lady -

If the "TPIR" worker you are talking about is Linda Reigert/Dunphy, I know exactly who you are talking about, as I am a friend of hers from finding out about her from eBay, and from what you said, it sounds EXACTLY what she has told me over the past year about the Barker mess.

Now this message is for Chris Mann...

I know you through reading your book about "Three's Company" (to which I have a copy), and from reading it, I believe you to be a credible and thourough writer. I also know that you are writing a book about the behind the scenes mess that Barker made on "TPIR" via Linda Reigert/Dunphy, who is a close e-mail friend of mine, and whom I support on her side of the story.

I tried writing to Steve Beverly (who runs the website tvgameshows.net), and unfortunately, he was siding with Rich Fields and Randy West (both whom are probably Barker 'yes men') in saying that the newest lawsuit filed against Barker and company was 'without merit' to which I told him "what else were they going to say - they didn't want to kill a ratings cash cow while it was hot, now would they?" The same can be said of Roger Dobkowitz, who I loved when he was on "Match Game", but now, I see that his loyalty is now to Barker, and to no one else.

I remember watching the first episode of "TPIR" on Sept. 4th, 1972, and up till 2000, I had always respected Bob Barker, and everytime he was introduced, I always thought in my mind 'the man, the legend, the a-hole (just kidding)' - after Janice and Kathleen were let go in 2000, I left out the 'just kidding' part, as it sounds like Barker was behaving like an a-hole (and then some!) to my favorite ladies on the show. At first, I believed him when he was talking about his problems with his 'relationship' with Dian Parkinson, and that their relationship was 'consentual' - but now from reading the piece from your article, I'm kind of wondering if that was actually so, and maybe that Janice and Holly didn't actually know the whole story behind their 'relationship' after all, even though Kathleen was still friends with her at that time. I also never bought the BS that Barker tried to dish out that model Holly Hallstrom was fat - I watched the show until she was fired (more or less) in 1995, and I NEVER noticed one iota that she was EVER fat in the least! Barker also said that she wasn't 'easy to get along' compared with the other ladies - if that were the case, then how come Janice, Kathleen, and Linda all testified in her behalf when her trial came to be? They just wouldn't have done it for the hell of it to risk their jobs for nothing! Finally, Janice got the most raw end of this deal, as she stuck through the show through thick and thin, through losing her first husband, surviving a dehabilitating shoulder injury by a camera at CBS Studios, and all of the BS with the litigations, and what does she get - not one damn thing from CBS, Pearson Television, or Bob Barker himself - not even a chance to tell her loyal fans goodbye on the show, and to me, that's just plain 'dirty pool.' I couldn't watch the show after Janice and Kathleen were terminated, as it just wasn't the same without Janice handing the microphone to Barker, or her being the cashier on 'Grocery Game.' Both Janice and Kathleen still 'had the looks' before they left in 2000, so to say that they should have been fired because they were older is just a bunch of BS on the "TPIR" front.

Even though a lot of people disagree with me about the classic ladies of the show on the GSN links, and Steve Beverly doesn't buy into all that happened, let me tell you something Chris - I am in yours (and the ladies) corner 100% now, so if you would like any insight on the show from a person who used to be a big fan of "TPIR" (and still is a friend and a BIG fan to the ladies of "TPIR"), I'd be glad to help you out with your book in anyway that I can.

Linda Reigert/Dunphy told me that she interviewed you for your book, and that she trusted you - I also remember that if you were able to coax Joyce DeWitt out of obscurity, as well as Anitra Ford (who hasn't been heard from since 1976 on "TPIR"), you must be doing something right, so don't hesitate to contact me if you need any help whatsoever - the truth needs to be told!

(By the way, "TPIR" was one of my favorite game shows, before I 'rediscovered' my most favorite game show "Match Game", via repeats on the old Game Show Network - and I just LOVED it when Brett and Charles got after Barker on his later guest celebrity appearances on the show!)

Stay in the fight Chris - me and the ladies of the show salute and support you 100%!

It has now come to a situation where one is scared to hire or work with women, because of their frivolous and ridiculous law suits. It was Isiah Thomas, now it is Bob Barker. Who knows who next.

Men have been and are being bashed unnecessarily.

I sent a question to Nancy Grace and CNN about her comments on credibility issues relating to sexual harrassment law suits by women. Up till date, they refused to answer.

Of course he fired Holly, Kathleen and Janice. They're models. People want to see hot young models. Not old saggy ass ones. Networks want to attract a younger demographic which appeals to advertisers. 80 year old viewers don't do much shopping.

Yes pistolpete44, based on your theory of audience demographics Bob Barker should have been retired in the 1970s!

Found this on Golden-Road.net

Hallstrom received millions of dollars to NOT force Bob Barker into public court which, after ten years of litigation, was certainly a financial and moral victory for Hallstrom and yes, in the legal world...a HUGE win.

Corporations don't spend millions of dollars paying off false allegations, if they did they'd be writing checks all day long. Hush money is not cheaper than litigation against false allegations. In our judicial system Barker has legal recourse against any and all false or frivolous lawsuits. A person who is genuinely falsely sued can go to court, win his case, recoup his expenses, and then collect financial remuneration under Malicious Prosecution. The fact that Bob Barker has never availed himself of his legal recourse, or challenged his accusers in court, tells me that there are darker reasons as to why all these lawsuits are always paid off out of court. While Barker publicly insists that he "wanted to fight" the allegations but that "the company settled", it turns out that's false. In 2005 Hallstrom openly challenged Barker by offering to exempt him from her settlement, thus allowing the two of them to continue to trial in open court. Barker declined, and participated in the settlement.

Obviously there was something rotten on TPIR for many years. To date, ten women have lost their jobs. The one consistent factor in all these women's firings is that Bob Barker was behind it.

In studying these cases, and their common denominator, I have come across some interesting statistics. Of the ten women who were fired, either after testifying when Barker sued Hallstrom, or after complaining of abuse/harassment on the set, two were paid NOT to file suit; Pennington and Bradley (probably because as on camera talent their lawsuits would attract major media attention as did Parkinson's and Hallstrom's). Parkinson, Hallstrom, Paris, Friem, Jordan, and Henry all received financial settlement to dismiss their suits against Barker (Riegert, and now Curling, are still pending). Hallstrom is the only one who did not sign a Non-Disclosure clause as a condition of her settlement. Of the ten women, Nick Alden represents two, Riegert and Hallstrom, and now Curling. Alden's client have received the largest settlements, including Barker's court ordered payment of Hallstrom's considerable legal bills after Hallstrom was declared the Prevailing Party in Barker's lawsuit against her. I gotta say, if I were suing Bob Barker, Alden would be the only phone call I'd make!

Obviously Freemantle, Barker and now CBS are all fighting at great expense to salvage their considerable investment in TPIR and the image of Bob Barker. But still, the evidence, the lawsuits and the payoffs just keep mounting!

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Bob Barker paid off Holly Hallstrom's legal fees AND $3million dollars to NOT take him to court. Jeeees, what did he think it was going to cost him if it WENT to court?!?!