Barker's Beauties

Barker's Beauties was the term used from 1972 until 2007 for models on the American CBS Daytime and Primetime game show "The Price Is Right". The term, coined by Mark Goodson, is derived from the name of the show's former host, Bob Barker but was discontinued after Season 35.

Drew Carey has indicated in an interview with USA Today that he prefers to simply refer to the models by name as opposed to giving them a nickname.Fact|date=December 2007 Carey often refers not just to models by name frequently, but often producers, cameramen, and game board operators by name on-air during the show.

Over the years, there have been many "Price Is Right" models. The best known include Janice Pennington, who was with the show from its premiere in 1972 to 2000; Dian Parkinson (1975-1993); Holly Hallstrom (1977-1983 and 1984-1995); and Kathleen Bradley (1990-2000). For the first three years of "The Price Is Right", there were just two Barker's Beauties - Pennington and Anitra Ford. Parkinson joined the cast in 1975 as the third Beauty after having been Ford's substitute for several months. Traditionally there are three models, although for a period in the early 1990s, there were four (Pennington, Bradley, Hallstrom, and Parkinson (1990-1993), then Gena Lee Nolin (1993-1995). As well, the November 16, 1992 episode of "The Price Is Right" featured an unidentified male model during the first Showcase. [http://www.golden-road.net/faq/index.php/Barker%27s_Beauties#Has_the_show_ever_used_a_male_model.3F] In some cases production staff have modeled -- Kathy Greco, then the associate producer, for a rug, and Sherell Paris, an executive assistant, was used on a karaoke machine. Kathy's husband Frank, a Los Angeles-area golf professional, modeled golf clubs.

Since the departures of Heather Kozar, Nikki Ziering, and Claudia Jordan in the early 2000s, the models have been on a rotation. In addition to several models who are more or less a permanent part of the cast, new models appear every few weeks who sometimes eventually join the rotation or other times do only a single set of tapings.

In February 2006, supermodel Tyra Banks appeared as a guest "Barker's Beauty." She assisted on It's in the Bag and Card Game.

Conflicts with Bob Barker

There have been conflicts between Barker and a number of the models over the history of the show. Several of the models, along with other staff members, filed lawsuits against Barker and the program, alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination.cite news
url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=603699
title=Barker still a prize: Durable host gave 'Price Is Right' a long spin
publisher="Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"
author=Joanne Weintraub
date=2007-05-09
dateaccessed=2007-10-16] After Parkinson brought forth sexual harassment allegations against Barker, he called a press conference to admit a past consensual sexual relationship with her.cite episode
title=Interview with Bob Barker
series=Larry King Live
network=CNN
airdate=2002-12-26
transcripturl=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/26/lkl.00.html]

In 2000, Pennington and Bradley were fired, allegedly for testifying on Hallstrom's behalf in her own wrongful-termination lawsuit against Barker and the show.cite news
url=http://www.courttv.com/people/2004/0917/barker_ctv.html
publisher=Court TV
date=2004-10-16
title=Bob Barker to face courtroom battle after model's suit ruled valid
author=Jessica Su]

When asked in a "USA Today" interview about the four most famous Beauties, Barker replied, "They've been such a problem. I don't want to say anything about them. They're disgusting; I don't want to mention them." Barker has had praise for the more recent models, including Lanisha Cole, Phire Dawson, Brandi Sherwood, and Shane Stirling, calling them "the best models we've ever had."cite news
publisher=USA Today
title=The time is right for Barker
date=2007-05-14
dateaccessed=2007-10-16
author=William Keck
url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-05-13-bob-barker_N.htm (sidebar: "Game Show Family Had Its Share of Losses, Turmoil")]

All the lawsuits except for one were settled out of court at the production company's insistence.

Nighttime versions

On the first two syndicated nighttime versions of the show, the daytime models did double duty, with a few notable exceptions. In the earliest episodes of the 1970's nighttime show, a third model named Harriet was present; her last name is unknown, but she holds the distinction of being "Price"'s first black model. Additional models besides Parkinson were also featured on the nighttime show, including Janice's sister Ann Pennington and a model named Jenny who even got her own Showcase during her tenure, in which she was an artist painting the contestant's prizes.

For the 1994 syndicated show hosted by Doug Davidson, however, an entirely separate cast of models was featured: Julie Lynn Cialini, Ferrari Farris, and Lisa Stahl.

Since the debut of the CBS Primetime series in 2002 and The Price Is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular in 2003, there are often situations where four to seven models are used on the show.

List of Barker's Beauties/Price Is Right Models

References