Bob Barker Retirement - Who Will Replace Him?

On October 31st, 2006, Bob Barker, host of The Price is Right, announced that he would retire. Barker has been in entertainment for 50 years and has held his current hosting job since September 4th, 1972. Not only is The Price is Right the longest running daytime game show in television history, but Barker has also won 17 Emmy Awards for his part in the success of the show. His last episode is set to air on June 15th, 2007. After that, he’ll no doubt retire to the golf course and look to whoop up on Happy Gilmore some more (that scene, by the way, netted a MTV Movie Award for Barker and Adam Sandler, making Barker the oldest person to win the award).

Now that he’s going to retire, the race is on to find the next host of the show. There are 4 serious contenders, and Bodog is taking bets on which one will wind up with the jobs. Let’s take a look.

Mark Steines - Odds: 9/4 - Steines is a broadcast journalist and the co-anchor of Entertainment Tonight since 2004. He started his career as a reporter and won numerous awards for his skill at reporting.

Todd Newton - Odds: 3/2 - Newton has plenty of hosting experience. He’s hosted Hollywood Showdown, Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck, Coming Attraction, and several other shows. He has also hosted several live-on-stage editions of The Price is Right, which have taken place at various casinos owned by Harrah’s Entertainment.

George Hamilton - Odds: 5/2 - A veteran of showbiz, Hamilton is best known for his well-dressed appearance, well-groomed hair and perpetual tan. His career started in the early 50s, and he has appeared in films such as Love at First Bite, Zorro, The Gay Blade, The Godfather Part III, Doc Hollywood, and many others. In 2006, he competed in the second season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

He has auditioned for the spot as host, and he has also been listed as a frontrunner for the job. According to Reuters, he is one of the three finalists, along with Todd Newton and Mark Steines.

John O’Hurley - Odds: 2/1 - An actor best known for his role as J. Peterman on the series Seinfeld. He is a veteran of numerous soap operas and television commercials. He hosted the revival of To Tell the Truth and took over hosting Family Feud in 2006. He also made a splash on the first season of Dancing with the Stars. He came in second place, but viewer outcry sparked a grudge match with winner Kelly Monaco, which O’Hurley managed to win.

The announcement could come any day, so you’d better log on to Bodog as soon as possible and place your bet. Whatever happens, the new host will be hard-pressed to make it look as easy as Bob Barker has done for the last 35 years.

Bob Barker Retirement - Who Will Replace Him?