Bob Barker's Signature Microphone Sold At Auction, And For More Than You'd Think
Bob Barker may be best known as the former host of "The Price Is Right," but the "World's Greatest MC" — who died Saturday morning at the age of 99 — shared that iconic role with one key prop: his microphone. Barker, who got his first television opportunity on the game show "Truth or Consequences" between 1956 and 1975, made his name at the helm of the longest-running daytime game show in North American TV history.
Barker hosted "The Price is Right" from 1972 to 2007, at which point he handed over the reins to Drew Carey. That included the famous catchphrase, "Come on down!" and the use of an extended microphone with which both hosts interviewed the contestants.
Typically, much smaller and more discreet microphones are used on television, such as "lav" or lavalier mics, which clip to a shirt or suit jacket. The handheld microphone that Barker relied upon, however, allowed the members of the audience selected in each episode to be interviewed without having to pause to get them wired up with a smaller mic. While Barker's handheld microphone might've been large, what's surprising is the even larger price tag that one example sold for at auction.
Proceeds from the auction went to charity
Back in 2007, an original Bob Barker microphone was put up for sale on eBay, just before he retired from hosting the game show. The winner took not only an original corded microphone, which appeared on-screen, but also a hand-written letter by Barker confirming its authenticity.
The auction closed with a final sale price of $19,919.08, with bidder Dave Ryan — a morning show host for KDWB-FM 101.3 in the Twin Cities — placing the winning bid.
"I love celebrity memorabilia like that, and I think that it's a classic one," Ryan told TwinCities Pioneer Press at the time. Still, not everyone was so impressed with his $20k spend. According to Ryan, hearing the news set his wife "screaming with shock and dismay."
Proceeds from the auction went to United Activists for Animal Rights, one of the charities that Barker supported during his lifetime. Outspoken about animal cruelty, Barker donated to multiple charities and even has a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society boat named after him.