Dorothy Jo Gideon Cause Of Death, Who Was Bob Barker’s Wife? Learn more about Dorothy Jo Gideon
Dorothy Jo Gideon Cause Of Death – Dorothy Jo Gideon, Bob Barker’s wife, passed away on October 19, 1981, after having spent more than four decades with the game show host. Despite this, he continued to cherish the memories of his late wife. In 1999, Barker stated in an interview with PEOPLE that he would “never marry again.” “Dorothy Jo was the one and only true love of my life.” High school was when the pair first crossed paths, and twelve years later, on January 12, 1945, they tied the knot. “I was married at 21; Dorothy Jo was 20,” the star of “The Price Is Right” told Esquire in 2007.
After then, the two became inseparable; they collaborated on jingles for commercials and shared their lives together. “She was with me all the time until she died,” Barker said in an interview with Esquire. “For some guys, a second or even a third marriage can be just what the doctor ordered. My situation was different since I was married, and she was the love of my life. Even though Barker has been linked to animal rights activist Nancy Burnet since 1983, despite the fact that he has been in other prominent relationships after Gideon’s death, he has remained true to his pledge and has never married, doing so in order to keep the memory of his late wife alive.
According to photographs obtained by the Daily Mail, on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of her passing on October 19, 2017, he was seen paying a visit to her grave while carrying a bouquet of daisies. Barker passed away in August 2023 due to natural causes, over six years after his death. He had reached the age of 99. His longtime publicist Roger Neal issued a statement saying, “It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker, has left us,” referring to Bob Barker’s passing.
When Gideon was a freshman at Central High School in Springfield, Missouri, her future husband was a freshman there as well. He was 15 years old at the time. In 1999, Barker shared with PEOPLE that “we fell in love when we were kids.” “And the love that we shared endured.” Barker, who had recently relocated to Springfield, invited Gideon out on their very first date to accompany him to an Ella Fitzgerald performance, and she stated that she would be happy to do so. T
he young couple ran away together and was married in St. Louis while Barker was on leave from his training to become a naval fighter pilot during World War II. On January 12, 1945, they took their vows before each other. Barker believes that Gideon was the driving force behind his own animal rights activity. In 2009, when speaking about his late husband on Good Morning America, he said this about her: “She was ahead of her time.” “In all honesty, she was. She quit wearing fur jackets much before other people did.
According to the actor of Happy Gilmore, Gideon was also influential in Barker’s decision to become a vegetarian, a lifestyle choice he has maintained for the better part of four decades. He told the Vegetarian Times in 2012 that his vegetarianism was inspired by his wife, Dorothy Jo, who became a vegetarian before he did. “She prepared delicious meals for me, which I ate. As time went on, I transitioned towards a vegetarian diet as well.
I owe it to her, and I am grateful to her for it, since I believe it has made a significant improvement in the quality of my life. I have a firm and unwavering faith in it.” Gideon got her start in the industry by singing jingles for commercials. She and her husband performed on twenty episodes of the quiz program Tattletales in the 1970s. The couple’s early beginnings in show business were described by Barker in an interview with Good Morning America as “I had been working in a radio station.” “And I finally had the chance to perform on a show that involved audience involvement…. Dorothy Jo was able to hear it. “When I got home, she told me, ‘That’s what you ought to do.'”
According to a story from People magazine published in 1999, Gideon “became his sidekick,” and she contributed her singing abilities to radio talent show advertising jingles in Los Angeles. During their many decades together as a marriage, they were unable to have any offspring. “We didn’t have time for children,” Barker told Esquire in 2007, adding that they never questioned their decision to not have children. “I don’t regret it, not when so many of my friends are having so much trouble with their children,” Barker said in reference to their decision not to have children. There is a lot of effort involved, since I have thirteen ducks.
The cause of her death was lung cancer. In the beginning of 1981, Gideon was given a diagnosis of lung cancer. On October 19, 1981, she passed away at the age of 57, barely six months after receiving her diagnosis. Her spouse was profoundly saddened by her passing away. “Bob went into this deep depression and was a totally different person for two or three years,” his half-brother Kent Valandra told PEOPLE about Bob’s experience.
Barker has stated that at that time period, he “immersed himself in [work].” “I just tried to keep myself busy,” she said.
