Entertainment
Remembering Bob Barker with Kathleen Bradley
Former Barker Beauty Kathleen Bradley Remembers Bob Barker. Being a Black model at any level of entertainment always provides special perspective.
Remembering Bob Barker with Kathleen Bradley. On Saturday, Bob Barker, the iconic host of The Price is Right, died at 99. According to his publicist, Roger Neal, Bob Barker, host of The Price is Right, died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills. He was 99.
Celebrities from all over the world are paying tribute to Bob Barker’s legacy. Being a Black model at any level of entertainment provided Former “Barker Beauty” Kathleen Bradley with unique insights.
With Barker referring to each “Barker Beauty” as “The Lovely…”, Bradley was dubbed “The Lovely Kathleen.” Kathleen referred to Barker as “Bob” after observing his exemplary professionalism.
The Lovely Kathleen Bradley
The beautiful, talented actress, singer, and model Kathleen Bradley made history as the first African-American model join ranks with “Barker’s Beauties” in the fall of 1990, on the The Price Is Right for ten years. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: Kathleen Bradley TV.
Kathleen Bradley, 72, is an American former model, singer, actress, author, and host who was crowned Miss Black California in 1971. From 1990 to 2000, Katleen was the first African American model to be a “Barker Beauty” on the CBS daytime game show The Price is Right. She shared the stage with veteran models Janice Pennington, Holly Hallstrom, and Dian Parkison.
Kathleen appeared on Family Feud with the cast of The Price is Right in 1991 and again in 1993. On Family Feud, Barker was the captain of the team. They competed against The Young and the Restless case in a Soap Stars vs. Barker’s Beauties Special. Doug Davidson, a future TNPiR host, captained their team.
Her stint on The Price Is Right ended abruptly in 2000. Bradley sided with her conscience and chose not to slander Hallstrom in a lawsuit filed by Bob Barker against fellow “Barker Beauty” Holly Hallstrom. Barker lost his lawsuit against Hallstrom and fired Bradley and several other staff members who opposed him. Kathleen and Janice later filed a wrongful termination lawsuit. There was, however, a settlement out of court for an undisclosed sum. Bradley later stated that her termination was “abrupt” and “unexpected” and that it was an event for which she was unprepared.
The Early Days
Remembering Bob Barker. Kathleen recalls seeing Bob Barker on The Price is Right in the 1980s as one of her earliest memories of him. “I just kind of remember watching it with Bob Barker and the other beauties back then,” she said.
The Price Is Right began looking for a “Black Beauty” in 1989. Kathleen met Bob Barker “during the auditioning period for a ‘Black Beauty,’” as Barker had a lot to say and input on who would be the next beauty.
With Barker referring to each “Barker Beauty” as “The Lovely…”, Bradley was dubbed “The Lovely Kathleen.” Kathleen referred to Barker as “Bob” after observing his exemplary professionalism.
Bradley remembers Barker as “upbeat and joyful” while on the long-running prime-time game show. “He and everyone else were just happy. The backstage atmosphere was carefree. Kathleen exclaimed, “A great show!” She recalled “everybody enjoying all the little amenities. These included food, drinks, candies, and cakes behind the scenes that we always weren’t able to get from craft services.” Bradley described Barker as “always very nice and kind.”
“He was just such a professional, a consummate professional,” she continued. When he reached that point, he genuinely cared about everyone on the production and the models.”
“Come on down!”
Barker, according to Kathleen, “would get kind of embarrassed when people would run up and hug him too much.” It got a little too much at times. As Barker aged and became “a little frail for that audience,” members were told, “Do not bum rush, Bob, hold on to him, love him, and all that stuff.”
She recalled when Barker suffered from a bad cold, which caused him to be “a little off-kilter, a little off balance.” The next enthusiastic contestant instructed to “Come on down!” who made it on stage with Barker was a little too excited. “He just kind of looked at him.”
A Nice Gesture
Kathleen laughs with a reminiscent lilt, “My favorite memory of Bob was when he actually gave me the shirt off his back.” She recalls that on that memorable day, when he arrived on set with “his own wardrobe on his shoulders and back,” “he had the most incredible shirt passing me by.” Kathleen, a model with a keen sense of style, was drawn to a shirt with yellow and blue stripes. “I thought it was lovely. ‘Wow, Bob, what a great shirt,’ I exclaimed. Barker gave Kathleen the shirt as she left her dressing room after the day’s show. Kathleen expressed her admiration. “I still have that shirt,” she said emphatically.
PICTURE: Kathleen Bradley poses with Bob Barker for photographer. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: Kathleen Bradley’s Instagram account.
Animal Rights Advocacy
“Obviously, what Barker valued most in life was pets,” Kathleen says. Animals, without a doubt. Apart from his wife, when she died, that was his heart. That was his entire life. That was his love. He was very much into about animal rights.”
Barker, a longtime and prominent advocate for animal rights, concluded each episode of The Price is Right with the words, “Help control the pet population.” He stepped down as emcee for the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants in 1988 because the prizes were fur coats. He also spoke out against animal trainers mistreating animals on the sets of various movies and television shows.
Punctuality Mattered – Remembering Bob Barker with Kathleen Bradley.
He was always on time. He was never late. “I don’t ever remember Bob being late, ever,” Kathleen said. “He would not actually rehearse when we rehearsed because we did have to go through a rehearsal before the show to find out marks and what products we were holding up and blocking and different things of that nature.”
In recalling a time when she was called into the dressing room because I missed my cue. “When I first got there, I missed my cue to go out, and do the showcase. I looked at the monitor and no model was there. I did that a couple of times,” reported Kathleen. Kathleen wasn’t chewed out when she arrived at Barker’s dressing room after the show, but Barker lamented, “Hey, you got to be serious about this if you want this job.” She recalls leaving the room in tears. “I was so hurt, but I never missed another cue after that.”
“Weigh Yourself Every Day”
Barker was genuinely straightforward, with no hidden agenda. “We had some weight gain and loss issues. “When I first got on the show, of course, he would come and tell us about our weight if we gained a few pounds on the show,” Kathleen recalled. Barker, who was notably and genuinely straightforward, with no hidden agenda, would encourage others by saying, “I weigh myself every day.”
Kathleen said the “Barker’s Beauties” would “all come back after having a wonderful vacation, summertime, and overeating and different things.” Barker’s advice helped put things in perspective sometimes, especially when The Price is Right was on hiatus.
Injury on The Price is Right Set
Kathleen and Holly Hallstrom were both seriously injured on December 10, 1992. During a showcase skit involving a 500-pound Industrial Stove on a rotating platform dolly, they were injured . The backstage crew started wheeling out another prize in that showcase skit, a one-and-a-half-ton sailboat. The hull began pushing the stove forward. The platform dolly was supposed to be hauled offstage, but no one arrived to retrieve it. The oversized appliance began to tip over onto Kathleen and Holly. They frantically tried to push it back and keep it from falling on them. It was too heavy.
Remembering Bob Barker with Kathleen Bradley. Kathleen was stuck and unable to move. Holly was able to jump out of the way. A stagehand noticed what was going on and came to their aid. The appliance shattered into a million pieces as it hit the stage floor. It struck Bradley and Hallstrom in various parts of their bodies as they lay backstage in severe pain. Fortunately, the studio audience was not present to witness the terrifying mishap. Bob Barker was unaware of the incident until after the show’s taping. He was informed by one of the producers as an ambulance arrived, and both ladies were rushed to the hospital.
After the Accident
Bradley and Hallstrom (and Pennington) returned to work a week and a half later. They were still badly bruised in numerous places on their bodies. The accident justified a lawsuit against CBS for negligence. Instead, CBS Television City and The Price is Right were extremely apologetic. They voluntarily offered Kathleen and Holly small monetary compensations for their pain and suffering, which both ladies accepted.
Holly later stated in a radio interview that the accident was quite frightening. Moreover, she and Kathleen were lucky to be alive. She also believed that the scary stage was messy and jinxed.
“He Had a Good Laugh”
Kathleen described his personality as “very stern business, but happy, joyous, kind, and giving. He truly was.” “He had a nice laugh,” Kathleen said. “I always will remember him as a nice, handsome, tall, dark, handsome, good-looking guy who was very friendly, always smiling. He did have a great smile. He had a good laugh.”
Kathleen said on special occasions after the show, “We’d be able to go to his dressing room and have champagne and hang out with them there.” At Christmas times, “we’d exchanged gifts with all the girls and some of the staff,” Bradley reported.
“You can see him smiling now,” she reflected. Kathleen will remember him “in spite of some things that happened during the latter years and my termination.”
Things Change – Remembering Bob Barker with Kathleen Bradley.
Her stint on The Price Is Right ended abruptly in 2000. Bradley sided with Holly Hallstrom’s conscience in a lawsuit filed by Bob Barker against fellow “Barker Beauty” Holly Hallstrom. Kathleen made the decision not to slander Hallstrom. Barker lost his lawsuit against Hallstrom and fired Bradley and several other staff members who opposed him. Kathleen and Janice later filed a wrongful termination lawsuit. However, the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Bradley later stated that her termination was “abrupt” and “unexpected” and that it was an event for which she was unprepared.
When The Price is Right celebrated its 50th anniversary, “they didn’t include any of Janice, Holly, or me,” stated Bradley. Janice appeared alongside Bob Barker when the show first aired in 1972. It’s the one thing that makes her bitter about things. Bradley says, “The original ‘Barker’s Beauties’ never got the credit. They made him a better person. They made him and the show what it was. Without the ‘Barker’s Beauties,’ it would have been like watching the Lakers without the cheerleaders”.
Backstage at The Price is Right
In 2014, she released her memoir Backstage at The Price is Right: Memoirs of a Barker Beauty, an entertaining tell-all book about her life and career as a singer and actress. Additionally, the book details what happened behind the scenes during her 10-year tenure as The Price is Right’s first permanent African American model.
Kathleen Bradley’s parting words to Bob Barker were simple and brief, “You had a great run, Bob! Rest in peace.”
Related URBT News article: Bob Barker, iconic host of “The Price is Right,” dies at 99
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