The Price is Right – The Original Barker’s Beauties
Over the years, The Price is Right has been famous for a lot of things, including their models. Now that The Price is Right is getting a male model, we thought we would take a look back at some of the Barker’s Beauties. In a future post, we will look at some of the more modern girls but for this one, we are looking back at the first 3 (female) Price is Right models – Janice Pennington, Anitra Ford, and Dian Parkinson.
The picture to the right is actually Dian, Janice and Holly (who replaced Anitra), but it will have to do. Bob Barker looks pretty happy there. Eventually Bob wasn’t quite this happy with Dian, but we will get to that in a bit.
Janice Pennington
Nobody was on The Price is Right longer than Janice Pennington. She modeled on the show for an amazing 28 years from 1972 to 2000. You can see her in action, and sucking in her gut, in this video:
Her second husband was German mountain climber Friedrich “Fritz” Stammberger who disappeared while mountain climbing in 1975 in Afghanistan. If you have watched The Price is Right, you will remember there was a game with a mountain climber called Cliff Hanger. This mountain climber, would fall off the mountain if the contestant got the price wrong. It was reported that anytime this game would play, she became quite upset and emotional about the whole thing. Apparently she had been known to cry off stage because of this game.Janice was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month for the May 1971 issue.
Anitra Ford
Anitra Ford was also one of the original Barker’s Beauties starting in 1972. She was on the show until 1976 when she was replaced by Holly Hallstrom.
She was a stage actress from an early age and in the 70s, she started acting on television and B-movies including including Love Machine, The Big Bird Cage, Invasion of the Bee Girls, and The Longest Yard
She is also a photographer and a poet. We don’t really have too much to say about her really. She wasn’t on The Price is Right as long as the other two showcased here. She never posed for Playboy and she really hasn’t done much since the 70s.
Dian Parkinson
Dian Parkinson started on The Price is Right in 1975 and stay on the show until 1993. She was on the show for 18 years which is the second longest any of Barker’s Beauties, second only to Janice Pennington. It was rumored that part of the reason she left the show was an on-going feud with Janice. Officially, Bob announced that she was leaving the show to “pursue other interests”.
Although it is true that she wasn’t buddy-buddy with Janice, a bigger part of the reason became obvious in 1994 when Dian filed a lawsuit against Bob Barker. She claimed sexual harassment and that Bob had forced her into a three year sexual relationship with the threat of being fired from The Price is Right She gave up the claim in 1995 because it had become too costly and it had taken a toll on her health. Attorneys have been known to be expensive and I’m guessing Bob just had deeper pockets.
Dian appeared on the cover of Playboy in December 1991 and May 1993.
She also competed in beauty pageants. In 1965, Dian competed as Diana Batts in the Miss USA pageant where she was the fourth runner up. She won the 1965 Miss World USA contest and represented the US in the Miss World contest where she was the first runner up.
Comments
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It all makes sense after whats been happening in the country i.e. with the Boy Scouts, not addressing the homosexual question. I mean no harm but what other reason could there possibly be for having a man on TPIR as a model? He might not be gay but there is a segment of the audience that they wish to pander to in order to please. I am a former fan because I’m from the older generation where the hedonism which was what the reason you saw DiPark in so many bikinis was what it was ascribed to. Honestly in my opinion the show in it’s current configuration SUCKS!!!!! It is a sad joke, a parody of a show which used to dominate daytime before the soaps used to come on. I’ll end for now because it is a moot point talking about it anymore.
Both my husband and I watch” The Price is Right” daily. We love the program. We see you are contemplating using a male model on the show. It will wreck the game show. Both men and woman love to see beautiful Women as the model. You have other males on the show. Both as a host and an speaker.. I am quite sure we are not the only older couple that feel the same way as we do. We are retired as a lot of your viewers are. Younger people are at work or in school and really do not add to your airing ratings as the older generation do.
Ken and Heather MI.
You are absolutely correct!! I have watched tpir since I was a little kid, and I ‘m now 66!
I’ll say one thing about Barker he was a handsome and talented host, who had a heart in animal welfare. Aside from that the man suffered from an acute case of egomania; that only worsened when he became executive producer of The Price is Right.
With Janice, Holly and Dian’s departure the show wasn’t the same. When lovable announcer Rod Roddy died that was another point of descent for TPIR. Johnny Olsen and Rod Roddy were unbelievably great announcers. Rich Fields was terrible and the fellow who’s currently the announcer is even worse than Fields.
I cannot bring myself to watch TPIR ever since Drew Carey was brought aboard. Drew seems like an ethical man (unlike Barker), but TPIR has taken on a different style that is way too unpleasant for me to try and watch.
I can enjoy the old episodes of the show on YouTube that I remember as a child from the ’70’s and later episodes when I was a young adult in the ’80s.
I like the older episodes, too. Watching Drew Carey is like watching a tree stump. As for the contestants that are on the current episodes of TPIR, they must be told to act like fools. So much time is wasted having the contestants do the “High Five” to the whole audience or to people they have never seen. I liked when contestants were genuinely excited. The show is ruined. Thank goodness for YouTube!
Yes, but remember, they wanted to replace Bob with Rosie O Donald.
I know how it fells sense Bob Barker left To watch TPIR will never bee the same I am 66yrs ola and the show is not the same. Drew is ok but I don’t like the way the show has changed It’s just a show I can’t get in to There is no excitement to the show anymore
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The Price is Right in its current format is very popular with younger people who didn’t grow up with and never saw any TPIR’s from the Barker era. To us purists who have fond memories of Barker’s TPIR, the show’s current format with Drew Carey never cut it. The only thing Drew Carey improved upon is losing weight. The production values of the show have suffered; terrible announcer, tacky male model, annoying roving camera angles, the set design, cue music, etc. So if you’re not accustomed to The Price is Right when Bob Barker hosted the show, then you’ll probably feels more inclined to watch Carey’s version.
Went to 2 tapings in the 80’s… met and kissed The lovely Dian… will never forget the cheek and hair I kissed on the right side of her face. I was 23 and then 29. I am 59 now and DO NOT enjoy the show currently.
I agree 100%.. All that high five and hugging makes it look so OBVIOUSLY FAKE.. And the one guy looks and acts like a ROBOT. His hands are constantly cupped and he only knows how to extend his arm a few times. The lady’s are much more professional acting.. The men are only there for the equality crap these days.
Equality “crap”? Seriously? Its crap to treat everyone as equal, regardless of race, sex or religion ? Let me guess, you like Donny AKA “EX Dictator in chief” tRUMp, too.