A Class Act

I was flipping around youtube the other night (something I try to do as infrequently as possible, but sometimes, boredom wins out) and I came across the scene from Happy Gilmore where Bob Barker lays into Sandler on the golf greens. Truly classic comedy, and I would have to say, one of Adam Sandler's finer moments. But the true humor of the scene to me would be the irony of Barker himself. Not so much his age, but the man, the myth, the legend.

I met Bob Barker back in '05 or so. I was working at CBS as a paige. And one of the shows I got to work on was The Price is Right. So I was one of the guys in the red sports coats, and the job was pretty much to herd the crowd in to lines like an amusement park, and then get them all worked up to be in the audience of the show. Kind of a menial job, but I put my enthusiasm into it, and I'd like to think I was able to brighten up the experience for a couple of tourists from whatever fly over states they had travelled from. I mean hey, no reason to ruin someone's view of Hollywood if they still believe in all that tinsel town mess. But you and I know better.

So when I did finally get to shake Bob Barker's hand after one of the tapings, it was nothing short of amazing. The man is a paragon of classy. Everything from the crisp pin striped suits, to the trade mark long stem microphone, to the Johnny Carson ease of his humor (and of course that million dollar smile) simply exuded entertainment excellence. I'll never forget how easily he kept the entire crowd revved up, even while the show was in holding for lighting adjustments or whatever other million things can go wrong on a set. And yes I was more than a little dismayed to come across the article where the CBS people didn't even invite him back for the 40th anniversary special, but even then, he handled it with class and utmost dignity.

This is a man who deserves the utmost adoration that Hollywood can offer. The fact that network executives have by and large treated him as just another 'Joe says everything that needs to be said about the industry. But I just wanted to say a word or two about the man, and the level of classy sophistication that I saw in him. If he could withstand the trials of Hollywood and still come out that classy, then I should never have anything to complain about. When things get rough, and I get frustrated with an agent, or getting screwed out of payment on a movie, I think about Mr. Barker. I think about the legacy that he contributed to television. And I think about the fact that at least publicly, he never complained.