Bob Barker allegations in explosive docuseries were 'true and then some,' former game show host says
Former "Double Dare" host Marc Summers recalls Bob Barker's massive ego and cheap pay after Holly Hallstrom detailed her firing from "The Price Is Right" show.
Bob Barker may have been America's beloved game show host, but Marc Summers says there was another side to him behind the scenes.
The former host of Nickelodeon's hit game show "Double Dare" recently appeared on "Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia" to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary.
During the interview, Summers was asked about the recent E! docuseries "Dirty Rotten Scandals," which examines allegations that "The Price Is Right" was plagued by a hostile work environment, sexual harassment and discrimination.
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Summers previously worked with Barker, who died in 2023 at 99.
"Well, I think it’s too bad that the man’s not around to defend himself," the 74-year-old told Sibilia. "However, everything on there was true and then some. I could tell you stories off the air that make your hair curl that were true."
Summers said Barker's ego didn't disappear when the cameras stopped rolling.
WATCH: MARC SUMMERS SAYS BOB BARKER'S EGO ‘WOULDN'T FIT IN THE ROOM’
"When Dorothy Jo (Barker's wife) passed away, he kind of became a different guy, and his ego wouldn't fit in the room," Summers said. "It was all about Bob. On his dressing room door and on his dress shirts, it said, 'WGMC' — 'World's Greatest MC.' Give me a break."
Summers recalled that Studio 33, where "The Price Is Right" was taped, was occasionally used by other productions. During one such shoot, longtime "The Newlywed Game" host Bob Eubanks was filming a pilot when he hid the "WGMC" sign from Barker's dressing room door as a prank.
"So Barker comes in that Monday to do 'Price' and refuses to go on until they find the board that says 'WGMC,' and nobody could find it," Summers said. "They called up Eubanks at home and said, 'What the h--- did you do with this thing? We can't find it.' And Bob cracked up. He said, 'It's under the couch. Just lift up the couch. It is right under there.'"
Looking back, Summers described himself as a 22-year-old "idea man" who got along with Barker. But the price wasn't always right when it came to working for him.
"He had a deal at CBS when they wanted to give him a raise on 'Price,' but they didn't have enough money to pay him more as a host," Summers said.
"So they made him an executive producer and gave him an overall deal. He was producing game shows — or trying to — and needed questions written. He called me at home and said, 'Here's the show. I need 25 questions.' I said, 'Great, how much are you going to pay me?' He said, 'Marc, it's Bob. Don't worry. I'll take care of you.'"
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"So I wanted to impress him," Summers continued. "Instead of giving him 25 questions, I gave him 50. I thought, 'Oh my God, this is going to be great.' I called him and said, 'Bob, let me come by the house and drop them off.' He said, 'No, no, just put them in the mailbox, and there'll be an envelope in there for you.' I wrote him 50 questions when he'd only asked for 25, hoping for a check for $400 or $500. There was a check made out to Marc Summers for the grand total of 50 bucks. So that's the way it was."
WATCH: FAMOUS GAME SHOW HOST BOB BARKER PASSES AWAY AT 99
In March, Holly Hallstrom claimed on "Dirty Rotten Scandals" that she lost her job on "The Price Is Right" after refusing to publicly stand by Barker when fellow model Dian Parkinson accused him of sexual harassment in a 1994 lawsuit. Hallstrom, one of the show's longtime "Barker's Beauties," said producers blamed her 1995 firing on weight gain caused by medication.
Barker consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained that any relationships were consensual. Fox News Digital reached out to Parkinson for comment.
"When Dian filed her suit, oh boy, that was the beginning of when everything got really bad," Hallstrom told Fox News Digital. "I thought the whole situation, all the publicity, all the media attention, I thought it was horrible. I thought it was tacky. I was glad [co-creator] Mark Goodson had died [in 1992]. He would’ve been mortified to see that kind of tacky scandal on what was a family show."
"I didn't want to be involved in it at all," Hallstrom said. "Barker wanted us to go on all these talk shows and say he was the victim and that Dian was lying. I didn't participate because I thought it was tacky. I also couldn't honestly say, 'Oh yes, Dian is lying,' or 'Oh no, Dian is not lying.' I was not present for those conversations."
"I just avoided doing all of Bob’s PR tour," Hallstrom continued. "Finally, I was told I would be appearing on ‘The Suzanne Somers Show,’ period. And I did. Of course, all they wanted was for me to say that Dian was lying. When Suzanne asked me if I thought Dian was lying, I just babbled some answer, and that was that.
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"But then that week, I read in the tabloids, ‘Holly says, ‘Dian is lying.’ I never said that. I called the tabloid and demanded a retraction. They printed a retraction. But that was the beginning of the big rift between Bob and me. That’s when I got on his s--t list."
Parkinson dropped her lawsuit in 1995. At the time, her attorney said the legal battle had become too emotionally and financially draining and had begun affecting her physical health.
"Barker went all over television saying, ‘Her case was dismissed, and I’m totally vindicated,’" Hallstrom recalled. "I said, ‘That’s not true.’ I would not comment on that. I did not participate in those interviews. ... I would not change my testimony to suit Barker. That’s when I was told my weight was a problem. I was off the show."
"That was, well, probably the worst thing in my life at that point that had ever happened," Hallstrom admitted. "It only got worse from there."
Hallstrom and Barker spent nearly a decade locked in a legal battle after he sued her for defamation, according to Business Insider. She filed a countersuit alleging defamation, emotional distress and discrimination.
According to the outlet, Hallstrom said she was effectively blacklisted in the entertainment industry and pushed to the brink financially. She also declined settlement offers, saying she refused to be silenced by a nondisclosure agreement.
Two days before Hallstrom's case was scheduled to go to trial, Barker and CBS agreed to settle, Business Insider reported. According to the outlet, CBS agreed to pay Hallstrom a settlement reportedly worth millions. The terms were not disclosed, and the settlement did not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.
"I was not going to sign a nondisclosure for that show or anything," she said. "I was not going to sign away my right to free speech. It also meant that Barker could not do to me what he did to Dian, go out and claim victory and vindication. ... He could not say anything about me as long as I could speak out for myself. And he never said another word."
Not everyone accepted the show's portrayal of Barker. His longtime publicist defended the late host as "beloved" and "the greatest MC in TV history," while longtime producer Roger Dobkowitz denounced the series as an "obvious hit piece," arguing "The Price Is Right" "was a happy place" for most employees.
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