Bob Barker Seen in a Wheelchair in Last Public Photo Before His Death
Before Bob Barker's death on Saturday at the age of 99, the beloved former gameshow host had spent the last few years of his life out of the spotlight, under the care of his longtime girlfriend, Nancy Burnet.
However, it appears that Barker may have been struggling with health issues long before his death. In the last photo of the longtime The Price Is Right host, taken on Feb. 26, 2021, Barker is seen in a wheelchair.
In the photo, Barker can be seen enjoying the sunlight while sitting in a wheelchair on the front lawn of his home in Los Angeles, while attended to by his nurses and care providers.
Barker, who would have been 97 at the time, appeared content and warm, in a flannel jacket, red shirt and grey sweatpants, alongside a walker placed in front of his wheelchair.
Just over a year earlier, a rep for Barker confirmed to ET that the iconic TV personality fell at his home, and that paramedics were called to check on him. However, they didn't transport him to the hospital, and he hadn't suffered any ill effects as a result of the accident.
The rep told ET that Barker was "at home resting and is comfortable."
"He’s overly cautious at the moment because of his previous back injury," Barker's rep said at the time, adding that he practiced "some occasional physical therapy to strengthen his back."
Barker was previously hospitalized on Oct. 22, 2018, when he was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for back pain. Prior to that, Barker was visited by emergency personnel at his home on Oct. 9, where his complaints of back pain first began.
In November 2018, Barker was again hospitalized for severe back pain. At the time, a rep for Barker told ET that he was "awake, alert, and improving, but he’s up and down." The rep further explained that Barker was transported to the hospital from his home via ambulance because "it’s difficult to transport him by passenger car."
In a statement to ET on Saturday, Barker's longtime publicist, Roger Neal, confirmed the news of his death, sharing, "It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World's Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker, has left us."
Neal also said that, per Barker's request, there will be no funeral or memorial service held in his honor. He'll be laid to rest next to his wife, Dorothy Jo, at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills. Jo died in 1981.
For more on Barker's life and legacy, see the video below.
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