Priceless Memories - Bob Barker [68]
Dorothy Jo and I created a talent show and we focused on high school students. We called it Talent in High. We took talent from all the high schools in the area. Believe me, there were some talented young people available. We had singers and dancers and musicians of all kinds, and the show was very successful. Nevertheless, Talent in High ended after thirteen weeks. It was not because people did not like the show. The problem was marketing the product Teen Tone. There was no place to buy it because the creator refused to do business with drug chains. He insisted on selling it to independent drugstores, so it was almost impossible to find Teen Tone even if you wanted to buy it. I think I still have a jar or two. Maybe I should try eBay.
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As I look back on this time, I recall how happy Dorothy Jo and I were. We were making friends and exploring Southern California, and it was an exciting time in radio and television. Hollywood, as always, was the epicenter of the action. The country was also still in the throes of post–World War II jubilant spirits and solid economic prosperity, and nowhere was that more evident than in Southern California.
One time shortly after we arrived in Hollywood, we were invited to a party on Hollywood Boulevard in an apartment not far from Hollywood and Vine. We were delighted to receive an invitation to a bona fide Hollywood party, one that was not far from us. It was one of those classic grand old apartment buildings built around a courtyard. It was a nice old apartment, and it was a big party. There were a lot of people there of every description, and the party got loud, and then louder, and then still louder. The apartment manager came out and complained about the noise, but the complaint was ignored. In fact, the party got even more raucous, and the manager called the police. The manager came and told the fellow who lived in the apartment, the host, that he had called the police, but the manager added, “You go ahead and make as much noise as you want. Have as big a party as you want because tomorrow you are gone. You are out of here.”
Then the police arrived. Dorothy Jo and I did not want to discuss the party with the police if we could avoid it, and neither did a lot of other people. They started disappearing in all directions. Dorothy Jo and I chose to step out onto a fire escape, and it just so happens that we were joined out there by a midget. He was a very nice fellow and funny, and we enjoyed talking with him while we waited for the police to leave. I remember Dorothy Jo and I looked at each other, and it occurred to me that we really were a part of the Hollywood scene now—we were at a party on Hollywood Boulevard, hiding from the police with a midget on a fire escape.
Our life became even more Hollywood only a few years later. Dorothy Jo and I were living on Laurel Avenue in an apartment just above Sunset Boulevard when I signed to do Truth. I had received the call from Ralph, but I had not started the show yet. It was December 1956. I walked down to the cleaners near our apartment. I used to talk to the lady who managed the place. I said, “I have some news for you. I am going to host Truth or Consequences.” It was already a famous show that had been on for years on radio and television. I told her that it was coming back, and I was going to host it. “This will be my first national show,” I told her with pride.
And this lady looked at me and said, “Yes, now it is all up to you. You got your break. Now it is all up to you.”
And I thought, “You know, she is right. It is all up to me,” but I knew that I had Dorothy Jo in my corner. She was always there for me until October 19, 1981.
Earlier that year, we learned that Dorothy Jo was terminally ill with inoperable lung cancer, and we had a lot of talks. One time she said, “Do not be afraid of being alone. You will find great comfort and tranquility in solitude.” And she was absolutely right. I have found great comfort and happiness alone. I miss her tremendously, but I have found some peace in solitude. I enjoy