People: For Bob, the time is right
Bob Barker is heading toward his final “Come on down.”
Barker announced Tuesday that he’s retiring as host of “The Price Is Right” in June.
“I will be 83 years old on Dec. 12,” the daytime TV icon says, “and I’ve decided to retire while I’m still young.”
He’s hanging it up after 35 years on “Price” and 50 years overall in television.
“I’ve gone on and on and on to this ancient age because I’ve enjoyed it,” Barker says. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, and I’m going to miss it.
“I’m just reaching the age where the constant effort to be there and do the show physically is a lot for me,” he adds. “I might be able to do the show another year, but better (to leave) a year too soon than a year too late.”
Barker began his national TV career in 1956 as the host of “Truth or Consequences.” He first appeared on “Price” on Sept. 4, 1972.
A CBS prime-time special celebrating the show’s longevity and Barker’s five decades on TV was already in the works.
The sands of time
The cast of “Baywatch” held a beachside reunion at a Santa Monica, Calif., hotel to celebrate Tuesday’s release of DVD box sets of the first two seasons of the long-running show.
Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff were joined by Traci Bingham, Jeremy Jackson and Donna D’Errico, among others.
“I’m excited,” Anderson said. “I want my kids to see it, and then they’ll know how cool their mom is.”
A chilling development
Anna Nicole Smith has been hospitalized with a “slight case of pneumonia” at the same Bahamas medical center where her son died under mysterious circumstances in September.
“We’ve had a sudden change of weather here due to a cold snap,” her attorney said.
Smith’s 20-year-old son Daniel died in her hospital room hours after arriving in the Bahamas, where his mother had given birth to a daughter three years earlier.
Wash away that slime
“Desperate Housewives” star Marcia Cross is demanding the return of some revealing photos that she says have fallen into the wrong hands.
Those hands belong to David Hans Schmidt, the purveyor of the Dustin “Screech” Diamond sex tape, who also bought the contents of a storage locker rented by Paris Hilton after she failed to make her payments.
The Cross photos, which number about 200, apparently were thrown out by accident and discovered by a garbage collector.
“There are some pictures of her showering outside,” Schmidt says. “She looks absolutely gorgeous.”
We’ll see what develops
Speaking of housewives, Elizabeth Taylor is denying media reports that she plans to marry for the ninth time.
The 74-year-old actress is being linked romantically with Firooz Zahedi, who became her personal photographer in the 1970s.
The birthday bunch
Country singer Bill Anderson is 69. “Hustler” publisher Larry Flynt is 64. Singer Lyle Lovett is 49. Singer Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 44. Country singer Big Kenny (Big and Rich) is 43. Actress Toni Collette is 34. Actress Jenny McCarthy is 34. “American Idol” runner-up Bo Bice is 31.