Bob Barker died yesterday, and in passing he left us with a legacy of kindness, compassion, empathy, and humor. Famous as a celebrity game show host, he became even more renown for his love for animals and his incredible generosity.

It was my privilege to have known and worked with him for so many years.

In 2009, I was speaking at an Animal Rights gathering in Los Angeles when a woman approached me and handed me a note asking me to get in touch with Nancy Burnet in Riverside, California about a possible donation. The woman said that Nancy had been trying to reach me for some time, but the Sea Shepherd office was not returning her calls. When I asked about this at the office I was surprised when they told me that yes that was true, but lots of people make offers to help and it’s time-consuming following them up. I was not happy. An offer of help should never be ignored.

I called Nancy. She was a little frustrated that no one had returned her calls. I apologized and said that I received her note. She then told me that she was representing someone who wanted to support our efforts to stop the Japanese whalers and would I like to meet him? I said of course, and an appointment was made for me to meet this mysterious potential donor at the office of his agent in Los Angeles.

To my great surprise the man who greeted me and who I immediately recognized was Bob Barker and he came right to the point.

“What do you need to stop the Japanese whalers?” He asked.

“We could use another ship and an upgrade on a helicopter.” I answered.

“How much do you need for another ship?” He asked.

“Well, we use what we can get, we could get a ship for a million dollars or five million dollars? Larger ships are cheaper because there is less demand. We paid 1.2 million for the Steve Irwin for example.”

Bob looked at me and smiled. “I’m giving you $5 million plus another $250,000 for a helicopter if you name it the Nancy Burnet.”

“Absolutely we will Bob, and we can also name the ship the Bob Barker.”

“You don’t have to do that; you can name it whatever name you wish.”

I had to convince him to let us name the ship after him explaining that his celebrity status and his well-known compassion for animals would help us to reach a great many people about our efforts to protect and defend the whales. He reluctantly agreed to our naming the ship in his honor.

We shook hands and I set out to find a ship, to outfit it and to deploy it to the Southern Ocean, and in December 2009, the M/V Bob Barker surprised the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Bob Barker served the cause for 13 years with great success including the blocking of the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru from refueling in 2013 and the chasing down of the outlaw toothfish poacher Thunder in 2015.

Unfortunately, I was removed from the operations of the ship and the Bob Barker was shamefully scrapped in Turkey in 2022, a move that I felt was not only a betrayal of the ship and myself but also a betrayal of Bob Barker, the man.

The ship was scrapped without honor for money. My recommendation to send the ship to the Faroes and sacrifice it for a campaign was rejected. It was an opportunity to focus huge international media attention on the horrific slaughter of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands. It was considered too controversial although I knew for sure it would not be too controversial for Bob Barker. But then again, they did not seek out his opinion either.

Bob Barker would have been thrilled if such a final voyage had been initiated. I even said I would captain the ship to the Faroes myself but like the ship, I was of no further use to the newly rebranded Sea Shepherd.

Bob Barker died yesterday. He lived just a few months short of a century. He was an icon in the Animal Rights movement and a major supporter of many Animal Rights and Animal Welfare organizations.

He gave so much to so many and never did it out of a desire for recognition. He truly cared and his compassion will continue to shine as a beacon of hope for generations to come.

A century of a compassionate life well lived. 

Bob Barker is now an Angel overlooking a world where his kindness, his actions and his generosity made a great difference. He will not be forgotten.