Adam Sandler Speaks on ‘Happy Gilmore’ Co-Star Bob Barker’s Death

Adam Sandler pays tribute to the late Bob Barker. “The man. The myth. The best. Such a sweet funny guy to hang out with. Loved talking to him,” Sandler, 56, shared via Instagram on Saturday, Aug. 26, accompanied by past images of his Happy Gilmore costars. “Loved laughing with him. Loved him kicking the crap out of me. He will be missed by everyone I know!” Sandler described the day as a “heartbreaking one” when he sent his condolences to Barker’s family. “Thanks for all you gave us,” finished Sandler in his tribute to the late entertainer. It was reported on Saturday that Barker had passed away at age 99 of natural causes. “It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker, has left us,” his publicist, Roger Neal, said in a statement. 

Barker became best known for hosting The Price Is Right from 1972 until 2007, but he was also a part of Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, which gave him his feature film debut. It was in the 1996 film that Sandler’s titular character and Barker (playing himself) competed in a celebrity golf tournament. Barker even fake-punches Happy Gilmore when things get out of hand. “Bob knows this, [but] we initially wrote [the part] for Ed McMahon. Ed McMahon said he was busy and we were like, ‘Imagine if Bob Barker did it, he’ll never do it,’” Sandler told Collider in March. “We sent [him the offer] and next thing you know, Bob Barker — whose neighbor was Chuck Norris at the time and Chuck and Bob used to spar — and Bob was like, ‘Yeah, if I get to fight, if I get to throw punches, I’m doing it.’”

Although they fought onscreen, Sandler assured the outlet that “Bob and I get along.” “Yeah, that was a good time for all of us,” he said at the time. During a 2013 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Barker said most people wanted to talk to him about Sandler’s fight scene. “They say could you really whip Adam Sandler?” Barker joked. “They say could you really beat Adam Sandler up in real life? I’d say, ‘Are you kidding? Adam Sandler couldn’t beat up Regis Philbin.’” As Sandler mentioned, upon being asked to come on board with the project later in the year, Barker agreed to do so under two conditions: writers would rework the scene so that Barker would be able to beat Gilmore in a fight, and the Price is Right star would be able to shoot the fight scenes himself, instead of having a body double. Barker and Sandler reunited to play out their old grudge match in a video sketch for the charity event Night of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together for Autism Programs in March 2015.