Adam Sandler has posted a tribute to his Happy Gilmore costar Bob Barker, who died on Saturday at the age of 99.
“The man. The myth. The best. Such a sweet funny guy to hang out with. Loved talking to him,” Sandler wrote via Instagram and X. “Loved laughing with him. Loved him kicking the crap out of me. He will be missed by everyone I know!”
In his post, Sandler included some throwback images of himself with Barker.
Sandler acknowledged that it was a “heartbreaking day” and concluded his note by thanking Barker for all he “gave us.”
Barker appeared on the big screen as himself in Sandler’s 1996 comedy, participating in an iconic fight scene with Sandler’s titular character, a hockey player turned pro golfer.
Many might remember Sandler’s famous quote right before he clocked Barker with his biggest punch, declaring “The price is wrong, b**ch!”
Sandler spoke to Collider in March and said that despite their onscreen confrontation, “Bob and I get along.” He added that filming the scene “was a good time for all of us.”
“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 recalled. “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.’”
Sandler reassured the outlet that “Bob and I get along” despite the onscreen fight. “Yeah, that was a good time for all of us,” he added at the time.
Barker—who hosted the game show The Price Is Right for 35 years—died in his home in Los Angeles on Saturday, according to publicist Roger Neal.
He was born in Darrington, Washington, in 1923. He married Dorothy Jo Gideon, his high school sweetheart, who died in 1981 after 37 years of marriage. They had no children.
