Famed game show host Bob Barker learned to fly in Iowa

FILE – Legendary game show host Bob Barker, 83, waves goodbye as he tapes his final episode of “The Price Is Right,” in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 6, 2007. Barker signed off from 35 years on the game show and 50 years in daytime TV in the same low-key, genial fashion that made him one of daytime TV’s biggest stars. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

AMES — There is an Iowa connection to the longtime game show host who died over the weekend.

In 1943, Bob Barker joined the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II to train as a fighter pilot, but did not serve in combat. Barker began his pre-basic flight training at Iowa State University in Ames, flying Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper planes.

Barker, the former host of The Price is Right and Truth or Consequences, died Saturday in Hollywood at the age of 99.