Holly Anne Hallstrom (born August 24, 1952 in San Antonio, Texas) is a former American model. She is best known for being one of the longest-serving Barker's Beauties on The Price is Right, appearing from February 14, 1977 (officially)-October 27, 1995 (18 years).
Early Life[]
In her late teens and early twenties, Hallstrom was a college student and to help pay for her college tuition, she booked part-time modeling gigs. While visiting Los Angeles, CA, she landed the one gig that would change her life forever and said goodbye to her college studies. That gig was auditioning to become the newest Barker's Beauty on the television game show The Price is Right after previous model Anitra Ford, who had been on the show since its 1972 premiere, chose to leave the program the previous fall to pursue careers in real estate and photography.
Price is Right, Memorable Bloopers & Mishaps[]
Hallstrom's first appearance on the series was on (airdate) January 3, 1977 during model tryouts and after a string of appearances with other guest models (most notably Mary Poms and Linda Serine), she was chosen by the show's producers as they officially hired her as the newest Barker's Beauty (permanently replacing Anitra) on February 14th. Almost instantly, Hallstrom became known for having mishaps, blunders, and bloopers with various prizes and set pieces, all of which made her a favorite among the fans.
During the closing of the (airdate) October 16, 1981 episode, Hallstrom suffered a wardrobe malfunction while dancing to Kool and the Gang's Celebration as her dress began to slip, causing her to run behind announcer Johnny Olson and host Bob Barker, who stepped in front of Hallstrom, covering her with his jacket. One of Hallstrom's most memorable bloopers on the show is the infamous Gibson Kitchen Appliances, which she battled with on three different episodes. The refrigerator door (third time the dishwasher) kept swinging back open as she attempted to shut it. Another memorable Hallstrom blooper was from a February 1993 episode, where she was modeling a Jukebox while dancing with a male mannequin as the mannequin's pants started to fall down as the audience exploded with laughter. She did not notice this until announcer Rod Roddy finished reading the prize description and laughed at herself with embarrassment. Bob jokingly pointed out, "With Holly you could never tell if those kind of things were planned or not."
In late 1983, Hallstrom had originally chosen to leave the series (her final appearance had aired on December 2nd), to pursue an acting career while a rotating series of models filled her position over that time: Chanel Lee, who prior to appearing on "Price", previously appeared as one of the models on Monty Hall's short-lived version of Beat The Clock, (first appearing during the week of November 14th - 18th, as a week-long substitute for Hallstrom), Pat Colbert, best known for playing the role of Dora Mae on the long-running CBS primetime series Dallas and becoming the very first African-American model to appear on the daytime Price is Right with Bob Barker. Also appearing as substitutes were Janice Baker, best known for being one of the dealers on Jim Perry's version of Card Sharks, Kristin Bjorklund, also from the Perry era of Card Sharks as well as having worked on other Goodson-Todman shows (most notably Family Feud), Kyle Aletter (after having first appeared as a contestant), who originally was going to be Hallstrom's permanent replacement, but was signed on as a substitute instead and lastly, Andi Rapagna, who was the very last of the rotating models to appear before Hallstrom's return and went on to appear as one of the models of the Italian version of "Price" titled OK, il Prezzo e Guisto! (OK, The Price is Right!).
Hallstrom returned to The Price is Right in the spring of 1984 (airdate: March 30th) and remained with the series until her abrupt, and unexpected termination from the show in October 1995.
Absences[]
In February 1978, Hallstrom's first-known absence from The Price is Right came about as a model named Sherry filled in for her, most likely for one episode (airdate: February 7th). In December 1980, Hallstrom was absent once again, this time around it was due to a knee injury as Price staffer Barbara Hunter stepped in as a last-minute replacement for Holly (airdate: December 23rd).
Hallstrom's next string of absences occurred in late October 1986 (beginning on the 30th until November 10th) when she had fallen ill as Kyle Aletter, after previously appearing as a rotating model back in 1984, was invited back to fill Hallstrom's spot for the days she was out and it was here (on the October 30th & November 3rd shows) when she was formally introduced to the home and studio audiences by host Bob Barker. In May 1988, (beginning on the 4th), Hallstrom was absent once again due to illness as Aletter (after previously filling in for Dian Parkinson for a period of weeks back in February to mid-March and months before Janice Pennington's accident) returned to take her place for the days she was out sick.
In April 1992 (beginning on the 15th until the 22nd), Hallstrom would be absent from The Price is Right once again (for an unknown reason) as only Kathleen Bradley, Dian Parkinson & Janice Pennington were present for these shows.
Her last known absences occurred on (airdate) November 2, 1993, (airdate) April 24, 1994 and (airdate) April 10, 1995, absent for one show each.
Serious Injuries on Price is Right set[]
It was not always fun and humor. On (airdate) December 10, 1992, Hallstrom and Kathleen Bradley both suffered severe injuries during a showcase skit which involved a 500 pound industrial stove on a rotating platform dolly. The backstage crew began wheeling out another prize in that showcase skit, which was a one-and-a-half-ton sailboat. The hull of the boat began pushing the stove forward and the platform dolly was supposed to be hauled off stage, but no one came to retrieve it. The oversized appliance began tipping over onto Hallstrom and Bradley as they frantically tried pushing it back, keeping it from falling onto them, but it was too heavy. Hallstrom managed to jump out of the way but Bradley was stuck and couldn't move. Soon, a stagehand realized what was happening and came to her rescue. The appliance went crashing as it hit the stage floor, shattering into a million pieces as both Bradley and Hallstrom were struck in several parts of their bodies as they lay backstage in severe pain. The studio audience didn't witness the scary mishap and host Bob Barker was not aware of the incident until after the show taping when he was informed by one of the producers. An ambulance then arrived and both ladies were rushed to the hospital. Hallstrom and Bradley suffered severe bruising and a few lacerations and were too injured to return to work on the next day of taping. Janice Pennington was not present during that horrifying ordeal as she took that particular week off, leaving Dian Parkinson as the only regular model in attendance for the next several tapings.
With Pennington off for that week and while Hallstrom and Bradley were at home recovering from their injuries, substitute model Kyle Aletter was called in again and helped Parkinson hold down the fort. The following week and a half later, Hallstrom and Bradley (and Pennington) returned to work but were still badly bruised in numerous places on their bodies. The accident justified a lawsuit against CBS for negligence (just as happened to Pennington back in 1988) but instead CBS Television City and The Price is Right were extremely apologetic and voluntarily offered Hallstrom and Bradley small monetary compensations for their pain and suffering which both ladies willingly accepted. Afterwards in a radio interview, Hallstrom stated that the accident was quite a scare and she and Bradley were lucky to be alive and also believed that the scary stage was messy and jinxed.
Price is Right Departure & Decade-long Court Battles[]
In late October 1995, everything was shattered around Hallstrom as she was abruptly dismissed from The Price is Right by Bob Barker himself, for according to Barker, "gaining weight" (her final appearance aired on the 27th). Shortly after her abrupt firing, Hallstrom recalled in an interview where she would be placed behind various things to hide her "weight gain". She later revealed that the real reasoning behind her firing was because her refusal to support Barker when ex-model Dian Parkinson, (who departed back in June 1993 & later filed a lawsuit against Barker for a sexual harassment case which she ultimately dropped). Hallstrom also stated that Barker ordered her to make appearances of various talk shows and do radio interviews to say that Parkinson was lying and as well as being instructed to recall certain events differently than she had remembered them. Hallstrom refused to get involved, and did not want to perjure herself (and risk being in contempt of court), so she was fired (under the guise of weight gain and corporate cutbacks as the number of models downsized from four to three).
After her abrupt termination from the series, host Bob Barker became bombarded with a tremendous and overwhelming amount of angry mail sent by former fans of the show and as a response to this, Barker fought back as he not only launched a media attack on Hallstrom but also filed suit against her for libel and slander (Barker vs. Hallstrom), claiming that she was lying but 48 hours before the trial was supposed to began, Barker dropped the suit and the court declared Hallstrom the prevailing party and he was ordered to pay Hallstrom's legal fees. But the legal wars didn't stop there, wanting revenge, Hallstrom fired back as she countersued Barker for age, weight and medical discrimination, wrongful termination and malicious prosecution (Hallstrom vs. Barker) which ultimately led to a decade-long battle in the courts and during that time period, Hallstrom spent all of her savings and resources, sold her house and lived out in her car and despite all of this, giving up was "NOT" an option as she even reportedly said in an interview during that time period "I refused to give up and let that evil old bastard win". In 1997, she moved to Utah where she found seasonal work at a local ski resort, but the court battles continued.
In December 2000, fellow longtime models Janice Pennington and Kathleen Bradley as well as several of the show's staff members (Sherrill Paris, Sharon Friem, Linda Riegert and director Paul Alter) were all dismissed from the show following their testimonies in Barker's failed lawsuit against Hallstrom. Pennington, who had been with the series since its September 4, 1972 debut and Bradley, since December 1990 (officially after nearly 40 appearances as an intern model), both received out-of-court financial settlements. In addition to Pennington's settlement, she was prohibited from speaking publicly against Barker and although she has not spoken publicly regarding Barker or her departure from The Price is Right. Bradley's settlement on the other hand, did not contain a hush clause as she referred to her termination as "abrupt" and "unexpected" and as an event she was not prepared for. Former staff assistant Sherrill Paris filed suit against Barker for wrongful termination, along with production assistant, Sharon Friem, who was also dismissed at the same time and sued Barker for wrongful termination, as well as sexual harassment and sex discrimination, stating she was the target of many inappropriate sexual remarks and gestures. Both ladies received financial settlements to drop their lawsuits against Barker. However, Paul Alter briefly regained his position on the show in early 2001 and remained until his retirement.
Since 1995, Hallstrom is one of six women who were dismissed from their duties on The Price is Right under Barker's leadership as executive producer as well as filing suits against Barker for charges including sexual harassment, racial discrimination and wrongful termination. The women received out-of-court settlements to drop their lawsuits against Barker except former production assistant Linda Riegert's case, which at the time, was still pending (Rieger's case was most likely like the others, settled out of court).
After 10 long years of battling in the courts, Hallstrom would later emerge victorious come October 2005, when she received a multi-million dollar settlement, which she used to buy several houses in her native San Antonio, TX, and also setting up foundations, one of which is for individuals (both Women and Men) who have suffered wrongful or malicious conditions in the workplace, and don't have the power or resources (financially or otherwise) to go up against powerful individuals (whether it be their boss or CEO, etc.) or large corporations, despite having a valid, non-frivolous claim. She also sat for an interview with Ann Curry on The Today Show in the 2000s and later with Barbara Walters on The View to discuss her victory win.
Other TV appearances & Personal Trivia[]
Hallstrom's newfound fame as one of Barker's Beauties on The Price is Right made her a bit of a celebrity as well. She occasionally appeared as a celebrity panelist on Match Game PM, most likely beginning in 1979.
In 1989, Hallstrom appeared in an episode of the short-lived NBC sitcom The Nutt House titled "The Nutt Cracker Suite" where she plays a newlywed woman.
(NOTE: This episode never aired regarding its cancellation on October 25, 1989 due to low ratings at the time.)
In 1991 and again in 1993, Hallstrom appeared alongside Bob Barker and the cast of The Price is Right (with Barker as team captain) as they faced off against the cast of the CBS soap The Young and The Restless with future TNPiR host Doug Davidson serving as their team captain in a Soap Stars vs Barker's Beauties special on Family Feud during the tenure of the late Ray Combs. Also in 1993, Hallstrom, Kathleen Bradley and Dian Parkinson (shortly before her departure from The Price is Right) all appeared on Vicki Lawrence's shirt-lived syndicated talk show Vicki! alongside original Let's Make a Deal model Carol Merrill, $ale of The Century hostess & former Miss USA winner Summer Bartholomew, and the original hostess/letter-turner on Wheel of Fortune, Susan Stafford. The following year, she made a second appearance on Lawrence's talk show, this time around alongside host Bob Barker and a group of tryout models (Tandra Cromer, Melissa Cortez, Michelle Hunter & Lisa Lopez), all of whom won contests to appear as a Barker's Beauty for one week (during model tryouts to permanently replace Dian Parkinson). In the same year, Hallstrom made a brief cameo appearance in the spoof comedy film called Loaded Weapon or National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 a parody of the 80s/90s buddy cop action-comedy film franchise Lethal Weapon starring Emilio Esteves & Samuel L. Jackson as Jack Colt & Wes Luger (a spoof of Martin Riggs & Roger Murtaugh played by Mel Gibson & Danny Glover respectively), for a scene where she plays a "Spin the Wheel" type model/hostess (similar to her Barker's Beauties role on Price but more so like Wheel of Fortune hostess Vanna White) though she doesn't speak.
In January 1992, Hallstrom appeared in the cover of a Vegan-styled magazine Vegetarian Times in an article called "Career for Success".
In 1994, Hallstrom appeared as a guest on the short-lived syndicated talk show The Suzanne Somers Show. In the same year, she later briefly appeared in the unsold comedy pilot Galaxy Beat where she plays a female officer.
In 1995, Hallstrom (after her termination from Price) appeared on an episode of Hard Copy where she became overwhelmed with emotion as she tearfully talked about her firing from the show that she called home for almost 20 years. She went on to say she was going into retirement from the business and ended the interview by bidding a fond farewell to her fans.
In 1996, Hallstrom appeared in the made-for-TV movie called The Tomorrow Man where she plays a spokeswoman for a toothpaste commercial called Glint "For the smile, that shines!".
In early 2002, Hallstrom was interviewed for the E! channel's E! True Hollywood Story about The Price is Right and in 2005, shortly after she was awarded a multi-million dollar settlement in her suit against Bob Barker, she sat for an interview with Ann Curry on The Today Show (and later Barbara Walters on The View) discussing winning her lawsuit and her plans for the money.
On September 24, 2024; Hallstrom did a new interview with the website Business Insider[1]about her late former boss' controversial behind-the-scenes actions.
Hallstrom (like Bob Barker) is a vegetarian, she was never married and has no children.
Gallery[]
Hallstrom in The Nutt House[]
(NOTE: The episode she appeared in was "The Nutt Cracker Suite" which was never broadcasted during its original run)
Hallstrom's Appearance in Vegetarian Times Magazine (January 1992)[]
Hallstrom in National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1[]
Hallstrom in Galaxy Beat[]
Hallstrom in The Tomorrow Man[]
Other Pics[]
Link[]
YouTube Videos[]
- 1989: Holly's appearance as a newlywed woman in the short-lived sitcom The Nutt House (starts at 16:34/22:11)
- 1993: Holly and the Dancing Dummy's "wardrobe malfunction"
- Holly's cameo appearance in a 1993 film titled Loaded Weapon
- Holly's appearance as a female officer in the unsold comedy pilot Galaxy Beat from 1994 (starts at 0:45/2:42)
- Holly's last appearance on TPiR (though she does not bid farewell) from 1995
- Entertainment Tonight "Holly Hallstrom's firing from TPIR" in 1995
- Hard Copy's story on Holly's retirement in 1995
- Holly's appearance as a spokesperson for a toothpaste commercial in the made-for-TV film The Tomorrow Man from 1996 (starts at 48:05/1:28:46)
- From 2005, Holly discusses her lawsuit victory on "The Today Show"