Janice Maurine Pennington (born July 8, 1942) is an American former model and was one of the original " Barker's Beauties" models on ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

.'' As its longest-running model, Pennington was with ''The Price Is Right'' from the show's premiere in 1972 until 2000. She was also ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' magazine's

Playmate of the Month A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Play ...

for the May 1971 issue. She is the older sister of fellow model Ann Pennington and the cofounder of the

Hollywood Film Festival The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Los Angeles, California, USA. History The Hollywood Film Festival was established in 1997 by author and producer Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington.P ...

Personal life

Pennington was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. She has been married three times, and her first marriage was to Glenn Jacobson, with whom she appeared in a Spring 1967 episode (exact date unknown) of the daytime version of '' To Tell the Truth.'' Her second husband was German mountain climber Friedrich "Fritz" Stammberger, who disappeared in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

in 1975 while mountain climbing. After years of searching, Pennington speculated that Fritz had been helping the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

establish mountain bases along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and was killed during a battle with

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

forces. In 1984, Pennington married writer Carlos de Abreu, a native of

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. Pennington was a member of a music group called the Models who released a single in 1967.

''The Price Is Right''

For 29 years, Pennington served as a model on ''

'', handing the microphone to

Bob Barker Robert William Barker (born December 12, 1923) is an American retired television game show host. He is known for hosting CBS's '' The Price Is Right'' from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American tele ...

at the start of more than 5,000 shows. She also handed off to

Dennis James Dennis James (born Demie James Sposa, August 24, 1917 – June 3, 1997) was an American television personality, philanthropist, and commercial spokesman. Until 1976, he had appeared on TV more times and for a longer period than any other televi ...

and

Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to: Politics * Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21 *Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...

while the show was in syndication in 1972–77 and 1985–86, respectively. During a 1976 syndicated episode, host

called the mountain-climber character in the Cliff Hangers game Fritz, unaware that Pennington's husband Fritz Stammberger had disappeared while mountain climbing in the mid-1970s. As the contestant lost the game and the mountain-climber figure tumbled over the cliff, James shouted "There goes Fritz!," causing Pennington to run from the stage in tears. In June 1988, a camera hit Pennington, knocking her unconscious. She was taken to a hospital and taping of the episode resumed after 45 minutes. Pennington's resulting surgery left her with scars and one shoulder shorter than the other; as a result, she could no longer wear swimsuits on the show. A substitute model took Pennington's place during her recovery from the injury. Pennington's last episode of ''The Price Is Right'' was the December 13, 2000 episode following the show's takeover by

Pearson Television Pearson Television was the British-based television production and distribution arm of a British company Pearson PLC. History In 1994 after a bidding war, Pearson PLC bought the former British ITV franchisee Thames Television. Then in 1995 i ...

earlier in the year. She signed a confidential settlement agreement.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pennington, Janice 1942 births Living people Game show models 1970s Playboy Playmates People from Seattle

Personal life

''The Price Is Right''

See also

References

External links