The animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is hoping to rename part of Sunset Boulevard in honor of the late “The Price is Right” host Bob Barker.
Barker, who famously signed off each episode of the game show with “have your pets spayed and neutered,” is the namesake for PETA’s Los Angeles headquarters in Echo Park. He died last month at the age of 99.
To remember the game show legend, PETA wants Los Angeles City Council Member Hugo Soto-Martinez to help them rename the portion of Sunset Boulevard outside the Bob Barker Building in Echo Park as “Bob Barker Boulevard,” the nonprofit announced in a press release.
“An honorary ‘Bob Barker Boulevard’ would be a fitting tribute for the television icon, who never hesitated to help when animals were in trouble and who was the man responsible for PETA’s opening of its West Coast headquarters in the entertainment capital of the country,” PETA founder and President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. “Bob Barker was compassion personified, so we look forward to working with the city to remember him in a way that will inspire anyone who spots his name on the sign to make kind choices every day, just as Bob did.”
The Council District 13 office noted that it’s early in the process, but they hope to meet with PETA in the coming weeks.
Outside of “The Price is Right,” Barker was likely best known for his animal activism.
In addition to his work to control the pet population, he donated $2.5 million to help PETA open its L.A. location and gave $5 million to Paul Watson and the prominent Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to help fight whaling, among other efforts.
“To us — and to so many animals around the world — Bob will always be a national animal rights treasure,” Newkirk said in a statement following his passing.