 In early 1984, Barry was preparing to retire from "The Joker's Wild" and hand the show over to Jim Peck, his substitute host, as well as take a less active role in the production company (as he was 65 when the year began).However, on May 2, 1984, he suffered a massive heart attack while jogging in New York's Central Park and died.With control of the company now solely in his hands, Enright decided to make several changes to Barry's policies and practices that he and several other staffers did not agree with.