Gene Barry
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Gene Barry | |
---|---|
Barry in 1959 | |
Born | Eugene Klass June 14, 1919 New York City, U.S. |
Died | December 9, 2009 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 90)
Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City |
Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
Years active | 1942–2005 |
Spouse |
Betty Claire Kalb
(m. 1944; died 2003) |
Children | 3 |
Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass; June 14, 1919 – December 9, 2009) was an American stage, screen, and television actor and singer. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films The Atomic City (1952) and The War of the Worlds (1953) and for his portrayal of the title characters in the TV series Bat Masterson and Burke's Law, among many roles.
Early life
[edit]Barry was born Eugene Klass on June 14, 1919, in New York City, the son of Eva (née Conn) and Martin Klass;[citation needed] all of his grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Latvia and Poland.[1] Barry grew up in New York City and attended New Utrecht High School. Barry exhibited early artistic skills with singing and playing violin as a child and later spent two years at the Chatham Square School of Music in Greenwich Village on a scholarship awarded for his vocal ability.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]Barry chose his professional name in honor of John Barrymore[2] and made his Broadway debut as Captain Paul Duval in the 1942 revival of Sigmund Romberg's The New Moon. He later portrayed Falke in Rosalinda (1942), Nova Kovich in The Merry Widow (1943), Lieutenant Bunin in Catherine Was Great (1944), Dorante and Comte De Chateau-Gaillard in The Would-Be Gentleman (1946), The Doctor in Happy as Larry (1950), and played a variety of roles in the musical revue Bless You All (1950).[citation needed]
In 1950 Barry began appearing on television with the NBC Television Opera Theatre. In 1955 he appeared on the CBS Television anthology series Appointment with Adventure.
In 1951 Barry was hired for his first movie, in the role of Dr. Frank Addison in The Atomic City (1952). In 1953 he was cast as Dr. Clayton Forrester in the science fiction film The War of the Worlds (1953). (Much later, Barry also made a cameo appearance in Steven Spielberg's remake of War of the Worlds (2005), along with his co-star Ann Robinson from the film of 1953.)
When the situation comedy Our Miss Brooks was given a change of format in 1955, Barry was cast in a recurring role as the physical education teacher Gene Talbot, the new romantic interest of series star Eve Arden. The show was canceled in 1956, but Barry's character—a ladies' man with expensive tastes—served as the model for three shows in which he later starred.[citation needed]
Bat Masterson, a fictionalized recounting of the life of the real-life U.S. Marshal, gambler, and gunman (Masterson's life as a writer and bon vivant occurred long after the time-frame featured in the series) was broadcast by NBC-TV from 1958 to 1961. (In 1990 Barry recreated the role of Bat Masterson for two episodes of Guns of Paradise along with Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp and the following year in The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, also with O'Brian as Wyatt Earp.)
In his next TV series, Burke's Law, Barry played a millionaire homicide investigator who was chauffeured in his Rolls-Royce as he solved crimes. This series was broadcast on ABC-TV from September 20, 1963, to May 5, 1965. For his performance in it, Barry won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in 1965. In 1965–66, the final season of the series, the title of the show changed to Amos Burke, Secret Agent.[3][4] In 1994, a revival of the Burke's Law series returned to television for two seasons on CBS. Barry again played in the title role, this time as a widower working with his son Peter (Peter Barton).
Barry's third TV series was The Name of the Game, in which he played the sophisticated publisher of a family of magazines, and was one of three lead characters. The other two lead actors were Robert Stack and Tony Franciosa, who rotated with Barry week by week as the primary character in each week's program. This series was shown by NBC from 1968 to 1971. One of the magazines that Barry's character published was called People, several years before the actual People began publication.
Shortly before the filming of The Name of the Game series began, Barry played the villain—a wealthy psychiatrist—in Prescription: Murder, the two-hour TV movie that became the precursor of the TV series Columbo.
In 1972, Barry starred in the ITV television series The Adventurer, along with Barry Morse and Catherine Schell. He played Gene Bradley, a government agent of independent means who posed as a glamorous American movie star. Also in 1972, Barry acted in The Second Coming of Suzanne, an avant-garde drama directed by his son Michael and starring Sondra Locke and Paul Sand. He co-financed the film with private backers.[5]
Barry returned to Broadway acting on two occasions—in 1962 in The Perfect Setup and in 1983 in the Broadway premiere of the musical La Cage aux Folles. Barry was nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Georges in Cage.[6]
For his contribution to live theatre, Gene Barry received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6555 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1975 Barry bought a home in Palm Springs, California.[7] A Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to him in 1994.[8]
Personal life
[edit]On October 22, 1944, at age 25, Barry married Betty Claire Kalb (1923–2003), whom he met on the set of Catherine Was Great. Kalb was an actress known by the stage name Julie Carson.
Death
[edit]Barry died on December 9, 2009, at Sunrise Senior Living[9] in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of 90.[10] He was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California, with his wife Betty, who died in 2003.[11][12]
Filmography
[edit]- The Atomic City (1952) – Dr. Frank Addison
- The War of the Worlds (1953) – Dr. Clayton Forrester
- The Girls of Pleasure Island (1953) – Capt. Beaton
- Those Redheads From Seattle (1953, filmed in 3-D) – Johnny Kisco
- Alaska Seas (1954) – Verne Williams
- Red Garters (1954) – Rafael Moreno
- Naked Alibi (1954) – Al Willis
- Soldier of Fortune (1955) – Louis Hoyt
- The Purple Mask (1955) – Capt. Charles Laverne
- The Houston Story (1956) – Frank Duncan
- Back from Eternity (1956) – Jud Ellis
- China Gate (1957) – Sgt. Brock
- The 27th Day (1957) – Jonathan Clark
- Forty Guns (1957) – Wes Bonell
- Thunder Road (1958) – Troy Barrett
- Hong Kong Confidential (1958) – Agent Casey Reed
- Maroc 7 (1967) – Simon Grant
- Subterfuge (1968) – Michael A. Donovan
- The Second Coming of Suzanne (1974) – Jackson Sinclair, the TV Commentator
- Guyana: Crime of the Century (1979) – Congressman Leo Ryan
- Sahara (1983) – R.J. Gordon
- War of the Worlds (2005) – Grandfather (final film role)
Television credits
[edit]- Science Fiction Theatre (1955) – Joe Ferguson
- Our Miss Brooks (1955–1956) – Gene Talbot
- The Jane Wyman Show (1955) (Season 8 Episode 10: “Nailed Down")
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) (Season 1 Episode 3: "Triggers in Leash") - Del Delaney
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) (Season 1 Episode 6: "Salvage") - Dan Varrel
- Playhouse 90 – Ain't No Time for Glory (1957) – Lieutenant Roy Koalton
- The Walter Winchell File "The Witness" (1957) – Billy Peterson
- Bat Masterson (1958–1961) – Bat Masterson
- Pete and Gladys as himself in "Crossed Wires" (1961) – Himself
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963) (Season 1 Episode 30: "Dear Uncle George") - John Chambers / Uncle George
- Burke's Law (1963–1966) – Amos Burke, Secret Agent / Snooky Martinelli
- Columbo: Prescription: Murder (1968)
- Istanbul Express (1968) – Michael London
- The Name of the Game (1968–1971) – Glenn Howard / Will Manning
- Do You Take This Stranger? (1971) – Murray Jarvis
- The Devil and Miss Sarah (1971) – Rankin
- The Adventurer (1972–1973) – Gene Bradley
- Ransom for Alice! (1977) – Harry Darew
- Aspen (1977) (miniseries) – Carl Osborne
- The Feather and Father Gang – "The Apology" (March 7, 1977) – Generalis
- Charlie's Angels – Angels in the Wings (November 23, 1977) – Frank Jason
- A Cry for Love (1980) – Gordon Harris
- The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite (1981) – Andrew Stovall
- The Adventures of Nellie Bly (1981) – John Cockerill
- The Love Boat (1982) – Ted Anderson
- Crazy Like a Fox (1984-1986) – Nicholas Roland
- The Twilight Zone (1987) – Prince of Darkness
- Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love (1987) – Glenn Robertson
- My Secret Identity (1988) – Fred Cooper / Captain Noble
- Turn Back the Clock (1989) – John Forrest
- Murder, She Wrote (1989) – Henry Reynard
- The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991) – Bat Masterson
- Burke's Law (1994–1995) – Chief Amos Burke
- These Old Broads (2001) – Mr. Stern
References
[edit]- ^ Boxer, Tim (1987). The Jewish Celebrity Hall of Fame. New York City: Shapolsky. ISBN 978-0933503182.
- ^ Simonson, Robert (December 11, 2009). "Gene Barry, Original Georges in La Cage Aux Folles, Dies". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (August 30, 2016). Television Series of the 1960s: Essential Facts and Quirky Details. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4422-6835-7.
- ^ Lisanti, Tom; Paul, Louis (April 10, 2002). Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973. McFarland. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-7864-1194-8.
- ^ Miller, Jeanne (January 30, 1973). "At Last They Can Co-Star". San Francisco Examiner. p. 20.
- ^ "Gene Barry". IBDB. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
- ^ Meeks, Eric G. (2014) [2012]. The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes. Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe. p. 313. ISBN 978-1479328598.
- ^ "Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated" (PDF). Palmspringswalkofstars.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
- ^ McLellan, Dennis (December 11, 2009). "Gene Barry dies at 90; star of 'Bat Masterson' and co-star of 'La Cage aux Folles'". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Bernstein, Adam (December 10, 2009). "Actor Gene Barry Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ Wilson, Scott (August 17, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786479924 – via Google Books.
- ^ Distinguished Residents of Hillside Memorial Park
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Gene Barry at IMDb
- Gene Barry at the TCM Movie Database
- Gene Barry at the Internet Broadway Database
- Gene Barry at AllMovie
- Gene Barry – Daily Telegraph obituary
- 1919 births
- 2009 deaths
- Male actors from Brooklyn
- Male actors from Palm Springs, California
- American male film actors
- American male musical theatre actors
- American male television actors
- Western (genre) television actors
- American people of Russian-Jewish descent
- Jewish American male actors
- 20th-century American male actors
- Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American male singers
- New Utrecht High School alumni
- American Ashkenazi Jews
- 20th-century American Jews
- 21st-century American Jews