Gene Barry

Gene Barry (born June 14, 1919) is an American actor.

Early life

Barry was born Eugene Klass in New York City, New York, the son of Eva (née Conn) and Martin Klass;^[1] all of his grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia.^[2] He exhibited early skills with his singing and violin playing.

Career

Barry adopted his professional name in honor of John Barrymore. He was trained in violin and voice and spent two years at the Chatham Square School of Music on a singing scholarship. He made his Broadway debut as Captain Paul Duval in the 1942 revival of Sigmund Romberg's The New Moon. He returned to Broadway numerous times over the next decade, portraying 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 a variety of roles in the musical revue Bless You All (1950). He later returned to Broadway twice more, the role of Paul in the 1962 play The Perfect Setup and his Tony Award nominated portrayal of Georges in the 1983 musical La Cage aux Folles with George Hearn as his life partner/spouse. The latter production was based on the French film of the same name about a gay couple with a straight son. For his contribution to live theater, Gene Barry has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6555 Hollywood Blvd.

In 1950 Barry began appearing in television, initially with the NBC Television Opera Theatre. He starred in his first film, the role of Dr. Frank Addison in The Atomic City, in 1952. The prominent role of Dr. Clayton Forrester in the sci-fi classic The War of the Worlds came the following year. Barry later made a cameo appearance in Steven Spielberg's 2005 War of the Worlds, along with his 1953 co-star Ann Robinson.

Known for his suave manner, Barry was featured on television in a recurring role in Our Miss Brooks and as the star of three of his own popular TV series -- Bat Masterson, The Name of the Game, and Burke's Law. He won the 1965 Golden Globe for Burke's Law. The series, featuring homicide investigations by a millionaire police captain, returned in 1993-94 with Barry once again in the title role.

He also starred in the 1973 ITV television series The Adventurer, with Barry Morse and Catherine Schell. He recreated the role of the debonair Wild West lawman Bat Masterson for two episodes of Guns of Paradise in 1990 alongside Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp and again the following year in The Gambler Returns: Luck of the Draw, also with O'Brian as Earp. His most popular role that he will forever be identified with is that of "Bat Masterson" The series continues in circulation with great durability.

Barry portrayed the murderer in the original two-hour pilot for the television mystery series Columbo, a psychiatrist who kills his wife in Prescription: Murder.

Personal life

His wife of 58 years, Betty Clair Kalb, died in 2003. They met in 1944 while appearing on Broadway together in the musical Catherine Was Great with Mae West. He has two sons, Michael (b. 1946) and Frederick (b.1953), and adopted a daughter, Elizabeth in 1967.

References

External links

• Gene Barry at the Internet Movie Database
• Gene Barry at the Internet Broadway Database
• Gene Barry at Allmovie
• Gene Barry at TV.com
• Review of The War Of The Worlds
• Comprehensive Gene Barry Fan Page