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Author Topic: Gene Barry, RIP  (Read 5046 times)
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cece
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« on: December 11, 2009, 03:16:19 PM »

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/news/sns-ap-us-obit-gene-barry,0,7322081.story

Actor Gene Barry, dapper TV hero of 'Bat Masterson,' 'Burke's Law,' dies in LA at age 90


FILE - In this June 9, 1984 file photo, entertainer Liza Minnelli, left, is shown with actor Gene Barry and his daughter Liza Barry during a party hosted by Minnelli in New York. Gene Barry, who played the well-dressed man of action in the television series "Bat Masterson," "Burke's Law" and "The Name of the Game," has died. He was 90. (AP Photo, File) (AP / June 9, 1984)


BOB THOMAS Associated Press Writer

9:55 a.m. EST, December 11, 2009

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Always dapper, Gene Barry overcame his reluctance to take the starring role in the TV series "Bat Masterson" when he found out the Western lawman had worn a derby and carried a gold-handled cane in real life.

"I went over to the wardrobe department, picked out a brocaded vest, looked in the mirror, and there was this elegant gentleman," Barry recalled in 1999. "I said, 'Hey, that's Bat! That's me!'"

Barry, who also played other well-dressed men of action in the television series "Burke's Law" and "The Name of the Game," died of undetermined causes Wednesday, his son Frederic James Barry said. He died at age 90 at a rest home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills, the son said Thursday.

Barry essentially played the same character in all three series, which spanned the 1950s to the 1970s. Always fashionably dressed, the tall, handsome actor with the commanding voice dominated his scenes as he bested the bad guys in each show.

In the first of the three, he was Masterson, a frontier dandy who rarely resorted to gunplay, choosing instead to beat his rivals senseless with a gold-handled cane.

He landed the part in 1958, but had been reluctant to take the TV role because his movie career appeared to be on the rise. He had starred in the science-fiction classic "War of the Worlds" in 1953 and opposite Clark Gable in "Soldier of Fortune" in 1955.

After two decades as a TV star, Barry found himself typecast as a television actor and never returned to prominence in films. Instead, he stayed active with stage appearances and dozens of TV guest appearances.

He sang in such musicals as "Kismet" and "Destry Rides Again," and created the Broadway role of Georges, the gay night club owner in Jerry Herman's hit musical "La Cage aux Folles." That role brought him a Tony nomination in 1984.

Before landing the Masterson role, Barry appeared in the final season of Eve Arden's hit sitcom "Our Miss Brooks" — as a P.E. teacher who pines for Miss Brooks.

After "Bat Masterson" ended its run on NBC in 1961, Barry moved to ABC to star as an LA detective in "Burke's Law," which lasted until 1966. The show was revived on CBS nearly 30 years later with Barry again in the lead. It lasted only one season.

"The Name of the Game" (1968-1972) offered an innovation: three suave actors — Barry, Robert Stack and Anthony Franciosa — alternating weekly in their own self-contained adventures. The only connective element: All were part of an investigative magazine of which Barry was the flamboyant owner.

When the series ended, Barry filmed a syndicated show, "The Adventurer," in England.

He was born Eugene Klass in New York City in 1919, and he met his wife, Betty Claire Kalb, when both were performing in the city. They were married 58 years, until her death in 2003.

In addition to Frederic, survivors include another son, Michael, and daughter Elizabeth.
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« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2009, 03:21:15 PM »

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2009/12/11/gene-barry-obit.html

TV actor Gene Barry dies at 90


http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-gene-barry-obit,0,542851.story

LOS ANGELES -- Gene Barry, who played lead television characters beginning with the western series "Bat Masterson" in the late 1950s and later on "Burke's Law" and "The Name of the Game," has died.

Barry died of congestive heart failure Wednesday at Sunrise Assisted Living in Woodland Hills, his son, Michael said. He was 90 years old.

Flowers will be placed on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in his honor.

Barry, a versatile performer who delivered a Tony-nominated performance in the hit 1980s Broadway musical "La Cage aux Folles," had suffered from

Alzheimer's disease for about five years.

His son called him a "very loving and generous father."

A New York veteran of plays and musicals who became a Paramount contract player in 1951, Barry had more than a dozen movies and numerous TV appearances behind him, including starring in the science-fiction classic "The War of the Worlds," when he was offered the title role in "Bat Masterson."

He starred in "Bat Masterson" from 1958 to1961 and then returned to series television in 1963 as Capt. Amos Burke, the millionaire Los Angeles chief of detectives on ABC's "Burke's Law."

His final screen role was in Steven Spielberg's 2005 "War of the Worlds."

Barry's wife died in 2003. The two had been married for more than 58 years and have three children.

Along with his children, Barry is survived by two sisters, a brother, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
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« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2009, 02:05:09 PM »

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« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2009, 09:47:53 AM »



LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gene Barry, who played the well-dressed man of action in the television series "Bat Masterson," ''Burke's Law" and "The Name of the Game," has died at age 90 of unknown causes, his son said Thursday.

Fredric James Barry said the actor died Wednesday at a rest home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills.

Gene Barry essentially played the same character in all three series, which spanned the 1950s to the 1970s. Always fashionably dressed, the tall, handsome actor with the commanding voice dominated his scenes as he bested the bad guys in each show.

In the first of the three, the Western "Bat Masterson," he was a frontier dandy who rarely resorted to gunplay, choosing instead to beat his rivals senseless with a gold-handled cane.

Before he landed the role in 1958, Barry's movie career appeared to be on the rise, and he was at first reluctant to play Bat Masterson. He had starred in the science-fiction classic "War of the Worlds" in 1953 and opposite Clark Gable in "Soldier of Fortune" in 1955.

He said he was won over to TV when he learned that lawman Masterson had worn a derby and carried a gold-handled cane in real life.

"I went over to the wardrobe department, picked out a brocaded vest, looked in the mirror, and there was this elegant gentleman," he recalled in 1999. "I said, 'Hey, that's Bat! That's me!'"

After two decades as a TV star, Barry found himself typecast as a television actor and never returned to prominence in films. Instead, he stayed active with stage appearances and dozens of TV guest appearances.

He sang in such musicals as "Kismet" and "Destry Rides Again," and created the Broadway role of Georges, the gay night club owner in Jerry Herman's hit musical "La Cage aux Folles." That role brought him a Tony nomination in 1984.

Barry appeared in the last season of Eve Arden's hit sitcom "Our Miss Brooks" — as a P.E. teacher who pines for Miss Brooks — before landing "Bat Masterson" in 1958.

After the show ended its run on NBC in 1961, Barry moved to ABC to star as an LA detective in "Burke's Law," which lasted until 1966. The show was revived on CBS nearly 30 years later with Barry again in the lead but lasted only one season.

"The Name of the Game" (1968-1972) offered an innovation: three suave actors — Barry, Robert Stack and Anthony Franciosa — alternating weekly in their own self-contained adventures. The only connective element: All were part of an investigative magazine of which Barry was the flamboyant owner.

When the series folded, Barry filmed a syndicated show, "The Adventurer," in England.

He was born Eugene Klass in New York City in 1919, and he met his wife, Betty Claire Kalb, when both were performing in the city. They were married 58 years, until her death in 2003.

Barry is survived by his three children, Michael, Fredric and Elizabeth, as well as three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.


Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/northjersey/obituary.aspx?n=gene-barry&pid=137165491
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