Gene Barry (Gene Barry) - American actor of theater, film, television; singer, musician, director, screenwriter and producer. In 1965 he won the Golden Globe Award for his role in the film Burke's Justice.
Gene, whose real name is Eugene Klass, began his creative career with performances on the Broadway stage. His debut took place in 1942 in the operetta "New Moon".
In 1950 he appeared on television with the NBC Television Opera Theater. This company was specially created to screen musical performances and operas in English and was operated by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) for 15 years, starting in 1949.
The creative biography of the artist has dozens of roles on the theatrical stage and about a hundred works on the screen.
In 1974, Barry executive produced, directed and wrote the drama The Second Coming of Suzanne. In 1994, he co-wrote the Burke Justice project. In this series, he played Police Officer Amos Burke and was awarded a Golden Globe.
Biography facts
Eugene Klass was born in the USA in the summer of 1919 to the Jewish family of Martin Klass and Eva Conn. He later adopted the stage name Jean Barry in honor of the legendary Hollywood actor John Barrymore.
His ancestors emigrated to America from Russia and settled in New York. The boy's parents were musicians, but they never succeeded in making a professional career in the United States. My father played the violin beautifully, and my mother had a great voice. She sang for a while in amateur musical productions.
At an early age, the boy showed interest in creativity and music. He attended music school and quickly mastered playing the violin, becoming a real virtuoso. In addition, he had a great baritone, so he soon began performing on stage. Perhaps he inherited this gift from his parents. He was promised an excellent performing career, but fate decreed otherwise.
One day while playing football, Jin was seriously injured and was diagnosed with a broken arm. The boy had to forget about the musical instrument for a long time. After long-term treatment and rehabilitation, he realized that his injury would not allow him to continue playing the violin professionally. Then he decided to focus on penalties and become a theater actor.
Barry received his primary education at the New Utrecht High School, located in Brooklyn. When the youngster turned 17, he won a personal scholarship from the head of RCA David Sarnoff to study at the prestigious Chatham Square School of Music.
He devoted two years to his studies and during the same period began performing in cafes, nightclubs and fairs. He also took part in the radio competition for famous radio host Arthur Godfrey and won a special prize that allowed him to participate in several radio plays.
Creative career
The young artist began performing on Broadway in 1942. His first role was in the musical "New Moon". It was the last operetta production of 3 famous Broadway productions, the music for which was composed by Sigmund Romberg.
After the Second World War, the legendary production appeared more than once on the stages of European and American theaters and was filmed twice, but it no longer had such popularity as in the pre-war period. Some theater critics believe that since the mid-1940s, the genre of operetta was no longer in demand among the audience and was replaced by the "Golden Age of Musicals".
The actor went on to perform on Broadway after a successful debut. He played in many famous performances until the early 1950s. Later, Jin periodically appeared on stage in modern plays and musicals, but these roles did not add to theatrical fame. He almost completely switched to cinema, signing a contract with Paramount Studios.
Barry returned to Broadway only in 1983, playing the main character in the stage musical version of the famous French film "The Cage for Freaks." This work brought the artist a nomination for the Tony Award, but the award went to the equally brilliant American actor George Hearn.
Gene performed on Broadway for a year, then joined a touring troupe from San Francisco and worked in Los Angeles for a while. During the same period, Barry created his own cabaret show called "Gene Barry in One".
His film debut took place with Barry in 1952, when he appeared on the screen in the title role in the film "Atomic City". Interestingly, his fee was only $ 1000.
A year later, Gene played Dr. Clayton Forrester in the fantasy film based on the novel by H. Wells, War of the Worlds. At first the famous American actor Lee Marvin applied for the main male role, but the producer decided that it would be better if Forrester was played by a performer unknown to moviegoers. After seeing Barry's debut work in "Atomic Train", it was decided to approve him for the main role.
The film received an Oscar for special effect and 2 more nominations in the categories: Best Sound and Best Editing.
In 2005, Barry had a cameo appearance in the remake of "The War of the Worlds" by S. Spielberg, where Tom Cruise played the main role.
In the further career of the actor, there were about a hundred roles in film and television, including: "Obvious Alibi", "Soldier of Fortune", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "From Eternity", "Theater 90", "Forty Guns", " Thunder Road, The Hour of Alfred Hitchcock, Burke's Justice, Colombo: Prescription - Murder, The Istanbul Express, The Adventurer, The Second Coming of Suzanne, Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, The Boat love”,“Hotel”,“Murder, She Wrote”,“The Twilight Zone”,“Paradise”,“My Second Self”,“Old American Nags”.
In the last years of his life, the actor only occasionally appeared in the theater and in the cinema, preferring to pursue his favorite hobby - painting.
In the spring of 1998, Gene became the owner of a personalized star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at number 6555.
Barry passed away in December 2009 at the age of 90 in a retirement home for actors in Woodlen Hills. He was buried in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Personal life
In 1944, while rehearsing for another Broadway musical, Gene met his future wife, Betty Claire Culb. She was an actress and performed under the pseudonym Julie Carson. In the same year, their wedding took place.
The husband and wife lived a long and happy life until Betty's death. She passed away on January 31, 2003.
In this union, two children were born: Michael and Frederick. Michael became an actor, writer, producer and director. Frederick is an actor. In 1967, the family adopted another child - a girl named Elizabeth. Later she also became an actress.
