Don Barry

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Barry in 1979, photographed by Alan Light

Donald Michael Barry DeAcosta (also known as Red Barry ; born January 11, 1912 in Houston , Texas , † July 17, 1980 in Hollywood , California ) was an American actor .

life and career

Red Barry first appeared in Hollywood in the mid-1930s; he played small and minor roles in studio productions. In 1939 he got a contract with Republic Pictures and was given his own series as Red Ryder to "warm up" after a few films - although the burly actor did not resemble the comic character.

The series continued for four years and 29 films. Barry was assisted in many by Lynn Merrick as the female lead; towards the end he got support from the youthful sidekick Twinkle Watts . The discontinuation of the film series was welcomed by Barry, who appeared repeatedly as a guest star in films of the Republic in the following years. A change in his image did not work, however - there were no offers, so from 1949 he started shooting westerns again , this time with independent producers. Since the mid-1950s, he found almost only television offers; he had the greatest success here with Surfside 6 , which ran for two seasons.

In the middle of the following decade, Barry tried unsuccessfully to raise money for a revival of the western series. Further failures shaped the next few years; Barry committed suicide in July 1980 at the age of 68. Barry was married several times, u. a. in the 1940s with film partner Peggy Stewart . His nickname comes from his hair color.

Filmography (selection)

Web links and sources

personal data
SURNAME Barry, Don
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Barry, Red; Barry DeAcosta, Donald Michael (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 11, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Houston , Texas
DATE OF DEATH 17th July 1980
Place of death Hollywood