Barry Brown (actor)

Last updated

Barry Brown
Jeff Bridges and Barry Brown.jpg
Brown (right) with Jeff Bridges photographed by Chris von Wangenheim shortly after they appeared together in Robert Benton's Bad Company (1972)
Born
Donald Barry Brown

(1951-04-19)April 19, 1951
DiedJune 25, 1978(1978-06-25) (aged 27)
OccupationAuthor, playwright, actor
Years active1956–1978
Spouse
Jennie Vlahos
(m. 19721972)
Relatives Marilyn Brown (sister)

Donald Barry Brown (April 19, 1951 – June 25, 1978) [1] was an American author, playwright and actor who performed on stage and in television dramas and feature films, notably as Frederick Winterbourne in Peter Bogdanovich's Daisy Miller (1974), adapted from the classic Henry James novella (1878). Bogdanovich praised Brown's contribution to the film, describing him as "the only American actor you can believe ever read a book."

Contents

Early life

Born Donald Barry Brown in San Jose, California, he was the eldest child of Donald Bernard Brown and Vivian Brown (née Agrillo). His sister was the actress Marilyn Brown, who died by suicide in 1997 at the age of 44. His brother is the novelist James Brown (Final Performance, Hot Wire), who etched an intimate portrait of their dysfunctional family in his acclaimed memoir The Los Angeles Diaries, published by HarperCollins in 2003. [2]

Career

Brown began his acting career as a child of five and took part in many television and live performances. He appeared with Van Johnson in a stage production of The Music Man at the age of ten.

Brown was 19 when he made his first major screen appearance in Halls of Anger (1970), followed by The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) and his breakthrough role as the American Civil War draft dodger Drew Dixon in Robert Benton's critically acclaimed Bad Company (1972), co-starring with Jeff Bridges. The publicity and promotion for this film was capped by an article in Esquire introducing filmgoers to the "dashing, brooding Brown" in color photographs by Chris von Wangenheim, along with a text mention of Brown's obituary collection focusing on little-known and forgotten Hollywood personalities. [3]

After playing opposite Cybill Shepherd in Daisy Miller , Brown concentrated on television throughout the 1970s, including the TV movie The Disappearance of Aimee (1976), about evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, and numerous TV episodes. His final features were the crime drama The Ultimate Thrill (1974) and Joe Dante's Piranha (1978).

An authority on actors and film history, Brown was a contributor to Scream Queens: Heroines of the Horrors by Calvin Beck and Bhob Stewart. Published by Macmillan in 1978, the book features illustrated biographical profiles of 29 fantasy film actresses and directors. Brown did a similar survey, the unpublished Unsung Heroes of the Horrors, covering the lives of some lesser known Hollywood talents, and he also contributed to various magazines, including Films in Review and Castle of Frankenstein . The book Who Was Who on Screen Third Edition, by Evelyn Mack Truett was dedicated to Brown, whom she credited with giving data support for the previous edition.

Personal life and death

Brown's marriage to Jennie Vlahos on March 4, 1972 ended in divorce May 1972.[ citation needed ] On June 27, 1978, Brown ended his life by self-inflicted gunshot at his home in Los Angeles, California. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered over the Chetco River. [1]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1958 In Love and War Minor RoleUncredited
1970 Halls of Anger Winger
1972 Bad Company Drew Dixon
Lapin 360Howie
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid Henry Wheeler
Premonition MikeAlternative titles: The Impure
Head
1974 Daisy Miller Frederick Winterbourne
The Ultimate Thrill Joe StrakerAlternative title: The Ultimate Chase
1978 Piranha Trooper
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1969–1970 The Mod Squad Don Jennings
Dana Sterling
2 episodes
1970 Then Came Bronson Len Tayman1 episode
The Bold Ones: The Senator Steve Lascoe1 episode
Ironside Charles Borrow1 episode
Matt Lincoln 1 episode
Gunsmoke Jared Sprague1 episode
The Psychiatrist: God Bless the Children FritzTelevision movie
1970–1971 Marcus Welby, M.D. Greg Wells, Jr.3 episodes
1971 Night Gallery Archie Dittman, Jr.1 episode
The Birdmen DonnellyTelevision movie
1972The BravosGarrattTelevision movie
1974 Rhoda Jimmy Klein1 episode
1975–1976 Insight Brother Francis
Keith Forman
2 episodes
1975 Joe Forrester Jamie Herron1 episode
1976 Barnaby Jones Cory Doyle1 episode
Police Woman Scott Swanson1 episode
The Disappearance of Aimee Wallace MooreTelevision movie
1977Testimony of Two MenHoward BestTelevision miniseries
1978 Lawman Without a Gun Fred TaymanTelevision movie (final film role)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cybill Shepherd</span> American actress and former model (born 1950)

Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama The Last Picture Show (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. She also had roles as Kelly in Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Betsy in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976), and Nancy in Woody Allen's Alice (1990).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bogdanovich</span> American film director (1939–2022)

Peter Bogdanovich was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Pleasence</span> English actor (1919–1995)

Donald Henry Pleasence was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in The Great Escape (1963), the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967), SEN 5241 in THX 1138 (1971), and the deranged Clarence "Doc" Tydon in Wake in Fright (1971).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan O'Neal</span> American actor

Ryan O'Neal is an American actor and former boxer. He trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place. It was an instant hit and boosted O'Neal's career. He later found success in films, most notably Love Story (1970), for which he received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations as Best Actor, Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc? (1972) and Paper Moon (1973), Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975), Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far (1977), and Walter Hill's The Driver (1978). From 2005 to 2017, he had a recurring role in the Fox television series Bones as Max, the father of the show's protagonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Sonnenfeld</span> American film director and cinematographer

Barry Sonnenfeld is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as The Addams Family (1991) and its sequel Addams Family Values (1993), Get Shorty (1995), the Men in Black trilogy (1997–2012), and Wild Wild West (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Bennett</span> American actress (1910–1990)

Joan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 films from the era of silent films, well into the sound era. She is best remembered for her film noir femme fatale roles in director Fritz Lang's films—including Man Hunt (1941), The Woman in the Window (1944) and Scarlet Street (1945)—and for her television role as matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard in the gothic 1960s soap opera Dark Shadows, for which she received an Emmy nomination in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Beresford</span> Australian film director

Bruce Beresford is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States.

<i>At Long Last Love</i> 1975 film by Peter Bogdanovich

At Long Last Love is a 1975 American jukebox musical comedy film written, produced, and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. It stars Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, Madeline Kahn, and Duilio Del Prete as two couples who each switch partners during a party and attempt to make each other jealous. Featuring 18 songs with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, Bogdanovich was inspired to make a musical with the composer's songs after Shepherd gave him a book of his songs. All of the musical sequences were performed live by the cast, since At Long Last Love was meant by Bogdanovich to be a tribute to 1930s musical films like One Hour With You, The Love Parade, The Merry Widow and The Smiling Lieutenant that also filmed the songs in the same manner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eileen Brennan</span> American actress and singer (1932–2013)

Eileen Brennan was an American actress. She made her film debut in the satire Divorce American Style (1967), followed by a supporting role in Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971), which earned her a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chi McBride</span> American actor

Kenneth "Chi" McBride is an American actor. He has appeared in films, where he is known primarily as a character actor, and in television, where he has had numerous starring roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Miller</span> American actor (1928–2019)

Richard Miller was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corman, including Joe Dante, James Cameron, and Martin Scorsese, with the distinction of appearing in every film directed by Dante. He was known for playing the beleaguered everyman, often in one-scene appearances.

Barry Spikings is a British film producer who worked in Hollywood. Spikings is best known as a producer of the film, The Deer Hunter (1978), which won five Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Atwater</span> American actor

Garrett "Barry" Atwater was an American character actor who appeared frequently on television from the 1950s into the 1970s. He was sometimes credited as G.B. Atwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don "Red" Barry</span> American actor (1912–1980)

Donald Barry de Acosta, also known as Red Barry and Milton Poimboeuf, was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 1940 film Adventures of Red Ryder with Noah Beery Sr.; the character was played in later films by "Wild Bill" Elliott and Allan Lane. Barry went on to bigger budget films following Red Ryder, but none reached his previous level of success. He played Red Doyle in the 1964 Perry Mason episode 'The Case of the Simple Simon'.

Don Gordon was an American film and television actor. His most notable film roles were those in which he appeared alongside his friend Steve McQueen: Bullitt (1968), Papillon (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974). Between the first and the last of those films he appeared in The Gamblers (1970), WUSA (1970), Cannon for Cordoba (1970), The Last Movie (1971), Z.P.G. (1972), Fuzz (1972), Slaughter (1972), The Mack (1973), The Education of Sonny Carson (1974) and Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) as the ill-fated assistant to protagonist Damien Thorn.

Donald Spoto is an American biographer and theologian. He is known for his best-selling biographies of people in the worlds of film and theater, and more recently for his books on theology and spirituality.

James Brown is an American novelist who has also written short fiction and nonfiction.

<i>Daisy Miller</i> (film) 1974 film by Peter Bogdanovich

Daisy Miller is a 1974 American drama film produced and directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring then-girlfriend Cybill Shepherd in the title role. The screenplay by Frederic Raphael is based on the 1878 novella of the same title by Henry James. The lavish period costumes and sets were done by Ferdinando Scarfiotti, Mariolina Bono and John Furniss.

Marilyn Louise Brown was an American actress who performed on stage and in television dramas and feature films. She was the sister of actor/author/playwright Barry Brown and author James Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raising Kane</span> 1971 essay

"Raising Kane" is a 1971 book-length essay by American film critic Pauline Kael, in which she revived controversy over the authorship of the screenplay for the 1941 film Citizen Kane. Kael celebrated screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, first-credited co-author of the screenplay, and denigrated the contributions of Orson Welles, who co-wrote, produced and directed the film, and performed the lead role. The 50,000-word essay was written for The Citizen Kane Book (1971), as an extended introduction to the shooting script by Mankiewicz and Welles. It first appeared in February 1971 in two consecutive issues of The New Yorker magazine. In the ensuing controversy Welles was defended by colleagues, critics, biographers and scholars, but his reputation was damaged by its charges. The essay were later questioned after Welles's contributions to the screenplay were documented.

References

  1. 1 2 Wilson, Scott (August 22, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 92. ISBN   978-0-7864-7992-4 . Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  2. Brown, James. The Los Angeles Diaries, HarperCollins, 2003.
  3. "The Kids of Bad Company," Esquire, February 1973.