Gene Barry
Gene Barry (born June 14, 1919) is an American actor.
Barry was born Eugene Klass in New York City, New York to Eva and Martin Klass, of Jewish heritage.[1] He exhibited early skills with his singing and violin playing. He adopted his professional name in honor of John Barrymore.
Barry appeared on Broadway in Catherine was Great in 1944, and, many years later, he starred in the musical La Cage aux Folles (based on the French film of the same name about a gay couple with a straight son) with George Hearn as his life partner/spouse. For his contribution to live theater, Gene Barry has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6555 Hollywood Blvd. An early film role was in the 1953 production of The War of the Worlds. He made an eyeblink-length 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 starred on television in Our Miss Brooks, Bat Masterson, The Name of the Game, and Burke's Law. He won the 1965 Golden Globe for Burke's Law. Barry played the lead in the most famous episode of The Name of the Game, a science fiction story directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Philip Wylie called L.A. 2017. He also starred in the 1973 ITV television series The Adventurer, with Barry Morse and Catherine Schell, and recreated the role of Bat Masterson in 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.
Barry has appeared in a number of films, television programs, and stage shows. His wife of 60 years, Betty Clair Kalb, died in 2003. He has two sons, Michael and Frederick, and a daughter, Elizabeth.
Barry was Cub Scout Master of Pack 100 in Beverly Hills, California in the mid 1950s.