Gene Barry obituary

[LongTomH]

Source: The Guardian UK

For any regular television viewer in the 1960s and 70s, the elegant actor Gene Barry, who has died aged 90, was inescapable. Most prominent was his portrayal of the Los Angeles police captain Amos Burke in 81 episodes of Burke's Law (1963-66). No ordinary cop, Burke was an immaculately dressed, jet-setting millionaire bachelor who left his Beverly Hills mansion in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce to investigate a murder. Barry as Burke, a wisecracking, sophisticated ladies' man, was the nearest thing on TV to Cary Grant.

Each episode – bursting with Hollywood guest stars, one of whom was revealed as a murderer – allowed Burke to deliver an aphorism such as "never drink martinis with beautiful suspects: Burke's Law", or "never ask a question unless you already know the answer. Burke's Law".

Before playing Burke, Barry had triumphed in the western TV series Bat Masterson (1958-61). The opening song says it all: "Back when the west was very young, there lived a man named Masterson. He wore a cane and derby hat … A man of steel, the story says, but women's eyes all glanced his way. A gambler's game he always won. His name was Bat. Bat Masterson!" Stylishly dressed in a black derby, fancy waistcoat and jacket, and preferring to use his gilt-tipped cane rather than a gun to defend himself, Barry played the western hero with his tongue firmly in his cheek. "The costume dictated my performance," Barry remarked. "It changed my life. Every role I've done since has been a guy who looked good in clothes."

Despite coming so early on in his long career in films, TV and stage, Bat Masterson and Burke's Law were his greatest successes, though almost two decades later, Barry, still the dandy, almost topped them with his performance as the gay owner of a drag nightclub in the Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles (1983).

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/jan/21/gene-barry-obituary

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A sad day for those of us old enough to remember Gene as Bat Masterson and Amos Burke.

[niyad]

1. RIP, gene. you brought many a smile to my heart.

[earthside]

2. He died on December 9, 2009 n/t

[Angry Dragon]

3. I remember him

[immoderate]

4. He played gym teacher Gene Talbot on "Our Miss Brooks"

That was in his sweat shirt days.

And of course there was "War of the Worlds."

--imm

[Seedersandleechers]

5. This is not LBN

He died December 9th.

[LongTomH]

8. OK - I missed the date of death!

Sorry! I should have scrolled down and checked the date of death. The obit was just posted on Guardian UK.

But, he was still a cool guy - and he will still be missed.

[IndianaGreen]

6. RIP Gene Barry!

Burke's Law was a neat show, and he played a good part in the original War of the Worlds.

[monmouth]

7. My mother had a crush on him..We laughed like fools. Nice memories...n/t