Philip Barry, Jr. dies at 74

January 2024 · 5 minute read

Well-known producer, son of famous playwright

Philip Barry, Jr., a well-known stage, film and television producer, died May 16 of cancer at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He was 74.

Born in New York on Aug. 8, 1923, Barry served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II following graduation from Yale.

After his discharge in 1946, he began his career in the entertainment industry as a production associate with the London company of “The Animal Kingdom,” written by his father, noted playwright Philip Barry.

In 1950, he was co-producer of the Famous Artists Country Playhouse in Rochester, New York.

Barry entered the television business in the 1950s, working as a story editor for NBC’s “Robert Montgomery Presents” and later as an associate producer for ABC’s “The Motorola TV House” and “Center Stage.”

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In 1956 he became producer of the NBC shows “The Alcoa Hour” and “The Goodyear Playhouse.”

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Barry produced his first motion picture in 1958, “The Mating Game” starring Debbie Reynolds and Tony Randall. He quickly returned to television in the telefilm field.

He was hired by CBS as executive producer of all West Coast TV movies, where he worked on Truman Capote’s “The Glass House” and Tennessee Williams’ “The Migrants.” Barry then acted as VP in charge of creative affairs for Tomorrow Entertainment and was involved with “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” “Tell Me Where It Hurts” and “Larry.”

Other TV credits include “Friendly Fire,” starring Carol Burnett, “First You Cry,” with Mary Tyler Moore, “Kent State” and the miniseries of Eugene O’Neill’s “Strange Interlude.”

Barry has won numerous awards in recognition of his production skills. He received an Emmy and a Peabody Award for “Friendly Fire,” three Christopher Awards, an Environmental Media Award and a NAACP Image Award.

He served on the Steering Committee of the Caucus of Producers, Writers, and Directors; on the board of the American Film Institute; and on the board of trustees of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

Barry is survived by a wife, two children and two grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held on June 8 at the St. James Theater in New York, with a date to be announced for the California service, to be held at the Directors Guild of America.

Donations may be made to the American Film Institute and the John Tracy Clinic.

— Jill Pesselneck

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