Don 'Red' Barry

Donald Barry went from the stage to the screen. After four years of playing villains and henchmen at various studios, Barry got the role that changed his image: Red Ryder in the Republic Pictures serial Adventures of Red Ryder (1940). Although he had appeared in westerns for two years or so, this was the one that kept him there. He acquired the nickname "Red" from his association with the Red Ryder character. After the success of "Red Ryder" Barry starred in a string of westerns for Republic. Studio chief Herbert J. Yates got the idea that Barry could be Republic's version of James Cagney, as he was short and had the same scrappy, feisty nature that Cagney had. Unfortunately, while Barry could in fact be a good actor when he wanted to be -- as he showed in the World War II drama The Purple Heart (1944) -- his "feistiness", combative nature and oversized ego caused him to alienate many of the casts and crews he worked with at Republic (ace serial director William Witney detested him, calling him "the midget", and director John English worked with him once and refused to ever work with him again). Barry made a series of westerns at Republic throughout the 1940s, but by 1950 his career had pretty much come to a halt, and he was reduced to making cheaper and cheaper pictures for bottom-of-the-barrel companies like Lippert and Screen Guild. Barry continued to work and still appeared in westerns up through the 1970s, but they were often in small supporting roles, sometimes unbilled. In 1980 he committed suicide by shooting himself.

Filmography (226 Appearances)

Back Roads

1981

The Dream Merchants

1980

Goldie and the Boxer

1979

Knots Landing

1979

Undercover with the KKK

1979

240-Robert

1979

A Cry For Justice

1979

Donovan's Kid

1979

The Crash of Flight 401

1978

Hooper

1978

Hot Lead & Cold Feet

1978

Buckstone County Prison

1978

The Swarm

1978

Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid

1978

Doctor Dracula

1978

Shame, Shame on the Bixby Boys

1978

CHiPs

1977

Orca

1977

Quincy, M.E.

1976

Charlie's Angels

1976

Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II

1976

Big John, Little John

1976

From Noon Till Three

1976

The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West

1976

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

1976

The Bionic Woman

1976

Hustle

1975

Whiffs

1975

Barbary Coast

1975

Boss Nigger

1975

Blazing Stewardesses

1975

Starsky & Hutch

1975

Baretta

1975

Punch and Jody

1974

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

1974

Police Woman

1974

The Rockford Files

1974

Little House on the Prairie

1974

Petrocelli

1974

The Six Million Dollar Man

1974

Partners in Crime

1973

Police Story

1973

Hawkins

1973

Incident on a Dark Street

1973

Ghost Story

1972

The Waltons

1972

The Rookies

1972

Junior Bonner

1972

The Eyes of Charles Sand

1972

Emergency!

1972

McMillan & Wife

1971

Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law

1971

Johnny Got His Gun

1971

One More Train to Rob

1971

The Immortal

1970

Dan August

1970

The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County

1970

Rio Lobo

1970

Hunters Are for Killing

1970

Love, American Style

1969

Marcus Welby, M.D.

1969

Shalako

1968

Land of the Giants

1968

Adam-12

1968

The Outsider

1968

The Shakiest Gun in the West

1968

Bandolero!

1968

It Takes a Thief

1968

Mannix

1967

Hondo

1967

Cimarron Strip

1967

Fort Utah

1967

Hostile Guns

1967

Ironside

1967

Dragnet

1967

Red Tomahawk

1967

Alvarez Kelly

1966

Pistols 'n' Petticoats

1966

T.H.E. Cat

1966

The Magnificent Stranger

1966

Batman

1966

Apache Uprising

1965

The F.B.I.

1965

The Wild Wild West

1965

Laredo

1965

F Troop

1965

The Legend of Jesse James

1965

Town Tamer

1965

Fort Courageous

1965

War Party

1965

Convict Stage

1965

Daniel Boone

1964

The Munsters

1964

Broadside

1964

Mickey

1964

Law of the Lawless

1964

Iron Angel

1964

Twilight of Honor

1963

Mr. Novak

1963

The Fugitive

1963

Arrest and Trial

1963

McHale's Navy

1962

The Virginian

1962

Sam Benedict

1962

Walk on the Wild Side

1962

Buffalo Gun

1961

The Roaring 20's

1960

Surfside 6

1960

Checkmate

1960

Ocean's Eleven

1960

Walk Like a Dragon

1960

Hawaiian Eye

1959

Bourbon Street Beat

1959

Laramie

1959

Bonanza

1959

The Deputy

1959

The Big Operator

1959

Warlock

1959

The Last Mile

1959

Rawhide

1959

Born Reckless

1958

77 Sunset Strip

1958

Bat Masterson

1958

Lawman

1958

Bronco

1958

Peter Gunn

1958

Frankenstein 1970

1958

China Doll

1958

Maverick

1957

Perry Mason

1957

Sugarfoot

1957

Have Gun, Will Travel

1957

Gun Duel in Durango

1957

7 Men from Now

1956

I'll Cry Tomorrow

1955

The Twinkle In God's Eye

1955

Screen Director's Playhouse

1955

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon

1955

The Phil Silvers Show

1955

Cheyenne

1955

Gunsmoke

1955

The Wonderful World of Disney

1954

Jesse James' Women

1954

Untamed Heiress

1954

Public Defender

1954

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

1952

Dragnet

1951

Border Rangers

1950

Lux Video Theatre

1950

Train To Tombstone

1950

Gunfire

1950

I Shot Billy the Kid

1950

Red Desert

1949

Tough Assignment

1949

Square Dance Jubilee

1949

The Dalton Gang

1949

Ringside

1949

Train to Alcatraz

1948

Lightnin' in the Forest

1948

Madonna of the Desert

1948

Slippy McGee

1948

That's My Gal

1947

The Plainsman and the Lady

1946

The Last Crooked Mile

1946

The Chicago Kid

1945

Bells of Rosarita

1945

My Buddy

1944

Outlaws of Santa Fe

1944

The Purple Heart

1944

California Joe

1943

Canyon City

1943

The Man from the Rio Grande

1943

The West Side Kid

1943

Black Hills Express

1943

Fugitive from Sonora

1943

Days of Old Cheyenne

1943

Carson City Cyclone

1943

Dead Man's Gulch

1943

The Sundown Kid

1942

The Traitor Within

1942

Outlaws of Pine Ridge

1942

The Sombrero Kid

1942

The Cyclone Kid

1942

Jesse James, Jr.

1942

Stagecoach Express

1942

Arizona Terrors

1942

Remember Pearl Harbor

1942

A Missouri Outlaw

1941

Death Valley Outlaws

1941

Kansas Cyclone

1941

Desert Bandit

1941

The Apache Kid

1941

Two Gun Sheriff

1941

The Phantom Cowboy

1941

Wyoming Wildcat

1941

Texas Terrors

1940

Frontier Vengeance

1940

The Tulsa Kid

1940

Sailor's Lady

1940

One Man's Law

1940

Adventures of Red Ryder

1940

Ghost Valley Raiders

1940

Jack Pot

1940

Days of Jesse James

1939

The Secret of Dr. Kildare

1939

Saga of Death Valley

1939

Calling All Marines

1939

Wyoming Outlaw

1939

S.O.S Tidal Wave

1939

Only Angels Have Wings

1939

Calling Dr. Kildare

1939

Panama Patrol

1939

The Duke of West Point

1938

Young Dr. Kildare

1938

The Crowd Roars

1938

Think It Over

1938

Sinners in Paradise

1938

Saleslady

1938

Navy Blue and Gold

1937

Dead End

1937

The Woman I Love

1937

When's Your Birthday?

1937

Beloved Enemy

1936

Night Waitress

1936

Bridal Bail

1934

Flying Down to Rio

1933 Debut
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