Ray Barrett

Ray Barrett
Born	Raymond Charles Barrett (1927-05-02)2 May 1927 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died	8 September 2009(2009-09-08) (aged 82) Southport, Australia
Education	Brisbane State High School
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	1957–2008
Spouses	Audrey Bettanay ​ ​ (m. 1951, divorced)​ Miren Cork ​ ​ (m. 1969, divorced)​ Gaye O'Brien ​ (m. 1986)​
Partner	Celia Sherman
Children	3
Awards	AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (1982) Raymond Longford Award (2005)

Raymond Charles Barrett (2 May 1927 – 8 September 2009) was an Australian actor. During the 1960s, he was a leading actor on British television, where he was best known for his appearances in The Troubleshooters (1965–1971). From the 1970s, he appeared in lead and character roles in Australian films and TV series.

Early life

Barrett was born in Brisbane, Queensland and was educated at Windsor State Primary School and at Brisbane State High School. Fascinated by radio from an early age, he won an on-air talent competition in 1939, at the age of 12: an eisteddfod that was broadcast on 4BH radio, with a musical monologue about a dog called "Paddy". This was to place him on a path different from his dream of becoming a boat-builder. In 1949, Barrett was initiated into Freemasonry as an initiate and member of Empire Lodge #197 of the United Grand Lodge of Queensland.

Acting career

United Kingdom

Ray Barrett first appeared on radio in Brisbane, and later in Sydney, to where he moved in 1954. In 1957, he moved to Britain, where his background as a singer earned him a part in a revue alongside Beryl Reid, Patrick Wymark and Sheila Hancock.

Owing to his "tough looks", Barrett was given character and "tough guy" roles from an unusually young age. In Britain, he played one of the lead roles in the TV series Emergency – Ward 10 and later one of the main characters, the hard-nosed oil worker Peter Thornton, in the long-running BBC series The Troubleshooters. He mostly appeared in television but also made several films including Hammer's The Reptile (1966).

He also voiced characters in Gerry Anderson-produced "Supermarionation" series of the 1960s: Stingray (1964–65), as Commander Shore and Titan, and Thunderbirds (1965–66) as John Tracy, the Hood and various extras. Also in 1965, he appeared as Bennett/Koquillion in the Doctor Who serial The Rescue.

Australia

In later years, Barrett starred in film and TV roles in his native Australia, living on Stradbroke Island, Queensland during the 1970s. He appeared as the Prime Minister (a character who is assassinated) in Burn the Butterflies, and as a miner in Golden Soak. In 1980, he played the part of the controversial Australian historical figure Governor Bligh in the ABC Television production The Timeless Land. He had secondary roles in many other productions, including Something in the Air.

Barrett also appeared in such films as Don's Party and The Carmakers (about the 1973 release of the Leyland P76 car, co-starring Noel Ferrier and Nick Tate). In 2005, he received an Australian Film Institute Longford Life Achievement Award.

Death

Barrett died on 8 September 2009 at the Gold Coast Hospital in Southport, Queensland, aged 82, after suffering a brain haemorrhage. His final acting appearance had been in the 2008 film Australia. He was married three times, and left three children.

Filmography

Film

• The Desperate Women (1954) as Agent
• The Sundowners (1960) (uncredited)
• Touch of Death (1961) as Maxwell
• Edgar Wallace Mysteries: "Time to Remember" (1962) as Sammy (US TV: Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre)
• Mix Me a Person (1962) as Insp. Wagstaffe
• Jigsaw (1962) as Sgt. Gorman
• Moment of Decision (1962) (Third episode in the Scales of Justice series)
• Edgar Wallace Mysteries: "To Have and to Hold" (1963) as Henry Fraser (US TV: Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre)
• 80,000 Suspects (1963) as Health Inspector Bennett
• Valley of the Kings (1964) as Mr. Marsh
• The Reptile (1966) as Harry George Spalding
• Thunderbirds Are GO (1966) as John Tracy / The Hood (voice)
• Just Like a Woman (1967) as Australian
• Revenge (1971) as Harry
• Peer Gynt (1972) as Button moulder
• Little Laura and Big John (1973) as Cates
• The Amorous Milkman (1975) as John
• The Hostages (1975) as Joe Blake
• Arena (1976) as Col Burrows
• Don's Party (1976) as Mal
• Let the Balloon Go (1976) as Dr. McLeod
• No Room to Run (1978) as Jack Deakin
• The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) as Farrell
• Tim (1979) as Man outside hotel (uncredited)
• The Earthling (1980) as Parnell
• Departmental (1980)
• A Shifting Dreaming (1982)
• A Dangerous Summer (1982) as F.C.O. Webster
• Goodbye Paradise (1983) as Michael Stacy
• Where the Green Ants Dream (1984) as Cole
• Conferenceville (1984)
• The Empty Beach (1985) as MacLeary
• Rebel (1985) as Bubbles
• Relatives (1985) as Geoffrey
• Frenchman's Farm (1987) as Harry Benson
• Contagion (1987) as Bael
• As Time Goes By (1988) as J.L. Weston
• Prisoners of the Sun (1990) as President of the Bench
• Waiting (1991) as Frank
• No Worries (1994) as Old Burkey
• Hotel Sorrento (1995) as Wal Moynihan
• Dad and Dave: On Our Selection (1995) as Dwyer
• Asian Connection: Old Flames (1995)
• Brilliant Lies (1996) as Brian Connor
• Hotel de Love (1996) as Jack Dunne
• Heaven's Burning (1997) as Cam
• In the Winter Dark (1998) as Maurice Stubbs
• Deluge (1999)
• Dalkeith (2002) as Tarquin St John Smythe
• Visitors (2003) as Bill Perry
• Australia (2008) as Ramsden (final film role)

Television

• The Adventures of Long John Silver (1957) as Paul
• Educating Archie (1959) as Ray
• Armchair Mystery Theatre (1960) as Detective-Sergeant Cullen
• Armchair Theatre (1960–1962) as Alan Whint / Donnie / Ben
• Emergency – Ward 10 (1960–61) as Dr. Don Nolan
• Out of This World (1962) as Dr. Alan Whint
• Man of the World (1962) as Charlie West
• The Avengers (1963) as Strong
• Z Cars (1963) as Len Wilson
• ITV Playhouse (1963) as Larry Ransome
• First Night (1963) as Frank Angelo
• ITV Play of the Week (1963–64) as Sergeant Weston / Jack Bailey
• Ghost Squad (1963–64) as Peter Clarke / Mr. Hicks
• The Saint (1964) as Willie Kinsall
• The Brothers Karamazov (1964–65) as Mitya Karamazov
• Doctor Who (1965) as Bennett / Koquillion
• Thursday Theatre (1965) as Jacko
• Stingray (1964–65) as Commander Sam Shore / Sub-Lieutenant John Horatio Fisher / King Titan (voice)
• Drama 61–67 (1962–1965) as Captain Murchison
• BBC Play of the Month (1965) as Knight
• Blackmail (1965) as Patek
• Gideon C.I.D. (1965)
• No Hiding Place (1963–1965) as Johnny Crown / Larry Hobbs
• The Spies (1966) as Walker
• [[w:The Man in Room 17]|] (1966) as Al Gover
• Thunderbirds (1965–66) as John Tracy / The Hood / Lieutenant Burroughs / Various Characters (voice)
• Till Death Us Do Part (1967)
• The Corbett Follies (1969)
• Mogul (1965–1972) as Peter Thornton
• Public Eye (1972) as Melville Hayden-Peters
• Barlow at Large (1974) as Johnny Duchene
• The Adventures of Black Beauty (1974) as T. Otis Waygood
• [[w:Dixon of Dock Green]|] (1964–1974) as Phil Burgh / Nat Singer
• Colditz (1974) as Flt. Lt. Jack Collins
• The Double Dealers (1974) as Geoffrey Burch
• Churchill's People (1975) as Leo Hennessey
• The Outsiders (1976) as Harry
• Run from the Morning (1978)
• Golden Soak (1979) as Alec Hamilton
• Burn the Butterflies (1979) as Prime Minister
• The Timeless Land (1980) as Gov. Bligh
• Levkas Man (1981)
• Sporting Chance (1981) as Robbo
• The Last Bastion (1984) as Gen. Tom Blamey
• Five Mile Creek (1984) as Harry
• Waterfront (1984) as Sam Elliott
• The Flying Doctors (1986) as Frank Watson
• Tusitala (1986) as Harry Moors
• The Challenge (1986) as Robert McCullough
• G.P. (1989) as Rex Mitchell
• The Paper Man (1990) as Maurice Grimm
• Correlli (1995) as Harry Powell
• Bordertown (1995) as Colonel Forsythe
• Fire (1996) as Charles
• Adrenaline Junkies (1997)
• Something in the Air (2000) as Len Taylor
• Stingers (2000) as Mr. Rafferty
• White Collar Blue (2003) as Barry Hill
• After the Deluge (2003) as Old Cliff Kirby
• All Saints (2004) as Doc Connelly

External links

• Ray Barrett at IMDb
• Ray Barrett at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Obituary in The Daily Telegraph
• Obituary in The Independent