Ray Barrett

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Wikipedia

Ray Barrett
Born
Raymond Charles Barrett

(1927-05-02)2 May 1927
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died8 September 2009(2009-09-08) (aged 82)
Southport, Queensland, Australia
EducationBrisbane State High School
OccupationActor
Years active1957–2008
Spouses
  • Audrey Bettanay
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1951, divorced)​
  • Miren Cork
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1969, divorced)​
  • Gaye O'Brien
    ​
    (m. 1986)​
PartnerCelia Sherman[1]
Children3[2][1]
AwardsAACTA 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 television series.

Early life

Barrett was born on 2 May 1927 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 for 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 boatbuilder.

In 1949, Barrett was initiated into Freemasonry as an initiate and member of Empire Lodge #197 of the United Grand Lodge of Queensland.[citation needed]

Acting career

Along with Tatjana Hitrina, Rosemary Stevenson and Betty Ross, Barrett was in the play Cockpit. The production which ran from 18 June to 21 June 1952 was produced by Babette Stephens and ran at the Albert Hall in Brisbane.[3][4]

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.[5]

Owing to his supposedly tough look, 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.[5]

While Barrett mostly appeared in television, he also made several films including Hammer's The Reptile (1966).[6]

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.[7] Also as a bankrupt businessman in a 1972 edition of Public Eye.

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.[5] He had secondary roles in many other productions, including Something in the Air. He had the "role of a lifetime" as the leda in Goodbye Paradise.[8]

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.[9]

Death

Barrett died on 8 September 2009 at the Gold Coast Hospital in Southport, Queensland, aged 82, after suffering a brain haemorrhage.[10] His final acting appearance had been in the 2008 film Australia.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Type
1954The Desperate WomenAgent
1960The SundownersUncredited
1961Touch of DeathMaxwell
1962Mix Me a PersonInsp. Wagstaffe
JigsawSgt. Gorman
196380,000 SuspectsHealth Inspector Bennett
1964Valley of the KingsMr. Marsh
1966The ReptileHarry George Spalding
Thunderbirds Are GoJohn Tracy / The Hood (voice)
1967Just Like a WomanAustralian
1971RevengeHarry
1972Peer GyntButton moulder
1973Little Laura and Big JohnCates
1975The Amorous MilkmanJohn
The HostagesJoe Blake
1976Don's PartyMal
Let the Balloon GoDr. McLeod
1978The Chant of Jimmie BlacksmithFarrell
1979TimMan outside hotel (uncredited)
1980The EarthlingParnell
1982A Shifting Dreaming
A Dangerous SummerF.C.O. Webster
1983Goodbye ParadiseMichael Stacy
1984Where the Green Ants DreamCole
1985The Empty BeachMacLeary
RebelBubbles
RelativesGeoffrey
1987Frenchman's FarmHarry Benson
ContagionBael
1988As Time Goes ByJ.L. Weston
1990Prisoners of the Sun (aka Blood Oath)President of the Bench
1991WaitingFrank
1994No WorriesOld Burkey
1995Hotel SorrentoWal Moynihan
Dad and Dave: On Our SelectionDwyer
Asian Connection: Old Flames
1996Brilliant LiesBrian Connor
Hotel de LoveJack Dunne
1997Heaven's BurningCam
1998In the Winter DarkMaurice Stubbs
2002DalkeithTarquin St John Smythe
2003VisitorsBill Perry
2008AustraliaRamsden (final film role)

Television

Year Title Role Type
1957The Adventures of Long John SilverPaul
1959Educating ArchieRay
1960Armchair Mystery TheatreDetective-Sergeant CullenAnthology series
1960–1961Emergency Ward 10Dr. Don Nolan
1960–1962Armchair TheatreAlan Whint / Donnie / BenAnthology series
1962Out of This WorldDr. Alan Whint
Man of the WorldCharlie West
Scales of Justice: Moment of DecisionAnthology series, episode 3
1962–1963Edgar Wallace MysteriesHenry Fraser / Sammy2 episodes: "Time to Remember", "To Have and to Hold"
1962–1965Drama 61–67Captain MurchisonAnthology series
1963The AvengersStrong
Z-CarsLen Wilson
ITV PlayhouseLarry RansomeTV play
First NightFrank Angelo
1963–1964ITV Play of the WeekSergeant Weston / Jack BaileyTV play
Ghost SquadPeter Clarke / Mr. Hicks
1963–1965No Hiding PlaceJohnny Crown / Larry Hobbs
1964The SaintWillie Kinsall
1964–1965The Brothers KaramazovMitya Karamazov
StingrayCommander Sam Shore / Sub-Lieutenant John Horatio Fisher / King Titan (voice)
1964–1974Dixon of Dock GreenPhil Burgh / Nat Singer
1965Doctor WhoBennett / Koquillion
Thursday TheatreJackoAnthology series
BBC Play of the MonthKnightAnthology series
BlackmailPatek
Gideon C.I.D.
1965–1966ThunderbirdsJohn Tracy / The Hood / Lieutenant Burroughs / Various characters (voice)
1965–1972MogulPeter Thornton
1966The SpiesWalker
The Man in Room 17Al Gover
1967Till Death Us Do PartSelfEpisode: "Till Closing Time Us Do Part"
1969The Corbett Follies
1972Public EyeMelville Hayden-Peters
1973Churchill's PeopleLeo Hennessey
1974Barlow at LargeJohnny Duchene
The Adventures of Black BeautyT. Otis Waygood
ColditzFlt. Lt. Jack Collins
The Double DealersGeoffrey Burch
1976ArenaCol BurrowsMiniseries
The OutsidersHarry
1976–1977Moynihan
1978Run from the MorningDetective Sergeant GrogonMiniseries, 6 episodes
No Room to RunJack DeakinTV movie
1979Golden SoakAlec HamiltonMiniseries
Burn the ButterfliesPrime MinisterTV movie
1980The Timeless LandGovernor BlighMiniseries
DepartmentalTV movie
1981Levkas ManMiniseries
Sporting ChanceRobbo
The Last BastionGen. Thomas BlameyMiniseries
1984Five Mile CreekHarry
WaterfrontSam ElliottMiniseries
ConferencevilleTV movie
1986The Flying DoctorsFrank Watson
TusitalaHarry MoorsMiniseries
The ChallengeRobert McCulloughMiniseries
1989G.P.Rex Mitchell2 episodes
1990The Paper ManMaurice GrimmMiniseries
1995CorrelliHarry Powell
BordertownColonel ForsytheMiniseries
1996FireCharles
1997Medivac
2000Something in the AirLen Taylor
StingersMr. Rafferty
2003White Collar BlueBarry Hill
After the DelugeOld Cliff KirbyMiniseries
2004All SaintsDoc Connelly1 episode

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/film/ray-barrett-led-an-actors-life-with-few-regrets/story-e6frg8pf-1225770720891 [dead link]
  2. ↑ "Veteran Australian actor Ray Barrett dies". Telegraph.co.uk. 9 September 2009.
  3. ↑ La Boite Theatre – Gallery, The Brisbane Repertory Theatre Presents Cockpit By Bridget Boland
  4. ↑ Brisbane Telegraph, Wednesday, June 18, 1952 - Page 23 Women's Interest, COSTUMES will be of minor importance in the Repertory Theatre's play "Cockpit." which will be presented in the Albert Hall tonight.
  5. 1 2 3 The Timeless Land, TV guide compiled by Kate Reid, photographs by Martin Webby, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, page 56, Sydney, 1980, ISBN 0642974691
  6. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (28 June 2020). "Ten random Australian connections with Hammer Films". Filmink.
  7. ↑ Howson, Spencer: Ray Barrett's Dr Who Episodes Released on DVD Archived 10 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, ABC Radio and Regional Content, 11 May 2009.
  8. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (10 June 2025). "It's time to say hello again to Goodbye Paradise". InReview. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  9. ↑ AFI Raymond Longford Award Archived 20 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Australian Film Institute.
  10. ↑ Veteran Actor Ray Barrett Dies at 82, Herald Sun, 8 September 2009.
  • Ray Barrett Collection 1927-2007, State Library of Queensland - Collection of papers, scrapbooks, visual and audiovisual material relating to the life and career of Ray Barrett.