Screenland Plus TV-Land (Jul 1959 - May 1960)

it coach, Barry passed his screen test was signed to a seven-year contract, was four years ago, yet Barry, intent being a real good actor, feels he lis a great deal more study to develop echnique. areerwise, Barry has grown steadily, slowly. A handful of small parts ly brought him the role opposite y Moore in "Peyton Place'" which shot to stardom overnight. It seemed that y's magnetic hazel-green eyes held a iage for every female and, shortly r. an avalanche of fan letters began to into the studio. And today, after jnder Jets" and ''The Bravados'" he's idered one of the hottest young stars he lot, and completely ready for his ent role on loanout from 20th Cen-Fox to Paramount in "But Not For co-starring with Clark Gable, Carroll ?r and Lilli Palmer. ."RANGELY enough, the "Peyton Place" role which brought him attention, isn't type he hopes to do. For Barry is a ;;ed outdoorsman and he hopes to act I Jgged adventure films like his favorite i rs — John Wayne and Clark Gable. "I i to stay far away from pretty boy, : antic drawing room stuff: what I hope [■lay is he-man roles in fast, exciting I is," explains this husky young actor hfee happiest moments are spent skiing I he wild Sierras or at" water sports on L Pacific ocean. perfectionist. Barry is well aware of : work that goes into a seemingly effort' acting style. He attends a drama work», watches fine actors work, is an i terate question-asker who listens rei tfully to the views of directors and blished stars and then evaluates what ; lears. When I got my first good part I was ly filled with butterflies." Bam recalls. ■ best friend, Bob Wagner, knew I ldn't sleep the night before I was to :. Like the good guy he is, he came to my apartment and talked it out it me. It really helped . . . And the day on 'But Not For Me' was murder. Couldn't sleep a wink the night be. Gable was wonderful to me, helped over that first-day nervousness. He t 's a Broadway producer who shows how to kiss Carroll Baker. Wow! [It's nice work. And they pay you for et! I think this is the best role I've so far." e believes, too, that as things have ed out, his father would agree that ng really is the career for him. But ry's voice becomes grave as he tells of beloved mother who tragically passed y only two months before he landed star-making "Peyton Place." l a town where it is almost a cult to Ty early and often, the extremely ible young actor has adroitly managed ■etain his single status. Nevertheless, ry maintains he is looking forward narriage. But while marking time he concentrating on acting, explaining, "I'm giving the subject plenty of attention and leading a full social life. There has never been a better invention than women. I've thought so ever since I was an old kindergarten alumnus of six." And to prove it, Barry has dated such charmers as Lili Gentle, Barbara Eden, Nina Shipman, Pat Mitchell, June Blair, Connie Stevens. Barry met the little Southerner. Lili Gentle, at the studio, and introduced her to the Boss' son. Dick Zanuck, whom she married. ("I take credit as the matchmaker," says Barry proudly.) For a while, the screen's "Mr. Handsome" and Venetia Stevenson (the most stunning couple in town) seemed to be a forest fire romance. But it cooled, possibly because neither was ready for marriage. But before that happened, the ethereal blonde told a reporter: "Barrymakes a girl feel like a queen. It's different and exciting. He's that rare Hollywood male who's always neatly "dressed and who likes to put on a black tie when he knows a girl plans evening dress. This is very pleasant in a town which can get too casual in dating habits. Barry has excellent manners; sends flowers and candy, and gives his dates those little attentions every girl loves." Evidently, starlet Judi Meredith, who was so charming in "Summer Love,"" feels the same way about her dates with Barry. Tiny. gay. talented Judi comes from Portland. Oregon; was a top professional figure skater with the "Ice Follies" at 15, toured the country and Canada for the next two years and then had to spend a year in bed after she fell through a window and broke her back. With skating impossible as a career, Judi next turned to acting, studying at the famed Pasadena Playhouse, graduating from there to TV and then into the movies. SINCE Judi is very fond of the outdoors and very sports-minded (There's not a girl in town who can stand on water skis the way Judi can," says Barry extravagantly) both of them have much in common— including motion-picture careers. So when Judi and Barry recently ordered matching surf boards, the I-Love-ARomance Columnists began sniffing the fragrance of orange blossoms and hearing the far-off strains of Lohengrin. But Barry and Judi remained silent. He did admit, though, that he likes the idea of going steady. "That way," he says, "you don't have to wine and dine a new gal each time and go through all the preliminaries of getting acquainted." And as to what pleases him in girls, he says, "I like a girl who is feminine, spirited, natural, full of honest enthusiasms, one who knows it isn't necessary to put on a big show to attract attention. She needn't be a raving beauty but she must be carefully groomed. And she must like the outdoors, and sports . . . Sure, the face and chassis of a girl are the first things to attract a man (with me, it's the figure and the manner of dress). Red is my favorite color, so I'm more apt to see a girl with a good-looking figure in a red dress quicker than one all dolled up in a green dress." Favorite dates include drives to Lakf Arrowhead in his sporty Thunderbird. "It's a beautiful spot,"' says Barry appreciatively. "I lived there one summer as a kid, and I hope some day to build a little cabin there, with a tin roof so I can hear the drops popping down while I'm snug in bed. I like picnics there or on the beach where we broil steaks, and dinner dates in Chinese restaurants where I get my fill of pressed duck, Mandarin duck and almond chicken. Dancing doesn't appeal to me too much and night clubs even less. When I'm working on a picture it's not fair to the studio to stay out late at night." BARRY lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Westwood which he decorated himself — in lots of red and black, impressive large pieces of furniture in maple, modern black African sculpture on the walls, skis in one corner and a tape recorder on the maple desk. A conscientious worker, Barry records his lines and listens to them on the playback. "I study the parts of the other actors, too," he says, "and in that way learn more about my own part." Spare time is devoted to inventing. So far he's devised a ski-toe gripper and a novel Christmas tree ornament, both of which he is having patented. And he has built his own hi-fi system, a really complicated affair with numerous speakers in living room, bedroom and bathroom. The intricacies of such work pleases his inventive mind and he even attached a clock to his set which automatically turns on his sound system every morning, routing him out of bed with songs by Johnny Mathis. Billy Eckstine and Jackie Gleason albums. \\ hen Barry heard about "sleep teaching'" he experimented with a small speaker placed under his pillow to help him learn his movie scripts! As an athlete he keeps in top physical condition all year by arising at six and pedalling his German-built racing bike up and down the Westwood hills before reporting to the studio. Currently he's on a health food kick, suggested by his good friend Jeff Hunter, and he supplements his normal diet with wheat germ, yogurt, powdered soy milk, blackstrap molasses, alfalfa and kelp — which he whips up in a blender and downs manfully without batting an eye. Beside skiing, skin-diving, surfing and water-skiing, Barry loves to fish and go camping, plays golf, goes in for photography, oil painting and even finds time for occasional sessions at the bullfights in nearby Tijuana, Mexico, where he is especially thrilled by the marvelous music which accompanies the stirring entrance of the matadors into the ring. With all this — and a demanding fulltime career — just when is the screen's handsomest man going to find time for marriage? Nobody knows. Not even Barry Coe. Or Judi Meredith. END 57