Film, stage and television actor Ray Barrett died suddenly on Tuesday morning from a brain haemorrhage following a fall. He was 82.
Barrett’s wife said he suffered from chronic low-blood pressure which in recent weeks had led to several falls.
Screenwriter Andrew Knight (After the Deluge) said on hearing the news, “Oh no, I was about to go up and see him”.
Barrett was formidable on the big screen in feature films including Don’s Party, Hotel Sorrento, Brilliant Lies, Goodbye Paradise, The Winter Dark and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, for which he won an AFI Award as Best Actor.
His television CV is extensive with appearances in Something in the Air, All Saints, The Flying Doctors, GP, Correlli, Waterfront and White Collar Blue.
In the UK he appeared in Colditz, Til’ ‘Death Do Us Part, Stingray, The Saint, Doctor Who, The Avengers, and he voiced 30 episodes of The Thunderbirds.
“Unlike many actors of his generation Barrett was not fussy as an actor,” says casting consultant Ann Robinson. “There was an unusual strength of purpose in what he did, a focused determination that separated him from his peers; acting was so instinctive with him.”
He last appeared in Baz Lurhmann’s Australia.
Source: The Australian.
Photo: Robert Banks
Oh thats sad news, an Australian actor to be remembered
The last performance I saw of Ray Barrett was the Greyhound bitch film Dalkeith, if people want to see how good an actor this bloke was at 80 odd, find the scene in that flick where Gus Mercurio kicks the bucket and Mr Barrett walks into the room with a bottle of brandy and two snifters – bloody awesome
Vale Ray
Queenslander!
His autobiography (written with Peter Corris) is well worth a read. A fascinating and talented man.
RIP Ray, a great Aussie talent that will be missed. He had such a varied emotional pool to draw on. That’s acting.