# Tony Barry

Tony Barry (28 August 1941 – 21 December 2022) was an Australian actor and activist best known for his television and film roles.

## Personal life

Barry was born in Ipswich, Queensland, on 28 August 1941. He had one son. Barry was an environmental and indigenous rights activist and considered himself "an honorary Kiwi". Barry is the only Australian who was featured on a New Zealand postage stamp. He took part in political rallies and was a volunteer for rehabilitation programs for indigenous rights groups. He visited high schools where he would promote environmentalism.

### Health

Barry was diagnosed with melanoma in the early 2000s. In 2014, between seasons of the television drama series The Time of Our Lives, Barry had his left leg amputated above the knee due to the illness. The loss of his leg was written into the storyline. Due to this illness, he died on 21 December 2022, at age 81, in Murwillumbah, New South Wales.

## Career

Barry performed in nearly 60 feature films and over 45 television series, across a five-decade career, in both Australia and New Zealand. The longevity of Barry's acting career was recognised when he received the 2014 Film Critics Circle of Australia award for his "extraordinary contribution to the Australian film industry".
After acting in the television series The Box from 1975 to 1976, Barry began his film career in 1977 with The Mango Tree. Roles followed in a range of acclaimed Australian and New Zealand films, including Newsfront, Goodbye Pork Pie, The Odd Angry Shot, We of the Never Never, Australia and Home for Christmas, for which he won Best Actor in the 2010 New Zealand Film and TV Awards.
In 2023 Barry's last television appearance was in season one of ABC drama Bay of Fires.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | Break of Day | Joe | Feature film |
| 1977 | The Mango Tree | Tommy Smith | Feature film |
| 1978 | Newsfront | "Greasy" | Feature film |
| 1978 | Little Boy Lost | Constable O'Day | Feature film |
| 1979 | The Odd Angry Shot | Black Ronnie | Feature film |
| 1980 | Beyond Reasonable Doubt | Detective John Hughes | Feature film |
| 1980 | Hard Knocks | Barry | Feature film |
| 1980 | The Earthling | 'Red' | Feature film |
| 1981 | Goodbye Pork Pie | John | Feature film |
| 1982 | We of the Never Never | Mac | Feature film |
| 1982 | With Prejudice | Adams | Feature film |
| 1982 | Now and Then | Marina manager | |
| 1982 | Dead Easy | Ozzie | Feature film |
| 1982 | The Settlement | Sergeant Crow | Feature film |
| 1982 | Midnite Spares | Detective Howard | Feature film |
| 1984 | Pallet on the Floor | Larkman | Feature film |
| 1985 | Shout! The Story of Johnny O'Keefe | Alan Heffernan | TV movie |
| 1985 | Archer's Adventure | Squatter | TV movie |
| 1985 | The Coca-Cola Kid | Bushman | Feature film |
| 1986 | The Surfer | Calhoun | Feature film |
| 1986 | Two Friends | Charlie | Feature film |
| 1986 | I Own the Racecourse | Bert Hammond | TV movie |
| 1986 | BabaKiueria | Father (Mr. Smith) | Feature film |
| 1986 | Frog Dreaming | Gazza | Feature film |
| 1987 | Initiation | Pat | Feature film |
| 1988 | Shame | Tim Curtis | Feature film |
| 1988 | Never Say Die | Det Insp Bill Evans | Feature film |
| 1988 | The Man from Snowy River II | Jacko | Feature film |
| 1990 | Breaking Through | Rob, Ann's husband | TV film |
| 1991 | Old Scores | Barry Brown | TV movie |
| 1992 | Deadly | Deputy Commissioner Graham Stewart | Feature film |
| 1993 | Absent Without Leave | Peter | Feature film |
| 1993 | Jack Be Nimble | Clarrie | Feature film |
| 1993 | Rainbow Warrior | Greenpeace activist | TV movie |
| 1994 | The Last Tattoo | James Patrick Carroll | Feature film |
| 1994 | Country Life | Logger | Feature film |
| 1995 | Vacant Possession | Salvation Army man | Feature film |
| 1997 | Road to Nhill | Jim | Feature film |
| 1997 | Doing Time for Patsy Cline | Dwayne | Feature film |
| 1999 | Paperback Hero | Mac | Feature film |
| 1999 | Fresh Air | Bob | Feature film |
| 2000 | Mullet | Col Maloney | Feature film |
| 2003 | The Night We Called It a Day | Ralph Blue | Feature film |
| 2003 | BlackJack: Murder Archive | Joe Bueneroti | TV film |
| 2005 | Lady Vengeance | Jenny's adoptive father | Feature film |
| 2006 | Home by Christmas | | |
| 2006 | Solo | Louis | Feature film |
| 2006 | Final Call | Boss | Short film |
| 2006 | Hunt Angels | Burly Detective | Feature film |
| 2006 | Pleasance | Errol | |
| 2006 | Gone | Ute driver | |
| 2007 | Cross Life | Bill | |
| 2007 | Almost | Dr Khan | |
| 2008 | Battle of Coal | Ben Chifley | TV movie |
| 2008 | Australia | Sergeant Callaghan | Feature film |
| 2009 | The Ballard of Betty and Joe | Joe | Short film |
| 2009 | Devotion | | Short film |
| 2009 | Devotion | Narrator | Short film |
| 2010 | Home By Christmas | Ed | |
| 2010 | Providence Park | Man with Flowers | Short film |
| 2011 | Rest for the Wicked | Murray | |
| 2013 | The Caretaker | The Promoter | Short film |
| 2013 | Mystery Road | Sarge | Feature film |
| 2017 | Nobody's Child | Hank | Short film |
| 2018 | Grace | Mr Symonds | Short film |
| 2022 | Seriously Red | Gramps | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1968 | Skippy | | TV series |
| 1972 | Behind the Legend | | TV series |
| 1971-72 | Pukemanu | Dan Harrigan | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 1973 | Certain Women | | TV series |
| 1974 | Buck House | Joe Donovan | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1975 | Armchair Cinema | Mack | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1975–76 | The Box | Doug Jackson | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1976 | Blerta | Morgan | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1976 | Luke's Kingdom | Man at Inn | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1976 | Power Without Glory | Maurice | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1981 | I Can Jump Puddles | Alan's father | TV series |
| 1982 | A Country Practice | Bernie Peterson | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1983 | Scales of Justice | "Nipper" Jackson | TV miniseries |
| 1983 | The Dismissal | Press Secretary | TV miniseries |
| 1983 | Cyclone Tracy | Mick Brennan | TV miniseries |
| 1989 | Shadow of the Cobra | | TV miniseries |
| 1995 | Rose Against the Odds | Jack Rennie | TV miniseries |
| 1996 | Crocadoo | Rufus B. Hardacare | TV series |
| | Halifax f.p. | | TV series |
| 2003 | All The Way | | TV series |
| 1996-06 | All Saints | Ross / Frank | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 2009 | The Diplomat | The Libertine | TV movie |
| 2009 | Dirt Game | Alec Nolan | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo | Sir Frank Packer | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Wild Boys | George Jenkins | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Rake | Father McGuire | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2013-14 | The Time of Our Lives | Ray Tivoli | TV series, 16 episodes |
| 2014 | Lessons from the Grave | Ghost | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2018-20 | Harrow | Jack Twine | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 2019 | Total Control | Phillip Anderson | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2020 | The End | Willie | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Bay of Fires | Joseph | TV series, 4 episodes |

## Live theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | A Local Man | Former Prime Minister Ben Chifley | One-person drama on Chifley's last night |