Christopher Barry
Christopher Barry | |
---|---|
Born | Christopher Chisholm Barry 20 September 1925 East Greenwich, London, England |
Died | 7 February 2014 | (aged 88)
Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
Occupation | Television director |
Years active | 1949–2000 |
Known for | Doctor Who |
Christopher Chisholm Barry (20 September 1925 – 7 February 2014)[1] was a British television director. He worked extensively in BBC television drama and became best known for his work on the science fiction series Doctor Who.[2] He also directed the direct to video Doctor Who spin-off Downtime in 1995.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Barry was the son of Sir Gerald Barry, editor of the News Chronicle and director general of the Festival of Britain in 1951, and his first wife Gladys,[4][5] He attended Blundell's School in Devon and the University of Cambridge, before service in the Royal Air Force.[2]
Career
[edit]Barry became a trainee at Ealing Studios and worked on the film The Ship That Died of Shame (1955) as an assistant director to Basil Dearden. He joined the BBC as a production assistant in 1955.[2]
In 1963, Barry was asked by producer Verity Lambert to be one of the initial directors of the BBC's new science fiction television series Doctor Who.[2] Barry's work on Doctor Who went on to cover the longest span of any director during the original run of the series, overseeing episodes until 1979.[6]
Among Barry's other television credits were episodes of Compact (1962), Ann Veronica (1964), Paul Temple (1970–71), Z-Cars (1971–78), Poldark (1975), The Onedin Line (1977), All Creatures Great and Small (1978–80), Juliet Bravo (1980) and Dramarama (1989).[7][8] His other science fiction credits were for Out of the Unknown (1969), Moonbase 3 (1973) and The Tripods (1984).[6] He appeared in a feature covering his life's work on the DVD release of the Doctor Who serial The Creature from the Pit (1979), released in May 2010.[9]
Personal life
[edit]Barry lived in Oxfordshire in his retirement.[10] He died following an escalator fall in a shopping centre in Banbury on 7 February 2014. An inquest into his death was held on 5 June 2014.[11]
Doctor Who credits
[edit]- The Daleks – episodes 1, 2, 4 and 5 (1963–64)
- The Rescue (1965)[12]
- The Romans (1965)[1]
- The Savages (1966)[1]
- The Power of the Daleks (1966)[1]
- The Dæmons (1971)[1]
- The Mutants (1972)[1]
- Robot (1974)[1]
- The Brain of Morbius (1976)[1]
- The Creature from the Pit (1979)[1]
- Downtime (1995)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i Hadoke, Toby (17 February 2014). "Christopher Barry obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c d Brian Pendreigh (18 February 2014). "Obituary: Christopher Barry, television director". www.scotsman.com.
- ^ "Downtime (1995) - BFI". www.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017.
- ^ Hadoke, Toby (17 February 2014). "Christopher Barry obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ "Christopher Barry". 26 February 2024. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ a b "An Adventure in Space and Time - Christopher Barry - BBC Two". BBC.
- ^ News, Doctor Who. "Christopher Barry 1925 - 2014".
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has generic name (help) - ^ "Mitchin' (1989)". Archived from the original on 20 August 2017.
- ^ "Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit". DVD Talk.
- ^ Jeffery, Morgan (10 February 2014). "Doctor Who director Christopher Barry dies, aged 88". Digital Spy.
- ^ Dixon, Hayley (15 February 2014). "Doctor Who director dies after escalator fall". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ "The Rescue - Details". Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide. BBC.