Actor from Australia who co-starred in the New Zealand classic movie Goodbye Pork Pie and is a “honorary Kiwi” Tony Barry, 81, passed away.
In the 1981 popular movie, Barry portrayed John, a hitchhiker who embarks on a humorous cross-country odyssey.
The actor passed away yesterday, according to a Facebook post by filmmaker Dame Gaylene Preston.
“It is with a heavy heart that we farewell Tony Barry who died peacefully yesterday at Murwillumbah NSW after a long illness. … He was one of a kind.
“A fierce fighter for the underdog, working for indigenous rights and as part of rehabilitation programs in the justice system and for the environment. He considered himself an honorary Kiwi being the only Australian to feature on an NZ postage stamp for his role in Goodbye Pork Pie.”
One of New Zealand’s first locally produced films, Goodbye Pork Pie told the tale of two aimless drifters who steal a car and get into a crazy pursuit across Aotearoa. It even sparked a remake in 2017.
“I think it connected with the dreams of a lot of people … It gave people a license to believe that they could be free in their own hearts, even if it was just for an hour and a half in the movies,” he told NZ OnScreen.
Barry, a Queensland native, has acted in a large number of motion pictures and TV shows, including the New Zealand productions, Never Say Die, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, and Preston’s own Home By Christmas.
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He also collaborated with Geoff Murphy, who directed Goodbye Pork Pie, and Bruno Lawrence in the experimental theater and music group Blerta.
Barry never stopped working, according to Dame Gaylene, despite receiving a cancer diagnosis that necessitated the amputation of a leg in 2014.
Earlier life of Tony Barry, Where was he from? What about the early career?
Tony Barry, who was born in 1941 in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, appeared in more than 45 television programs and approximately 60 motion pictures during the course of a five-decade acting career. Barry earned the 2014 Cinema Critics Circle of Australia award for his “exceptional contribution to the Australian film industry,” recognizing the longevity of his acting career.
Between seasons of the drama television program The Time of Our Lives in 2014, Barry underwent melanoma surgery to have his left leg amputated above the knee. The narrative included the fact that he would lose his leg.
Barry started his cinematic career in 1977 with The Mango Tree, two years after appearing in the television show The Box from 1975 to 1976. Following that, he played parts in a number of well-regarded Australian and New Zealand movies, such as Newsfront, The Odd Angry Shot, We of the Never Never, Australia, and Home for Christmas, for which he won the Best Actor prize at the 2010 New Zealand Film and TV Awards.
Between seasons of the drama television program The Time of Our Lives in 2014, Barry underwent melanoma surgery to have his left leg amputated above the knee. The narrative included the fact that he would lose his leg.
