Christopher Barry
{{Short description|British television director (1925–2014)}}
{{Distinguish|Chris Barrie|Marion Christopher Barry}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Christopher Barry
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|09|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = East Greenwich, London, England
| birth_name = Christopher Chisholm Barry
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|2|07|1925|09|20|df=y}}
| death_place = Horton Hospital, Banbury, Oxfordshire
| 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){{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/feb/17/christopher-barry|title=Christopher Barry obituary|first=Toby|last=Hadoke|date=17 February 2014|website=The Guardian|author-link=Toby Hadoke}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-christopher-barry-television-director-1-3309674|title=Obituary: Christopher Barry, television director|author=Brian Pendreigh|date=18 February 2014|website=www.scotsman.com}} He also directed the direct to video Doctor Who spin-off Downtime in 1995.{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7ed35a29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820042127/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7ed35a29|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 August 2017|title=Downtime (1995) - BFI|website=www.bfi.org.uk}}
Early life and education
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,{{Cite news |last=Hadoke |first=Toby |date=2014-02-17 |title=Christopher Barry obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/feb/17/christopher-barry |access-date=2024-02-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |date=2024-02-26 |title=Christopher Barry |newspaper=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/christopher-barry-0kvwgm8h9cd |access-date=2024-02-26 |language=en |issn=0140-0460}} He attended Blundell's School in Devon and the University of Cambridge, before service in the Royal Air Force.
Career
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.
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. 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2V8sHmPfwChfnPg4Y8FnN1v/christopher-barry|title=An Adventure in Space and Time - Christopher Barry - BBC Two|website=BBC}}
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).{{cite web|url=http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2014/02/christopher-barry-1925-2014.html|title=Christopher Barry 1925 - 2014|first=Doctor Who|last=News}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79df3114|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820040609/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79df3114|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 August 2017|title=Mitchin' (1989)}} His other science fiction credits were for Out of the Unknown (1969), Moonbase 3 (1973) and The Tripods (1984). 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/46564/doctor-who-the-creature-from-the-pit/|title=Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit|website=DVD Talk}}
Personal life
Barry lived in Oxfordshire in his retirement.{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a550086/doctor-who-director-christopher-barry-dies-aged-88.html|first=Morgan|last=Jeffery|date=10 February 2014|title=Doctor Who director Christopher Barry dies, aged 88|website=Digital Spy}} 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.{{cite news | newspaper = The Daily Telegraph | location = London | date = 15 February 2014 | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/10640524/Doctor-Who-director-dies-after-escalator-fall.html | title = Doctor Who director dies after escalator fall | access-date = 16 February 2014| first=Hayley |last=Dixon }}
''Doctor Who'' credits
- The Daleks – episodes 1, 2, 4 and 5 (1963–64)
- The Rescue (1965){{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/rescue/detail.shtml|publisher=BBC|website=Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide|title=The Rescue - Details}}
- The Romans (1965)
- The Savages (1966)
- The Power of the Daleks (1966)
- The Dæmons (1971)
- The Mutants (1972)
- Robot (1974)
- The Brain of Morbius (1976)
- The Creature from the Pit (1979)
- Downtime (1995)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0057959}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Christopher}}
Category:20th-century Royal Air Force personnel
Category:Accidental deaths from falls
Category:Accidental deaths in England
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:British television directors
Category:Mass media people from Oxfordshire
Category:Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Greenwich