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 Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

". 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 Murwillumbah ( ) is a town in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848 km north-e ...

, 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'', ''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.

Filmography

Live theatre

References

External links

* * 1941 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors Australian amputees Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from melanoma People from Ipswich, Queensland {{Australia-screen-actor-stub