Wesley Barry
Date of Birth: 10th August 1907
Details of Death: 11th April 1994
Country of Birth: USA
Biography
Red-haired, skinny and elfin, grocer's son Wesley Barry was first cast for a role in a film when he was a mere 7 years old, appearing in the comedy short "The Phoney Cannibal" (1915). In 1917, film producer Marshall Neilan cast him in "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" with his freckles uncovered - earlier producers had insisted that freckles be covered up with grease paint! Wesley was an instant hit, and in subsequent features consolidated his following. After his performance as George Washington Sticker in "The Unpardonable Sin", one critic gushed that "If any boy actor ever succeeded in making more out of a part than Wesley does out of Sticker, neither the screen nor the stage has any record of the event." His popularity became so great that he even had an imposter: in 1920, a boy called Sidney Ward Scott was touted by his father on a 'Wesley Barry personal appearance tour'. To complaints that he was insufficiently freckled, the Scotts claimed that these were only painted on for the camera! Wesley went on in later life to become a producer and director in his own right. Arguably, the most famous movie he directed was "The Creation of the Humanoids" (1962), depicting a future society where robots are persecuted by humans who are facing extinction due to their own recklessness - an eerie anticipation of some of the themes of Spielberg's later "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (2001).
Notes
- In the Gallery, you will find a facsimile message written by Wesley that accompanied a booklet that was sent out in answer to fanmail. It reads: "Dear friends:- As you can judge, my handwriting is terrible which is only one of the reasons why I don't answer letters more promptly, the other reason being that Marshall Neilan keeps me so darn busy I don't get a chance to do such important things as play marbles or spin a top. I think in this booklet you'll find the answers to many questions you've put to me. If not, write me again and I'll try to answer. Honest. Respectfully Wesley Barry"
Gallery
Filmography
- The Phoney Cannibal (1915)
- Maybe Moonshine (1916)
- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917)
- The Fifth Boy (1917)
- Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley (1918)
- How Could You, Jean? (1918)
- Johanna Enlists (1918)
- A Woman of Pleasure (1919)
- Daddy-Long-Legs (1919) (as Orphan Boy)
- Her Kingdom of Dreams (1919)
- Male and Female (1919) (as Buttons - the Boy)
- The Unpardonable Sin (1919) (as George Washington Sticker)
- Dinty (1920) (as Dinty)
- Don't Ever Marry (1920)
- Go and Get It (1920)
- The County Fair (1920) (as Tommy Perkins)
- The White Circle (1920)
- Bits of Life (1921) (as Tom Levitt, a boy)
- Bob Hampton of Placer (1921)
- School Days (1921) (as Speck Brown)
- Stranger Than Fiction (1921) (as Freckles)
- The Lotus Eater (1921)
- Heroes of the Street (1922)
- Penrod (1922) (as Penrod)
- Rags to Riches (1922)
- The Country Kid (1923) (as Ben Applegate)
- Pure Grit (1923) (as Newsboy)
- The Printer's Devil (1923)
Page Last Modified: 17th October 2020
Page Added: 19th August 2017
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