Patricia Barry was born Patricia White in Davenport, Iowa on November 16 1922. She studied theatre at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and later studied acting under Sanford Meisner in New York City.
She made her professional debut on stage in 1944 in the play Laughing Water. She later won a Rita Hayworth lookalike contest, which led to a contract with Warner Bros. She made her film debut in an uncredited role in Her Kind of Man (1946). Over the next few years she appeared in small roles in such films as Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946), The Beast with Five Fingers (1946), The Man I Love (1947), and Cry Wolf (1947). She signed with Columbia Pictures in the late Forties, where she was soon playing female leads. In the late Forties she appeared in such films as When a Girl's Beautiful (1947), Rose of Santa Rosa (1947), The Wreck of the Hesperus (1948), Trapped by Boston Blackie (1948), Singin' Spurs (1948), Manhattan Angel (1949), The Undercover Man (1949, and The Tattooed Stranger (1950). In 1950 she made her television debut in an episode of The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse. She also guest starred on Robert Montgomery Presents.
The Fifties saw Patricia Barry's career shift towards television. She was a regular on the soap opera First Love. She guest starred on such shows as Armstrong Circle Theatre, Man Against Crime, Suspense, Goodyear Playhouse, The Alcoa Hour, Studio One, Playhouse 90, Maverick, The Third Man, 77 Sunset Strip, Sugarfoot, Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse, Richard Diamond Private Detective, Laramie, The Rifleman, Tales of Wells Fargo, Perry Mason, and Bachelor Father. She made her debut on Broadway in The Pink Elephant in 1953 and later appeared in Goodbye Again in 1956.
In the Sixties Patricia Barry was a regular on the sitcom Harris Against the World. She guest starred on such shows as The Donna Reed Show, Ben Casey, My Three Sons, Thriller, Route 66, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Colour, The Virginian, Rawhide, Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Dr. Kildare, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., The Green Hornet, The High Chaparral, Ironside, The Flying Nun, and Gunsmoke. She appeared in the films Send Me No Flowers (1964), Kitten with a Whip (1964), and Dear Heart (1964).
In the Seventies Mrs. Barry had a recurring role on the crime drama Monty Nash. She was a regular on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. She guest starred on the shows The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Insight, Police Woman, Columbo, Visions, Charlie's Angels, Three's Company, and Quincy M.E. She appeared in the film The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971).
In the Eighties Patricia Barry appeared in the films The End of August (1982),Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), For Keeps? (1988), Dance to Win (1989), and Sea of Love (1989). She had recurring roles on the soap operas All My Children and The Guiding Light. She guest starred on Finder of Lost Loves, Simon & Simon, and Nine to Love.
In the Nineties she guest starred on Knot's Landing; Dallas; Hunter; Ghostwriter; Loving; and Murder, She Wrote. In the Naughts she guest starred on Providence. In 2014 she made her last appearance on screen, in the film Delusional.
Patricia Barry was certainly a prolific actress. She guest starred on numerous TV shows and appeared in several movies throughout her career. There can be no doubt that much of the reason she was so much in demand was that she was a very pretty woman, but she was also a very talented one as well. Patricia Barry could play anything. She had a particular gift for comedy, which was on display as the soon to be divorced Linda Bullard in Send Me No Flowers and the Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "Goodbye, George". That is not to say that she was not equally adept at drama, as shown by appearances on Perry Mason and The Twilight Zone. Ultimately she could play nearly anything she wanted. She could be the charming woman who could twist men around her little finger, as in the High Chaparral episode "The Widow from Red Rock", or she could be an ordinary housewife, as on Harris Against the World. Not many in the general public may recognise Patricia Barry's name, but they will remember her from many, many hours of television and films.
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