Barry Coe R.I.P.

Barry Coe, who starred in the early Sixties series Follow the Sun and guest starred on TV shows from Bonanza to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, died on July 16 2019 at the age of 84. The cause was myelodysplastic syndrome.

Barry Coe was born Barry Clark Heacock in Santa Monica, California on November 26 1934. His mother would later marry Joseph Spalding Coe Sr. and his name would become Joseph Spalding Coe, Jr. His biological father, Frank Heacock, was a writer and publicist for Warner Bros. He died in an automobile accident in 1940.

Barry Coe attended he University of Southern California. It was while he was on a trip to Palm Springs that he was discovered by talent scout. Afterwards he signed with 20th Century Fox. He made his film debut in House of Bamboo in 1955. In the late Fifties he appeared in the films How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955), On the Threshold of Space (1956), D-Day the Sixth of June (1956), Love Me Tender (1956), Peyton Place (1957), Thundering Jets (1958), The Bravados (1958), A Private Affair (1959), But Not for Me (1959), One Foot in Hell (1960), and The Wizard of Baghdad (1960). He made his television debut in an episode of The 20th Century Fox Hour in 1955. He guest starred on Cheyenne and another episode of The 20th Century Fox Hour.

Barry Coe began the Sixties as the star of the short-lived adventure TV series Follow the Sun. Barry Coe guest starred on Bonanza as Little Joe Cartwright's older half brother (they shared their mother in common) Clay Stafford. It was planned for him to be join the cast as a regular, but objections from the cast resulted in him not joining the show. In the Sixties he guest starred on the shows General Hospital and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea., He had a recurring role on Bracken's World. He appeared in the movies The 300 Spartans (1962), A Letter to Nancy (1965), The Cat (1966), and Fantastic Voyage (1966).

In the Seventies Mr. Coe appeared in such films as The Seven Minutes (1971), One Minute Before Death (1973), Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls (1973), McArthur (1977), and Jaws 2 (1978). He guest starred on the shows Mission: Impossible, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and ABC Afternoon Specials. He appeared in the mini-series Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers. In the late Seventies and early Eighties he appeared as ""Mr. Goodwrench" in commercials for General Motors' dealers service departments known at the time as "Goodwrench."