ENTERTAINMENT
dining room, carry-out and trays
• breakfast • lunch • dinner
• after-theater • kiddie menu
open tuesdays thru sundays
10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
lincoln shopping center, 101/2 mile & greenfield, oak park
l
968-0022
THE GOLD COIN
a
OPEN 7 DAYS — YOUR HOST: HOWARD LEW
SZECHUAN, MANDARIN, CANTONESE
COMPLETE
CARRY-OUT
AVAILABLE
NEW A LA CARTE DINNERS UNDER $5
24480 W. 10 MILE ON TEL-EX PLAZA)
West of Telegraph
353 7848
-
GOLDEN BOWL
Restaurant
22106 COOLIDGE AT 9 MILE In A & P Shopping Center
398-5502 or 398-5503
DINE IN & CARRY-OUT
SZECHUAN, MANDARIN, CANTONESE & AMERICAN CUISINE
OPEN 7 DAYS-Mon.-Thurs. 11-10, Fri. & Sat. 11-11, Sun. & Holidays 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Banquet Facilities
Your Chef: FRANK ENG
l de Pv oe l x
Chinese-American Restaurant
Cantonese, Szechuan & American
Dining & Carry-Out
OPEN 7 DAYS ... Mon.-Thurs. 11:30-9:30, Fri. & Sat. 11:30-11, Sun. 12-9:30
642-8386
4067 W. Maple Rd. Just East of Telegraph
TNE Gr"EiNT WALE
SERVING YOUR FAVORITE EXOTIC
DRINKS & CHOICE COCKTAILS
PRIVATE DINING ROOM
• BANQUETS • PARTIES • BUSINESS MEETINGS
Your host . . . HENRY LUM
Businessmen's Luncheons • Carry-outs • Catering
476-9181
(Drakeshire Shopping Center) • 35135 Grand River
HOA KOW INN
Specializing In Cantonese, Szechuan & Mandarin Foods
Open Daily 11 to 10:30, Sat. 11 to 12 Mid., Sun. 12 to 10:30
—
13715 W. 9 MILE, W. of Coolidge • Oak Park • 547-4663
— Carry-Out Service
KABOB GRILL
Authentic Lebanese Cuisine
CARRY-OUT & CATERING AVAILABLE
29702 SOUTHFIELD AT 12 1/2 MILE
(In Southfield Plaza)
557-5990
34637 GRAND RIVER AVE.
(Bet. Drake & Farmington)
442-9490
AON.-THURS. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. FRI. & SAT. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m
CLOSED SUNDAYS
ORIENTAL EXPRESS
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT • COMPLETE CARRY-OUT
CANTONESE & SZECHUAN PREPARED BY A CHINESE COOK
OPEN 7 DAYS
2458 ORCHARD LAKE RD, West of Middlebelt
IN LOADING DOCK MALL • Sylvdn Lake
683-4840
DINE OUT AT A
JEWISH NEWS
RECOGNIZED RESTAURANT
74
FRIDAY, MAY-24, 1991
Gene Barry Enjoys
The Best Of Times
RITA CHARLESTON
Special to The Jewish News
H
is list of credits read
like a "Who's Who" of
show business.
Born and raised in New
York, Gene Barry received a
coveted singing scholarship at
the age of 17, appeared in hit
after hit on Broadway and
went on to star in Hollywood
films and several hit TV
series.
Yet for all the accolades he
has amassed, it is his little
Jewish grandmother whom
he credits most with having
given him the wherewithal to
accomplish all he set out to
achieve.
"The fact is," says Mr.
Barry, "I speak Yiddish and
only because of my grand-
mother. Although all her
children were born in
America, she insisted they all
learn to speak Yiddish. But I
think they tried to break
away from old traditions.
However, I, as the grandchild
who loved her so much, learn-
ed to speak her language.
Besides, I figured that she
couldn't speak any English so
how else was I going to com-
municate with her?"
Years later Mr. Barry learn-
ed the truth when he in-
troduced his wife to his grand-
mother. "I left the room for a
time figuring it wasn't going
to be a very easy conversation
for either of them since my
wife couldn't speak one word
of Yiddish. But when I came
back, there was my grand-
mother speaking perfect
English!'
The ruse never bothered
Mr. Barry one bit. "My grand-
mother gave me an awful lot
in terms of self-belief," he
says. "She inspired me in
terms of lifting myself out of
the mire of ordinariness. She
really helped me because for
a nice Jewish boy growing up
in New York, wanting to be
an actor was unheard of, and
I think she is the one most
responsible for seeing to it
that I did what I really
wanted to do with my life."
And to make it all wor-
thwhile, his grandmother did
get to see him in his first ma-
jor role on Broadway in the
musical Rosalinda before she
died.
Blessed with a fine singing
voice and his grandmother's
belief in his abilities, Mr.
Barry began making the
rounds of producers' offices
while still in high school. He
hit Broadway when he was
just 23 and, after several
Gene Barry: Broadway, films and TV.
more appearances on the
Great White Way, as well as
some TV appearances, Mr.
Barry was lured to
Hollywood.
His first picture, titled The
Turning Point was true to its
name. Following the role, Mr.
Barry signed a long-term con-
tract with Paramount Pic-
tures, and starred in a
number of films, including
War of the Worlds, Naked
Alibi and Soldier of Fortune.
In 1958, he was approached
to create the lead role in a
television series called "Bat
Masterson!' At first he declin-
ed the offer, not wanting to do
a western and preferring to
stay in films. But when the
producers explained the
character was a different kind
of cowboy, one who wore a der-
by and carried a cane, the
idea became appealing and
Mr. Barry agreed to do the
part.
"Bat Masterson" was
followed by two more major
hit series, "Burke's Law" and
"The Name of the Game."
Although Mr. Barry was a hit
on TV, he became very un-
popular with the film moguls
of the day.
"I never really wanted to go
into television at the time,"
Mt Barry admits. "I felt
television would destroy the
gains I had made in motion
pictures, and I was right. In
those days, one didn't fight
the studio, which still had the
star system. Back then they
looked down on television per-
formers who were viewed as
the enemy because they gave
away their talents to the
public for nothing. Today
their major stars come from
television, but not in those
days."
So while virtually shunned
by the film studios here, Mr.
Barry went to Europe to
make movies. But his televi-
sion producers soon nixed
those deals for him.
"There was a constant bat-
tle of schedules," he says. "We
were doing 39 shows a year in
those days so there was
always a war going on for
your time and energy. And if
you were a star, you were
right there in the middle of
the warfare."
Eventually tiring of the
game plan, Mr. Barry return-
ed to the stage to do a number
of musical productions. He
also took his own one-man
show, Gene Barry in One,
around the world.
The year 1983 became a
banner year for Mr. Barry
when he was asked by pro-
ducer Allan Carr to originate
the role of "Georges" in the
Tony Award-winning Broad-
way musical La Cage Aux
Folles. Mr. Barry earned both
a Tony and Drama Desk
nomination as best male lead
in a musical for his
performance. D