Australian actor Tony Barry passed away after a long illness.
The beloved Queensland-born film and television star has died aged 81, his good friend New Zealand filmmaker Gaylene Preston announced on Facebook.
“With a heavy heart, we bid farewell to Tony Barry, who passed peacefully yesterday in Murwillumbah NSW after a long illness,” she wrote. “He’s one-of-a-kind. A fierce fighter for the underprivileged, works for Indigenous rights and is part of the recovery process. [programs] in the justice system and for the environment.”
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“He considers himself an honorary Kiwi as the only Australian to appear on New Zealand postage stamps for his role in Goodbye Pork Pie.
“Diagnosed with melanoma in 2007, he was determined to keep going, working to the end. A great tree has fallen. A warrior is lying down. RIP Tow bar.”
New Zealand actor Sam Neill was one of the first to pay tribute to the late actor.
“Tony Barry is gone – my lovely man, great actor and hero. Sad today,” Neill, who co-starred with Barry in the 1994 TV series Aussie, wrote on Twitter. Country life.
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As Preston mentioned, Barry’s most memorable role was in the 1981 comedy film Goodbye cakewhere he plays John, a man who decides to drive across New Zealand in his small yellow car to win his girlfriend back.
Barry made his screen debut in the 1968 TV series Skippy: Dust kangaroo. Since then, he has earned 160 film and TV credits to his name, including Break of Day, beyond reasonable doubt and the epic of Baz Luhrmann Australiaco-starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.
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The actor suffered a health crisis in 2013 while filming the series Aussie Time in our life where his left leg needed amputation after a decades-long battle with melanoma. The surgery was made into a story, with Barry’s character losing his leg in an accident.
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