Barry Atwater

Garrett "Barry" Atwater (May 16, 1918 – May 24, 1978) was an American character actor who appeared frequently on television from the 1950s into the 1970s. He was sometimes credited as G.B. Atwater.

For his father, the American artist, see Barry Atwater (painter).
Barry Atwater
Atwater (right) in The Twilight Zone
Born
Garrett Atwater

(1918-05-16)May 16, 1918
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
DiedMay 24, 1978(1978-05-24) (aged 60)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesG.B. Atwater
OccupationActor
Years active1954-1978

Life and career

The son of the landscape painter of the same name, Garrett Atwater was born in Denver, Colorado. He served as head of the UCLA Sound Department before he began his acting career.

His work teaching audio techniques led to a role in the student film A Time Out of War, a Civil War allegory that won the Oscar as best short film of 1954.[1]

He was awarded a Special Cinema Award for television work in 1958.[2]

Atwater, a character actor,[3] received positive notice in Variety for his role in The Hard Man (1957),[4] The True Story of Jesse James (1957),[5] The True Story of Lynn Stuart (1958),[6] Vice Raid (1959),[7] and As Young As We Are (1958).[8] About his work in the television show Judd for the Defense, Variety wrote, "Barry Atwater succeeded in bringing some life and a peculiar believability to an impossible role".[9]

By 1960 he had achieved enough stature to be named by host Rod Serling in the on-screen promo as one of the stars of the well-known CBS Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street". Atwater made six guest appearances on Perry Mason including as murderer Robert Benson in the 1959 episode "The Case of the Dangerous Dowager" and as murder victim Dr. Stuart Logan in the 1965 episode "The Case of the Cheating Chancellor". A Variety review of the latter stated that Atwater played the part with "correct nastiness".[10]

He played Benedict Arnold in an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea[11] and received positive notice for an appearance on Playhouse 90.[12]

Atwater in the mid-1960s spent three years on the ABC soap opera General Hospital while he also made prime-time appearances, billing himself as G.B. Atwater from 1963–1965, a period in which he was cast in supporting parts. About his nine-month stint on General Hospital, Atwater said, "It was a good expierence and good income, but it got tiresome. Shows like that are written for women, and the men are all emasculated".[13][14] By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Atwater was again scoring primary guest-star roles, particularly on fantasy and science fiction series, including The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, The Outer Limits, ("Corpus Earthling"), Night Gallery and Kung Fu, where his altered facial appearance suited his grim and sinister countenance due to its menacing and intense appearance.[15]

On the stage

Atwater performed regularly on stage throughout his career. In January 1958, it was announced that Atwater would be in a benefit performance in Passing of the Third Floor Back with the Episcopal Theatre Guild.[16] He received positive notice in the Los Angeles Times for his appearance in Volpone.[17] Atwater also appeared on stage in 1965 in The Disenchanted at the Actors Theatre.[18] In 1966, he was in the Edward Albee play Tiny Alice at the Ivar Theatre.[19] In 1968, he directed and performed in the play A Slight Ache at the Hollywood-Vine Methodist Center.[20]

Sci-fi legacy

Atwater's role as vampire Janos Skorzeny (pictured, far right) in the acclaimed TV thriller The Night Stalker (1972) made him a popular guest at 1970s fan gatherings that capitalized on the resurgence of classic horror during that decade. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times praised Atwater's performance, writing, "that gifted character actor Barry Atwater is terrific as the vampire".[21] Keith Ashwell of the Edmonton Journal wrote that Atwater was "a prince among vampires".[22]

Atwater was one of the few actors to play a character from Spock's planet on Star Trek: The Original Series, portraying Surak, father of Vulcan philosophy, in the episode "The Savage Curtain". Atwater could not achieve the Vulcan salute naturally, so when he bids farewell in a medium shot, he has to first lower his arm so his hand is out of camera view as he pushes his fingers against his body to configure them properly.[23]

Personal life and death

Atwater embraced and attributed his career success to the practice of Zen.[24]

In 1956, Atwater's West Los Angeles home was burglarized. when thieves removed a cat door to gain entry. Atwater was robbed of several hundred dollars' worth of clothes, jewelry, and other property.[25]

Suffering from terminal cancer, he died from a stroke on May 24, 1978 in Los Angeles, shortly after his 60th birthday.

Selected filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1956The Scarlet HourCrime Lab TechnicianUncredited
1956NightmareCapt. Warner
1956Man from Del RioDan RitchyUncredited
1956The RackMaj. Byron Phillips
1956Everything but the TruthArthur Taylor
1957The True Story of Jesse JamesAttorney Walker
1957The Hard ManGeorge Dennison
1958The True Story of Lynn StuartPolice Lt. Jim Hagan
1958As Young as We AreMr. Peterson
1959Crime and Punishment U.S.A.
1959Pork Chop HillLt. Col. Davis (battalion commander)
1959Vice RaidPhil Evans
1960Requiem to MassacreCuster
1961Battle at Bloody BeachPelham
1962Sweet Bird of YouthBen Jackson
1963Captain Newman, M.D.Maj. DawesUncredited
1966Alvarez KellyGeneral Kautz
1967Return of the GunfighterLomax
1969The Thousand Plane RaidGen. Conway
1969Star TrekSurakEpisode: "The Savage Curtain"
1974The TeacherSheriff Murphy
1974Win, Place or StealTeller #2
1978F.I.S.T.Milano's Attorney
1978The Kid from Not-So-BigNickerson(final film role)
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References
  1. "The 27th Academy Awards | 1955". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  2. "Wm. Marshall to Receive Special Cinema Award". Boxoffice. February 12, 1973. p. C4 – via Proquest.
  3. "Lord is Mastery of All He Surveys". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  4. "Film review: The Hard Man". Variety. December 4, 1957. p. 6 – via Proquest.
  5. "Film review: The True Story Of Jesse James". Variety. February 20, 1957. p. 6 – via Proquest.
  6. "Film Reviews: The True Story of Lynn Stuart". Variety. February 19, 1958. p. 6 – via Proquest.
  7. "Film review: Vice Raid". Variety. December 16, 1959. p. 6 – via Proquest.
  8. "Film Reviews: As Young as We Are". Variety. September 24, 1958. p. 6 – via Proquest.
  9. "Television Reviews: Judd for the Defense". Variety. October 2, 1968. p. 48.
  10. "Television Review: Perry Mason". Variety. October 6, 1965. p. 42 – via Proquest.
  11. "Atwater Portrays Benedict Arnold". The Argus. 1968-03-08. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  12. "Television Reviews: Tele Follow-UP Comment - Playhouse 98". Variety. July 2, 1958. p. 29 – via Proquest.
  13. Kleiner, Dick (October 1, 1967). "Show Beat". Marysville Appeal Democrat. p. 40 – via Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Barry Atwater May Die Soon, But Is Healthy". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  15. Meehan, Paul (October 20, 2010). Horror Noir: Where Cinema's Dark Sisters Meet (1st ed.). McFarland. p. 310. ISBN 0786445971.
  16. "Passing of Third Floor Back To Be Presented Here Feb. 1". Daily News-Post and Monrovia News-Post. 1958-01-20. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  17. "Angels Offer Amusing 'Volpone'". The Los Angeles Times. 1964-09-02. p. 69. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  18. "Barry Atwater Joins Play Cast". Valley Times. 1965-05-19. p. 31. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  19. "Tiny Alice". The Los Angeles Times. 1966-01-30. p. 512. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  20. "Pinter, Williams Dramas Staged by ARTIS Group". The Los Angeles Times. 1968-05-07. p. 78. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  21. Thomas, Kevin (January 11, 1972). "The Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. p. 54 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Do les Anglais think French will go away?". Edmonton Journal. 1972-11-29. p. 82. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  23. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 39, Episodes 77 & 78: The Savage Curtain/All Our Yesterdays (1966), CBS Paramount Home Video liner notes
  24. "Career Aided by Zen, Says Actor". Valley Times. 1962-01-13. p. 16. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  25. "Cat Door Lets Thieves Enter Home of Actor". The Los Angeles Times. 1956-10-15. p. 23. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
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