Barry Shear (March 23, 1923 in New York City – June 13, 1979 in Los Angeles) was an American film and television director and producer.

Career

Television career

Shear began directing for television in the 1950s for the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

news program '' Newsweek Views the News'', and directed episodes of the DuMont series '' Guide Right'', '' Not for Publication'', and ''

Joseph Schildkraut Presents ''Joseph Schildkraut Presents'' is an anthology television series that originally aired on the DuMont Television Network starring stage and screen actor Joseph Schildkraut. Broadcast history The series aired from October 28, 1953, to January 21, 1 ...

''. Shear directed ''The Hazel Scott Show'' for DuMont, the first television show to feature a Black woman as the star of a show, performing without sketch comedy or guests. He quickly moved to episodic television. Over his 30-year career in television he directed both series and

telefilms A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

. Series that he directed several episodes for include ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

'', ''

The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction TV series starring Stefanie Powers that aired on NBC for one season from September 16, 1966, to April 11, 1967. The series was a spin-off from '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' and used the sam ...

'', '' The Name of the Game'', '' Ironside'', ''

Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are tryin ...

'', '' Police Story'', ''

Police Woman The integration of women into law enforcement positions can be considered a large social change. A century ago, there were few jobs open to women in law enforcement. A small number of women worked as correctional officers, and their assignment ...

'', and ''

The Feather and Father Gang ''The Feather and Father Gang'' is a 1976–1977 American crime-drama television series starring Stefanie Powers and Harold Gould, which centers on an attorney who enlists her con-man father and his team of bunco artists to help her solve crime ...

''.

Film career

Shear's first made-for-theaters feature was the 1968 counter culture film ''

Wild in the Streets ''Wild in the Streets'' is a 1968 American comedy-drama film directed by Barry Shear and starring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Shelley Winters. Based on the short story "The Day It All Happened, Baby!" by Robert Thom, it was distribu ...

''. He later directed theatrical films in various genres such as ''

The Todd Killings ''The Todd Killings'' is a 1971 psychological thriller directed by Barry Shear and starring Robert F. Lyons, Richard Thomas, Belinda Montgomery, and Barbara Bel Geddes. It is based on the true crimes of serial killer Charles Schmid in the ...

'' in 1971 (based on the serial killer Charles Schmid), ''

Across 110th Street ''Across 110th Street'' is a 1972 American action-crime film directed by Barry Shear and starring Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Franciosa and Paul Benjamin. The film is set in Harlem, New York and takes its name from 110th Street, the tr ...

'' in 1972, and the western '' The Deadly Trackers'' in 1973 (which he overtook from

Samuel Fuller Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) was an American film director, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, and World War II veteran known for directing low-budget genre movies with controversial themes, often made o ...

). While well received, these features met with only fair box office and Shear returned to work exclusively in television. On August 5, 1965, both Shear and Jan Berry, of the singing duo

Jan and Dean Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...

, were injured along with other film crew members while on the first day on the set of a new Paramount motion picture, '' Easy Come, Easy Go''. Paramount would ultimately cancel the film and reuse the film title the following year for an unrelated film starring

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

Personal life

Shear’s wife was actress Sondra Shear, (1926–2002) and his daughter is director Wendy Shear.

Death

Barry Shear died of cancer at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

in Los Angeles on June 13, 1979, at the age of 56. He was interred at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...

References

External links

* 1923 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American film directors American film producers American television directors American television producers Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Deaths from cancer in California University of Wisconsin alumni {{US-film-producer-stub