Barry Lee Pearl (born March 29, 1950, in

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

) is an American character actor. He is best known for his role as "Doody", one of the three supporting T-Birds, in the 1978 film version of '' Grease''. He also had a cameo as Mr. Weaver in the '' Grease: Live'' television special on

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

in 2016.

Early life

Pearl was born in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

to an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

family. Despite growing up Orthodox Jewish, he celebrated both

Hanukkah Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...

and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

as a child as 2 of his aunts were married to Christians.

Career

He played "Professor Tinkerputt" in the primetime special '' Barney's Imagination Island'' and the US tour of '' Barney's Big Surprise'', a stage production based on the popular TV show as well as a video of the same name. He also starred in an episode of

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

's ''

Even Stevens ''Even Stevens'' is an American comedy television series produced by Brookwell McNamara Entertainment that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003, airing a total of 65 episodes spanning three seasons. It follows ...

''. He began his career in 1961 replacing Johnny Borden as “Randolph MaAfee” in Broadway's ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The play's book was influenced by El ...

''. Other Broadway credits include ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' in 1962, '' A Teaspoon Every Four Hours'' in 1969, '' The Producers'' in 2005, '' Lenny's Back'' in 2008 and ''

Baby It's You! ''Baby It's You!'' is a jukebox musical written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott, featuring pop and rock hits of the 1960s, with a special emphasis on songs by the Shirelles and other acts signed to Scepter Records. The show "tells the story of ...

'' in 2011. In 2012 he starred in the

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

release '' The Newest Pledge''. He also starred as "Arnold" in the national tour of '' Happy Days - A New Musical''. In 2014, he was part of the series ''Summer with

Cimorelli Cimorelli is an American singing group from El Dorado Hills, California consisting of five sisters: Christina, Katherine, Lisa, Amy, and Lauren. They first gained popularity on YouTube singing cover music and were subsequently signed to Univ ...

''. During the summers he teaches film arts all across the US to the special needs community with Joey Travolta's Inclusion Film Company.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1950 births Actors from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Living people Male actors from Pennsylvania American male musical theatre actors American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American Jews American people of Jewish descent Jewish American actors {{US-screen-actor-stub