David Barry

David Barry was born on 30th April 1943 in the North Wales town of Bangor.As a young boy he attended Hillgrove school in Bangor and also went to school across the Menai Straits in nearby Anglesey.He later moved to London and after leaving Mortlake Secondary Modern School, he enrolled at The Corona Academy stage school in Chiswick. Former graduates of the Academy include Jeremy Bulloch, Richard O'Sullivan, Dennis Waterman and Frazer Hines.His first role as an actor was at the Theatre Royal, Windsor playing the part of 'Harlen' one of the seven boys in the play 'Life With Father', based on the humorous autobiographical book of stories written in 1936 by the American author Clarence Day, Jr.He is best remembered for the part as one of the kids of class 5C, the cowardly 'mummy's boy' Frankie Abbott, in the popular London Weekend Television series 'Please Sir!'The series made him a household name starring alongside Deryck Guyler, Joan Sanderson and John Alderton, and his fellow pupils Peter Cleall (Eric Duffy), Peter Denyer (Dennis Dunstable) and the late actors Malcolm McPhee (Peter Craven) and Liz Gebhardt (Maureen Bullock).The series was based around a fictitious South London comprehensive Fenn Street school. It was first transmitted on 11th November 1968 and ran for four series consisting of 53 episodes. 'Please Sir' ended in 1972, but was followed by a spin-off series called 'The Fenn Street Gang' following the kids of 5C as they left school and looked for work. It ran for two series but never found the same popularity and was axed in 1973. The Fenn Street Gang was also made into a comic strip for the 70s children's magazine 'Look In'.He continued working in television, films, theatre and radio. In 1980 he appeared in the feature film version of the popular Thames television comedy George and Mildred with, Yootha Joyce, Brian Murphy and Stratford Johns.He slowly moved into writing, something he had dabbled in during his 'Fenn Street' days when he had penned some episodes for the series. He is also credited as a writer for the 80s sit-com 'Keep It In The Family'.David has written scripts for public and private sector organisations, writing theatre scripts for training purposes, dealing with issues such as bullying in the workplace, race, sexual orientation and disability.More recently in 2002 he had his first novel published a police comedy thriller titled 'Each Man Kills' by Gomer Press ISBN-10: 1843230828In 2005 he created and wrote the first weekly UK internet soap 'Careless Talk' www.carelesstalksoap.btinternet.co.uk set in Tunbridge Wells. Although a work of fiction unlike other soaps, real characters make fleeting appearances in the storylines, and many of the locations in and around Tunbridge Wells are factual.He completed his autobiography in 2006 called 'Flashback - An Actor's Life' in which he candidly tells the story of life as a child actor, working with the likes of Sir Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh in one of the most prestigious post-war theatre tours. The autobiography spans almost five decades and his story covers everything from the pitfalls of working in live television to performing with hard drinking actors.David is divorced and has two grown up children. Show less «