Barry Newman

Barry Foster Newman (November 7, 1930 – May 11, 2023) was an American actor of stage, screen and television known for his portrayal of Kowalski in Vanishing Point, and for his title role in the 1970s television series Petrocelli. He was nominated for Golden Globe and Emmy awards. Early life Newman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 7, 1930, although he gave his year of birth as 1938, the son of a Belarusian-born mother, Sarah (née Ostrovsky), and an Austrian father, Carl Newman. Newman was graduated from the prestigious Boston Latin School in 1948. He was a childhood friend of actor Leonard Nimoy. After graduating from Brandeis University with a degree in anthropology in 1952, Newman was drafted into the Army, and having learned saxophone and clarinet in high school, he was assigned to the 3rd Army Band in Atlanta. After being discharged, Newman went to New York to receive his master's degree in anthropology from Columbia University, when a friend, who was studying acting with Lee Strasberg, invited him to sit in on a class. His destiny changed as he fell in love with acting and left Columbia after only five weeks to study acting with Strasberg. Career Newman's first acting job was in Herman Wouk's first comedy Nature's Way, in which he played a jazz musician. New York critic Richard Watts called him "The creme of the Jesters". This role was followed by a featured part in the play Maybe Tuesday, written by Mel Tolkin.