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Norman Barrs Biography (1917-)

Addresses: Home: 55 E. 78th Street, New York, NY, 10021.

Mr. Barrs has made a specialty of British dialect roles. For seven years he was a permanent member of the Dublin Gate Theatre (1941-48) and has taught atthe American Academy of Dramatic Art, Stella Adler Studio, AMDA, and the NewYork Academy of Theatrical Arts. He has also stage-managed several shows (three on Broadway, four at the Blackfriars Theatre) and directed shows for Equity Library Theatre, Equity Community Plays and the MacArthur Summer Theatre inVermont. Between 1940 and 1941 he had his own "fitup" touring company in Ireland. He records books for the American Foundation for the Blind. For ten years he was a professional, practicing astrologer. At the beginning of his career he was a practicing magician, did a single and a double musical act in British Vaudeville and performed straight man stand-up comedy for Dublin comedians Jimmy O'Dea, Noel Purcell and Cecil Sheridan. He was also seen in manymusical revues in Dublin between 1941 and 1948.

Gender

Male

Occupation

actor, director

Famous Works

• Debut
• Morell, Candida, German tour, 1937.
• New York Debut
• Hodson, John Bull's Other Island, Mansfield (now Brooks Atkinson), 1948.
• London Debut
• Repertory, Dublin Gate Theatre Co., Embassy, 1948.
• Principal Stage Appearances
• Christmas Pantomime, Dublin, 1938; five roles, 1066 and All That,1938; Rudd, A Spot of Bother, Aldwych Farce, 1938; Billy Blee, Devonshire Cream, Phillpotts Farce, 1939; Charley, Charley's Aunt,1939; Henry, The Shining Hour, 1939; Jervis, Daddy-Long-Legs,1939; Hector/Statue, Man and Superman, 1939; Lorenzo, The Merchantof Venice, 1939; Commander Rogers, French Without Tears, 1940; performer, April Fooling, Queens, Dublin, 1941; Chorus, Oedipus, 1941; Bassanio, The Merchant of Venice, 1941; Macduff, Macbeth,1941; Dr. Ridgeon, The Doctor's Dilemma, 1942; performer, Of Pastures New, Gaiety, Dublin, 1943; performer, Royal Roadhouse Revue, Olympia, Dublin, 1943; Birnbaum, The Constant Nymph, 1943; Randall,Heartbreak House, 1943; Stogumber, St. Joan, 1943; Agrippa, Antony and Cleopatra, 1943; Prince, Trouble in Troy, 1944; Mortimer, Arsenic and Old Lace, Dublin, 1944; Ben, Uncle Harry, 1944;Rosen, Tsar Paul, 1944; Kreon, Oedipus, 1944; John Worthing, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1945; Monk, Oliver Twist, 1945;Manningham, Gaslight, 1945; Dr. Schumacher, The Doctor's Dilemma, 1945; Cassio, Othello, 1945; Pastor Manders, Ghosts, 1946; Police Sgt, Winterset, 1946; Stephen, Murder Without Crime,1946; Drinkwater, Captain Brassbound's Conversion, 1946; Gratiano,The Merchant of Venice, 1946; Warwick, Biography, 1947; RabbiSender, The Dybbuk, 1947; Hastings, She Stoops to Conquer, 1947; Brunton, Where Stars Walk, 1948; Radfern, Laburnum Grove, 1948; Sir Hugo Const, Suspect, 1948; The Old Lady Says No, Mansfield, 1948. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, 1950; The King of Friday's Men, 48th Street Playhouse, 1951; Beverly Carlton, The Man Who Cameto Dinner, 1952; Tybalt, Romeo and Juliet, 1952; Albert Feather, Ladies in Retirement, 1953; Simon, Family Album, 1954; George Pepper, Red Peppers, 1954; Jim, Quiet Wedding, 1954; Tony, Heaven Can Wait, 1954; Bob Cratchit, A Christmas Carol, 1954; Henri,Sailor's Delight, 1954; Green, Richard II, 1954; Cassius, Julius Caesar, 1954; Burgess, Candida, 1955; King Magnus, TheApple Cart, 1955; My Three Angels, 1955; The Little Glass Clock, 1956; Sampson, A Pound in Your Pocket, 1957; Jamie, Maggie, 1958; Percy, Epitaph for George Dillon, 1959; Mr. Secondborn, Buoyant Billions, and Reverend Soames, Getting Married, Provincetown Playhouse, New York, 1959; Mr. Dabble, Lock up Your Daughters, 1960;Inspector, Not in the Book, 1960; Sgt. Reynolds, Little Moon of Alban, 1960; Gaev, The Cherry Orchard, Washington Arena, 1960; Blair, Kwamina, 1960; Alick, Maggie, 1962; Herbert Getliffe, Timeof Hope, 1963; Polonius, Hamlet, 1963; Jesuit/Philippe, Poor Bitos, Cort, New York, 1964; Tommy, The Zulu and the Zayda, 1965; The Queen and the Rebels, Theatre Four, New York, 1965; Milburn, Hostile Witness, 1966; Meadows/Truscott (stand-by), Loot, Biltmore, New York, 1968; Little Boxes, New Theatre, New York, 1969; Saved, Cherry Lane, New York, 1970; Sam, The Homecoming, 48th Street Theatre, New York, 1971; Captain Lesgate, Dial M for Murder, 1972; The Jockey Club Stakes, 1973; Robertson, Lloyd George Knew My Father, 1974; Cunningham, Ulysses in Nighttown, Winter Garden, New York, 1974; William, You Never Can Tell, Round-about, New York, 1978; Alex, TheHiding Place, 1982.
• Major Tours
• Repertory seasons in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Canada, 1937-40; Dublin Gate Theatre Co., ENSA tours, 1940-47; King Magnus, The AppleCart, National Tour, 1957; Lindsay Woolsey, Auntie Mame, 1958; Hostile Witness, 1966-7; The Jockey Club Stakes, 1975.
• Principal Films
• The Colonial Naturalist; Hostile Witness, 1967; F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Last of the Belles, 1973.
• Radio Appearances
• heard on NBC Theatre Guild on the Air; WOR Sherlock Holmes series; U.N. Radio, BBC, CBS, and Radio Eireann.
• Television Appearances
• since 1949, seen on over one hundred major shows, including: HallmarkHall of Fame; Camera Three; Ed Sullivan Show; Omnibus; Kraft, Television Theatre; also commercials.