June 4, 2023
Vanishing Point actor Barry Newman died May 11 at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center, ExtraTV reports.
Though all online sources listed him as having been 84, his widow, Angela, confirmed he was actually 92.
Newman was born November 7, 1930, attending Brandeis University and serving in the U.S. Army before studying acting with the legendary Lee Strasberg (1901-1982).
He made a Broadway debut in Nature's Way (1957) and was also seen in Maybe Tuesday (1958) and 1964's What Makes Sammy Run?
Newman's first feature was 1960's Pretty Boy Floyd, and he made his TV debut on an episode of 'Way Out (1962).
Along with many TV movies, his other TV work included appearances on Naked City (1963), The Edge of Night (1964-1966) and Get Smart (1968).
As Kowalski in the Richard C. Sarafian (1930-2013) film Vanishing Point (1971), he played a man who delivers fast cars, always butting heads with the law. The chase-filled film was an immediate success overseas, and has attracted a serious cult following.
In 1970, Newman had been the star of the feature The Lawyer, which led to an offer to reprise the character in the series Petrocelli, which lasted two seasons (1974-1976).
Other movies in which Newman — who had beaten vocal cord cancer — appeared: The Salzburg Connection (1972), City on Fire (1979), Amy (1981), Daylight (1996), Next Year in Jerusalem (1997), Goodbye Lover (1998), Brown's Requiem (1998), The Limey (1999), Bowfinger (1999), 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002), and his final film, Finding Hannah (2022), which has not been released.
Newman is survived by his wife.
