Barry Shear
Barry Shear (March 23, 1923 in New York City – June 13, 1979 in Los Angeles) was an American film director and producer.
James Barry Shear | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 23, 1923 New York City, US |
| Died | June 13, 1979 (aged 56) Los Angeles, US |
| Years active | 1950–1980 |
Career
Television career
Shear began directing for television in the 1950s for the DuMont Television Network news program Newsweek Views the News, and directed episodes of the DuMont series Guide Right, Not for Publication, and Joseph Schildkraut Presents. He quickly moved to episodic television. Over his 30-year career in television he directed both series and telefilms. Series that he directed several episodes for include The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The Name of the Game, Ironside, Alias Smith and Jones, Police Story, Police Woman, and The Feather and Father Gang.
Film career
Shear's first made-for-theaters feature was the 1968 counter culture film Wild in the Streets. He later directed theatrical films in various genres such as The Todd Killings in 1971 (based on the serial killer Charles Schmid), the blaxploitation film Across 110th Street in 1972, and the western The Deadly Trackers in 1973 (which he overtook from Samuel Fuller). While well received, these features met with only fair box office and Shear returned to work exclusively in television.
On August 5, 1965, both Barry Shear and Jan Berry, of the singing duo, Jan & Dean, were injured along with other film crew members while on the first day on the set of a new Paramount motion picture, Easy Come, Easy Go. Paramount would ultimately cancel the film and reuse the film title the following year for an Elvis Presley film.
