Barry Coe

Born Barry Clark Heacock, his name was changed to Joseph Spalding Coe when his mother, Jean Elizabeth Shea, married Joseph Spalding Coe, Sr. in 1940 in Los Angeles. His father, Francis Elmer "Frank" Heacock, a writer and publicist for Warner Bros., was killed in an auto accident in North Hollywood, California on April 5, 1940. Coe attended the University of Southern California and was discovered by a talent scout during a trip with his fraternity to Palm Springs in the mid-1950s. He was signed under contract for 20th Century Fox as an actor.

Coe’s early roles included appearances in House of Bamboo (1955), How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955), On the Threshold of Space (1956), and D-Day the Sixth of June (1956). He guest-starred in an episode of Cheyenne, "The Last Train West", and had a small role in Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender (1956). He was in adaptations of The Late George Apley and Deep Water for The 20th Century Fox Hour.

Coe's first really notable role was playing the lustful Rodney Harrington in Peyton Place (1957), based on the best-selling Grace Metalious 1956 novel of the same name.

He followed it with a supporting part in Thundering Jets (1958), then went back to Fox for The Bravados (1958) with Gregory Peck, and A Private's Affair (1959). He played Carroll Baker's age-appropriate boyfriend in But Not for Me at Paramount.[1]

Coe had good supporting roles in One Foot in Hell (1960) with Alan Ladd and The Wizard of Baghdad (1961). In 1960, he received a Golden Globe for the Most Promising Newcomer - Male, along with James Shigeta, Troy Donahue, and George Hamilton.[2]

In 1961, Coe and Brett Halsey played magazine writers Paul Templin and Ben Gregory, respectively, with Gary Lockwood as Eric Jason, on the ABC television network series Follow the Sun from September 17, 1961, through April 8, 1962. The program was set in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the writers often ventured into private detective work. Despite some memorable episodes, Follow the Sun was cancelled after 29 segments.[3]

After Follow the Sun folded, Coe appeared in a supporting role in Fox's The 300 Spartans (1962)[4] then guest-starred in 1962 on the first episode of the fourth season of Bonanza. He portrayed Clay Stafford, who reveals himself to be the "fifth" Cartwright, a half brother to Little Joe (Michael Landon) via their mother Marie. Although stepfather Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and Joe take Clay at his word, the other Cartwright brothers, Hoss (Dan Blocker) and Adam (Pernell Roberts) are skeptical and intend to investigate Clay's claim. The episode called "The First Born" could have introduced Coe as a new cast member. Entertainment writer Hal Ericson reported that friction (i.e., job security) on the set caused Bonanza producers to stick with the three brothers.[5]

Cole was given the lead in the low-budget, independent film A Letter to Nancy (1965). He guest-starred on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and appeared as a communications aide in Fantastic Voyage (1966) and as Walt Kilby in The Cat (1966).[6]

Coe had a semiregular role on Bracken's World and could be seen in The Seven Minutes (1971) and One Minute Before Death (1973).

He starred as Fred Saunders in Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls in 1973 and as a reporter in Gregory Peck's MacArthur in 1977. His last film role was as diving instructor Tom Andrews in Jaws 2 in 1978. He had a brief stint as Dr. Rex Pierce in the soap opera General Hospital in 1974. His other television appearances include Mission: Impossible and The Moneychangers.[2]

From the late 1970s into the early 1980s, Coe was "Mr. Goodwrench" in television advertising for a chain of national auto parts stores under General Motors.[2]

Until his death, Coe was married to the former Jorunn Kristiansen, who was a Norwegian beauty queen in the 1950s and now a painter (born 1940). Their son is William Shea Coe (born 1966). In the 1980s, Barry Coe's daughter attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He had a side business in nutritional supplements—Adventures in Nutrition; labels for the containers were printed by Joe Faust. He lived in Brentwood, California for several years. Coe died on July 16, 2019 from myelodysplastic syndrome at the age of 84.[7][8]