Wesley Barry

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Wesley Barry, 1924

Wesley Barry (August 10, 1907 - April 11, 1994) was an American child actor in silent motion pictures.

[edit] Early life

Wesley Barry was born in Los Angeles, California. When Barry was seven years old, a young director was attracted by his facial features, and put him at work at the old Kalem Studios. He was not noted for his freckles until later—earlier producers had insisted that all subjects cover facial blemishes with grease paint. But Marshall Neilan took Wesley and put him in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, freckles and all. Soon, Wesley became a star in his own right, and 1920's Dinty put him over with great success. Later screen productions which served him as starring vehicles are School Days, Rags to Riches and Heroes of the Street, Warner specials. Barry was eleven years old when he appeared opposite Mary Pickford in Daddy-Long-Legs, and later, in Cecil B. DeMille's Male and Female, opposite Gloria Swanson.

[edit] Later life

Audiences watched him grow up on screen. Barry made some minor film appearances in sound movies through the 1930s, and his last film appearance was in Ladies' Day in 1943. Barry became a director and producer of B-movies throughout the 1950s. He directed his last film in 1962. In the 1940s, Barry became a director and producer of B-movies, such as The Steel Fist and Racing Blood. He directed his last film, The Jolly Genie, in 1963.