Born May 28th, 1958 in Amarillo, Texas, Randal 'Barry' Orton, arrived
in Kansas City, Mo. three days later with his mother, Rita, at the
wheel of the car. This served as an early sample of what life would
hold for the newborn, Barry, as his father, Bob Orton Sr., 'The Big O' was a
professional wrestler and the family rarely spent more than a few years
in any one geographical region. On February 9, 1964 in their Tampa,
Florida living room, Barry and his family watched with millions of
other Americans as The Beatles made their U.S. debut on _"Ed Sullivan Show, The" (1955)_. That
proved to be a defining moment for our subject, cementing his
aspirations of working in the performing arts.
On his 6th birthday, Barry chose a guitar over a rowboat. His first
play followed when he played 'Old King Cole' in a first grade
production of Mother Goose. Playing his first nightclub gig at age 13,
Barry, went on to play in several prominent club bands across the
country. In 1976 after being disappointed by a "near miss" record deal,
he found himself once again in Tampa, Florida, this time being trained
by his father and brother, "The Ace" Cowboy Bob Orton, to follow in his
family's footsteps into the world of professional wrestling. This
initiated an inner struggle which saw him rebound between the worlds of
wrestling and rock & roll for the next decade and a half. In 1991,
Barry landed the role of 'Wild Thing' in the local Vegas TV show 'Vegas
Rocks.' This led to a local commercial and an (uncredited) part in
...aber nicht mit meiner Braut - Honeymoon in Vegas (1992).
After struggling with inner demons and the music industry for the next
several years, Barry resurfaced as a serious pupil in the craft of
acting. After Killer's Mind (1999) as a ritual to signify new beginnings and to
remove himself from "the shadows", Barry redefined his identity by
adopting the name Barrymore Barlow, in part to honor one of his
favorite character actors, Lionel Barrymore and in part because, "it sounds
groovy." Following an overnight reign as World Champion in the now
defunct WOW (World Organized Wrestling), Barry went to New York to
study Classical Theater at the Robert Patterson Studio and was cast in
several independent and studio features and shorts. He also found work
in stunt coordination and fight choreography. He is currently working
on a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at UNLV (University of Nevada Las
Vegas) and continues to pursue his career as a uniquely charismatic
character actor.
