He was only 37 when he died in Oct. 1974, having opened in Mack & Mabel just that month. Can't find any information on the net about the circumstances of his death.
It's macabre that the 2 best known Barnaby's met such untimely ends.
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On the other hand, he was approaching 40 and had worked on Broadway a total of 3 months in the 8+ years since he'd left Hello, Dolly! That's rather depressing. If the prior poster is right, his professional situation might've contributed--or he may simply have had emotional problems that overwhelmed him.
shareAnother actor who had problems and died fairly young was the very lovely
Virginia Vestoff who after leaving 1776 did the very bad "Nash at Nine" the short lived Via Galactica (that's right a Sci Fi musical)
I also saw her in "Boccaccio"
I last saw her when she took over the female lead in the off-Broadway musical.
"I'm getting my Act Together and Taking it on the Road" A small but not bad production.
See some stars here
http://www.vbphoto.biz/
he was approaching 40 and had worked on Broadway a total of 3 months in the 8+ years since he'd left Hello, Dolly! That's rather depressing
God, take a down. Talk about bitter. You sound like you're headed in the same direction as Jerry.
shareHow is it bitter to say that theatre doesn't only take place on Broadway? And how is it bitter to tell it like it is? I'm not bitter at all. I'm a realist.
Having spent time in that arena, I'm happy for the experience but it's not for me. It's a very, very difficult profession and Broadway is even more difficult because of both the competitive nature and the demands placed on performers. Maybe Jerry didn't like living like that. And there's more opportunity for actors to work on stage other than Broadway...and that work still matters.
So, to say that his career was a failure or give him pity is actually quite insulting. It's saying that because he didn't work on Broadway very much, he was a failure.
I really don't appreciate you calling me bitter or that I'm going to die young.
To "TheGuyWithTheFeet" -
As you've undoubtedly noticed, the particular poster you're dealing with has a tendency to over-react; in the past, I've dealt with his irrational responses myself. When you draw attention to misconceptions in his posts, or ask for clarification regarding the words he's used, he responds with personal insults.
And by the way, what you've said is correct; there is respectable employment in theater outside of Broadway; in fact, Jerry Dodge did a season of Shakespeare in Stratford Connecticut in 1967, playing Laucelot Gobbo in The Merchant Of Venice.
Dodge's credits are linked below; it doesn't specify what he did outside of NYC, but it does make clear that he opened with the original cast of Hello Dolly! in 1964. He spent a year with George M! and was gainfully employed on Broadway (in Mack & Mabel) at the time of his death. He even directed the off-Broadway production of Sensations in 1970. There's nothing "depressing" about Dodge's resume, and certainly no reason to use that adjective about his "situation" unless you can present reliable and specific information from Dodge himself (through diaries he might have left) or the personal accounts of those who knew him - which no one has done.
Actually, considering the difficulties and competition a professional actor faces, he did just fine. I can only hope he didn't die as horrifically as Danny Lockin.
http://broadwayworld.com/bwidb/sections/people/index.php?var=5562