Born in South Wales, Barry served with the British Royal Artillery during World War II and completed his university studies prior to beginning his acting career.

After bit parts in England, he moved to Canada in the early 1950s where he also wrote and adapted scripts for radio as well acting in television.

He played the part of Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) and Chet (Bill Paxton) Donnelly's grandfather in the 1985 film Weird Science.

Barry's television appearances included Bonanza, Daniel Boone, Bewitched, Hawaii Five-O, Mission: Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man, Fantasy Island, Punky Brewster, and Highway to Heaven.

He died of heart failure in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, on 12 December 2006, aged 87.