MUMBAI: Ray Barrett, one of the best-known veteran actors of the Australian film industry, died of a brain haemorrhage yesterday. He was 82.
Though in his sunset years, Barrett preferred to keep working rather than retire. in Australia he played the father of Nicole Kidman‘s character.
Barrett played a big role in the birth of the Australian film industry in the 1970s when he appeared in films like Don‘s Party and The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith, that fetched him the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award for best supporting actor in 1977.
He won the AFI Award for best actor for Goodbye Paradise in 1982 and again in 1995 for Hotel Sorrento, and was nominated for AFIs for the films Brilliant Lies and In The Winter Dark.
He was also the recipient of several major awards including the Kodak Eastman Award for outstanding contribution to the Australian film industry in 1995 and the Raymond Longford Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
Barrett is survived by his wife Gaye, his two sons, Reg and Jon and daughter Suellen.