Barry Newman, ‘Vanishing Point’ and ‘Petrocelli’ Star, Dead at 92

Actor Barry Newman, who roared into mass public attention as star of the cult car chase movie Vanishing Point and the legal drama series Petrocelli has died. He was 92.

The Hollywood Reporter outlined Newman passed away at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center on 11 May.

Boston-born Newman’s role as the anti-hero Kowalski in 1971’s action-packed Vanishing Point ensured his place in cult film folklore, with the movie, directed by Richard C. Sarafian, influencing generations of fans then and since.

Vanishing Point was shot over eight weeks and has become an admired cult classic with Steven Spielberg calling it one of his favorite movies.

Petrocelli, a spin-off from the 1970 film The Lawyer, saw Newman reprising his role as Tony Petrocelli, a big-city attorney relocated to Arizona.

Newman was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe award for the talent he displayed in Petrocelli.

It ran for two seasons from 1974 to 1976.

Among Newman’s many other credits were roles in the series Murder, She Wrote, The OC and NYPD Blue and the films Daylight, The Limey and Bowfinger.

The Hollywood Reporter detailed his career, noting Barry Foster Newman was born on Nov. 7, 1930.

Newman was of Belarusian and Austrian heritage.

His father, Carl, managed the local outpost of the nightclub The Latin Quarter. He graduated from Boston Latin School and Brandeis University, played saxophone and clarinet in the U.S. 3rd Army Band and studied acting with Lee Strasberg after walking away from the notion of becoming an anthropologist.

He then embarked on his acting career.

Newman’s final role was in the 2022 independent drama, Finding Hannah, which also starred Juliet Mills, Christina Pickles, and Judy Geeson.

At the time of writing, no further information on his death is available. Newman is survived by Angela, his wife.

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