Gérard Barray

Gérard Barray (2 November 1931 – 15 February 2024) was a French actor.

Early life and education
Gérard Barray was born in Toulouse on 2 November 1931. His parents split up quickly and his mother, who came from Montauban, decided to return to her hometown with her little boy. Around the age of 15, he discovered a passion for jazz; he participated in a few shows in nightclubs while pursuing his studies and obtained a bachelor's degree at the Faculty of Toulouse. Camille Ricard, an actress and teacher at the Conservatory of Toulouse, who advised him to go to Paris with a letter of recommendation for a friend, Noël Roquevert. Barray enrolled at the Cours Simon, a drama school in Paris. Four years later, Gérard Barray won the Jury Prize.

Career
It will then excel in the roles of knights with a big heart. He starred as D'Artagnan, Pardaillan, Surcouf and Scaramouche. In total he appeared in a dozen feature films of that genre, most of which were box-office successes, widely known abroad. Besides films swashbuckling as Pardaillan and Scaramouche and adventure films like Surcouf, Barray turned police commissioner in two San Antonio movies. In 1969, he starred beside young actress Claude Jade in Le Témoin. He played Van Britten, a mysterious museum curator who seduces a young English teacher. It was his last major role.

For Claude Berri he played in Le Cinéma de papa (1970) as Richard, a super star and rather temperamental actor. His comeback in 1997 was in Alejandro Amenábar's Abre los ojos as Devernois, a TV man.

Later life and death
Gérard Barray was appointed an Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters in January 2010. He died in Marbella, Spain, on 15 February 2024, at the age of 92.