Don Barclay (actor)
| Don Barclay | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Donn Van Tassel Barclay December 26, 1892 Ashland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | October 16, 1975 (aged 82) Palm Springs, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | California |
| Occupation | Actor, artist, caricaturist |
| Years active | 1915–1964 |
Don Barclay (December 26, 1892 – October 16, 1975) was an American actor, artist and caricaturist whose many roles stretched the period from the Keystone Cops in 1915 to Mary Poppins in 1964 and whose many paintings and caricatures of celebrities filled establishments worldwide and are archived in the Library of Congress.
The more experienced comedian, Don Barclay helped and later became roommates with a rookie actor in Bristol, England named Archie Leech. Barclay and Leach developed a two-man comedy show together in New York. Leach later became better known as Cary Grant and Grant rejoined Barclay beginning in 1920 in New York and Hollywood where they were often roommates. They remained lifelong best friends.
Barclay portrayed hundreds of roles on films and voices for Walt Disney who considered Barclay a good luck charm. He is perhaps most recognized now for his portrayal of Admiral Boom's first mate, Mr. Binnacle in the Disney family film Mary Poppins. His character was a former naval officer and next door neighbor to the Banks family.
Barclay eventually became such a successful caricature painter of celebrities on his sets that he eventually made more money as an artist than as an actor and left acting to become a full-time artist. He was prolific, turning out hundreds of caricatures of celebrities for saloons all over the nation as well as for servicemen in barracks. Two examples of his painted caricatures featuring Bob Hope, "Old Four Eyes" and "Bob Hope and Elf", are featured on the official Library of Congress website devoted to Bob Hope (Old Four Eyes is mislabeled in attribution as "Dan Barclay" - "Bob Hope and Elf" is correctly attributed at the bottom of the LOC page). Actress/Director Diane Keaton purchased a clown painting by Barclay which led to her collecting clown paintings and the publication of the book by the actress called "Clown Paintings". Bob Hope collected a series of ceramic mugs featuring Frank Sinatra, Joan Crawford, Jimmy Durante and Lou Costello produced by Barclay based on Don Barclay's caricatures which were auctioned at Julien Estates auction of the Bob Hope Estate in Los Angeles. Additional rare Barclay celebrity mug collection pieces were found at Hake's Americana & Collectibles and are also included in the definitive Birnkrant Collection of Mickey Mouse & Comic Characters AKA "Mouse Heaven" collection made famous by a movie of the same name.
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