NAME: Bernard BarrowRANK: 13
SOAP ROLES: Louie Slavinsky, LOVING (1990-1993); Johnny Ryan, RYAN'S HOPE (1975-1989); Ira Paulson, THE EDGE OF NIGHT (1974-1975) Dan Kincaid, THE SECRET STORM (1970-1974); Earl Dana, WHERE THE HEART IS (1969-1970)
AWARDS:
1992 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
1991 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
1989 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role: Daytime
1988 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
1979 Daytime Emmy nomination for OOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Roger Newcomb: Had a great 24 year run on daytime in various roles, but obviously Johnny Ryan was the signature part for Barrow. What a complete masterpiece. Johnny and Maeve's relationship was one of the best in soap opera history. And he had great rapport with all the Ryan kids, even through many recasts of each. Amazingly he won an Emmy for his work on LOVING but not RYAN'S HOPE.
Patrick Erwin: Johnny Ryan. Bernard Barrow. “Da.” Need I say more?
One major problem I have with soaps today is that so few characters have a real specific identity. Soap opera characters are almost universally bland. Things that play a role in real people's lives, such as ethnicity and occupation, are missing from the on-screen lives of soap characters. Johnny Ryan knew who he was, where he came from, and what he was doing with his life. And Barrow played him to perfection. Today, when people talk about the character, they tend to romanticize him. But while Johnny Ryan was certainly a good character, he was far from perfect. His overall stubbornness and intransigence on certain matters sometimes caused great distress for his family. These characteristics fit as part of his personality - his stubbornness and intransigence sometimes played a very positive role. The character was so well-defined in so many ways that it was easy for storylines to evolve from his character. The audience never had to watch his character be sacrificed for the sake of a plot.
ReplyDeleteBarrow probably was underrated on Ryan's Hope because Helen Gallagher's Maeve was such a force of nature. It was Maeve who RH viewers wanted as part of their families, not Johnny. But Johnny was every bit as important as Maeve in that marriage and on the show.