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Character actor Barry Sullivan was born on August 29, 1912 in New York City. While never a star, he was one of those elite of supporting actors who are always in demand until the day they decide to retire.

Sullivan was a theater usher and department store employee when he made his first Broadway appearance in I Want a Policeman at the Lyceum Theatre in January of 1936. Unfortunately, the show lasted only 47 performances. Other plays he appeared in on the Great White Way were the drama St. Helena in October of 1936 and the comedies All That Glitters and Eye On the Sparrow, both in 1936. All three plays were flops. He finally appeared in a hit play when he transferred into the role of Bert Jefferson in The Man Who Came to Dinner, by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman.

The 1941-42 season brought three more flops: Mr. Big, Ring Around Elizabeth, and Johnny 2 X 4. Wisely, he stayed away from Broadway for a decade, when he again transferred into a hit, in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, taking over the role of Barney Greenwald from Henry Fonda. Sullivan was nominated for a best actor - single performance Emmy Award in 1955 when he played the role on _"Ford Star Jubilee" (1955) {The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (#1.3)_. His last appearance on Broadway, the original Too Late the Phalarope in 1956, was, true to his performance record, a flop.

In the late 1930s, Sullivan gained movie acting experience in two-reel comedies produced by the Manhattan-based Educational Studios. After giving up on his Broadway career, Sullivan made his official film debut in the western The Woman of the Town (1943). Sullivan never caught on as a lead, but excelled at supporting roles in which he could play tough, aggressive characters. His most notable roles were as the eponymous The Gangster (1947) (one of his leads), his Tom Buchanan in the Alan Ladd version of The Great Gatsby (1949), and as movie director in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)." He continued acting in movies until 1977, rounding off a near 40-year movie career with an appearance in Oh, God! (1977). He continued to appear periodically on television until retiring in 1980, except for one last role in The Last Straw (1987). He died of a respiratory ailment on June 6, 1994 in Sherman Oaks, California. He was 81 years old.