Barry Corbin - Biography, Facts, and Life Story of Barry Corbin

Barry Corbin (Leonard Barrie Corbin, born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best recognized for his lead role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series Northern Exposure (1990–1995), which resulted in two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Name	Barry Corbin
Full Name	Leonard Barrie Corbin
Date of Birth	October 16, 1940
Place of Birth	Lamesa, Texas, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor and voice artist, a former janitor, and school teacher
Years active	1967-present
Age	82(October 16, 1940)
Height	6′ 0″ (183 cm)
Weight	215 lbs (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb)
Hair color	White/Grey
Eye color	Green
Zodiac Sign	Libra
Ethnicity	White
Father	Kilmer Blaine Corbin Sr.
Mother	Alma LaMerle Scott
Spouse/Ex-wife	Jo, a former mayor of Lamesa, Texas.
Children	4 Children
Net Worth	USD 4 million approx.
Brother(s)	Kilmer Blaine Corbin Jr.
Sister(s)	Jane Corbin
Marital Status	Divorced
Ex-Spouse	Susan Berger (m. 1976–1993), Marie Elyse Soape (m. 1965–1974)
Son(s)	Jim Barry Corbin, Christopher Corbin, Bernard Corbin
Daughter(s)	Shannon Ross
School	Monterey High School, Lubbock, TX
Debut	Urban Cowboy (1980)

Early Life of Barry Corbin

Corbin was born in Lamesa, the seat of Dawson County on the Texas South Plains. Corbin is of Scotch-Irish descent. He graduated from Monterey High School at Lamesa in 1958, then enrolled for a year each at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

While still a college student, Corbin worked as a janitor at the Palace Theater (Pharr, Texas) and served four years in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from high school.

Corbin’s father was a teacher and school principal, an Alabama judge, and a Democratic state senator for two terms from 1949 to 1957. His mother was Alma LaMerle Scott (1918–1994), a teacher.

Corbin was named for playwright J. M. Barrie by his mother, who had the same name as a character in the writer’s 1920s trilogy. He tried out for football in eighth grade but quickly switched to the arts, including acting and ballet lessons.

Acting Career of Barry Corbin

Furthermore, Corbin started his career as a Shakespearean actor in the 1960s. Still, he is now more likely to be seen in the part of the local sheriff, military commander, or some other authority figure. He has effectively played murderous villains on occasion.

He is best known to moviegoers as General Beringer in WarGames, John Travolta’s uncle, Bob Davis in Urban Cowboy, co-starring with Clint Eastwood in Any Which Way You Can, or Roscoe Brown, July Johnson’s bumbling deputy in the award-winning Western Lonesome Dove.

Barry Played the Role of sheriff Fenton Washburn in the TV Series Dallas and sheriff Joe Webster in No One Can Hear You in 2001. Corbin played the role of Sam Miller in Mountain Top (2017) and Frank Burton in Hard Travelling. Furthermore, He played role in Under Cover (1987) as Sergeant Irwin Lee, Sheriff Walter Moncrief in Crossfire Trail, George Lawrence in It Takes Two (1988), and Uncle Dennis in Not Since You (2009).

Movies Roles

Moreover, he also played the role of Sheriff Buster Watkins in River’s End (2005), Sheriff Breen in Dunsmore(2003), Daddy Jack in Tin Can Shinny (2003), Charlie Mccloud, Stage Driver in Conagher (TV Movie 1991), Judge Alvin and Lyndon Johnson in The Early Years, Clay Johnson in The Closer, Warden Walter Beatty in Stir Crazy (1980), Fire Chief in “King of the Hill” A Firefighting We Will Go (TV Episode 1999) and Voice Actor in Santa Claus.

Corbin is also best known for his acting as Sheriff Hack Ames in Travis McGee (1983), Senator Frank Rawlings in Alien Express (TV Movie 2005), Officer Don in Career Opportunities (1991), General Clyde Haynes in Solo (1996), Jim Sinclair in Permanent Record (1988), Judge Rodgers in The Next Door Neighbor (2010), Chief burns in Beyond the Farthest Star (2015) and Charlie Ledbetter in The Journeyman (2001).

Personal life

Corbin lives on a ranch in Texas (West Texas) with his wife, Jo. Shannon had been adopted as an infant; her birth mother gave up the child to the Methodist Mission Home in San Antonio without informing Corbin of the pregnancy. In June 1991, Shannon was 26 years old and looking for a place to rent. Corbin discovered her when she was 26 years old. He has three sons: Bernard Weiss, Jim Corbin, and Christopher Corbin (Bernard’s twin).

After winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Corbin was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2009. A recent painting of Corbin has been installed at the museum exhibit.

Corbin has attended the American Cowboy Culture Association events, which organize the National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration each September in Lubbock.

He is also an outdoorsman who enjoys fishing, camping, and hunting. Corbin’s first acting assignment for the film industry was in 1970 with John Wayne’s company, Batjac Productions.

He had confessed that he “was so broke that I had to borrow $30 from my roommate just to get carfare back to Hollywood.” He portrayed a character in 1975’s Brannigan starring John Wayne and has since portrayed over 100 characters, including one of the villains in WarGames.

Corbin has contributed his voice to several audiobooks, most notably The Good Old Boys by Elmer Kelton, which many literary critics consider the best Western novel ever written. Corbin was given a partial first name for his role as the father of Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke, to be “Marcus,” but ultimately only used the prefix from time to time.