Background
Barry Morrow was born on June 12, 1948, in Austin, Minnesota, United States to the family of Robert Clayton Morrow and Rose Nell Nelson.
1982
Hollywood, California, United States
Celebrating the winner of the Golden Globe Awards category Best Miniseries or TV Film, the CBS television movie Bill. (From left) Barry Morrow, Bill Sackter (the movie based on his life) and actor Dennis Quaid. Image dated January 30, 1982. Hollywood, California.
2013
Fox Studio Lot, Century City, California, United States
Executive producer Michael Kase, screenwriter Barry Morrow, and executive producer Joey Plager attend the premiere of Disney ABC Television and The Hallmark Hall of Fame's "Remembering Sunday" at the Fox Studio Lot on April 17, 2013 in Century City, California.
2018
Hotel Gagarin, Los Angeles, California, United States
Writer Barry Morrow, makeup artist Alessandro Bertolazzi and producer Bobby Moresco attend the 13th Annual Los Angeles Italia Fest Film Fest opening night premiere of 'Hotel Gagarin' at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on February 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California.
2018
Auditorium Parco Della Musica, Rome, Italy
Gianluca Guzzo, Elisa Sednaoui, Barry Morrow, Igor Tuveri, Ana Ivanova and Andrea De Sica attend "Alice Nella Citta" Jury photocall during the 13th Rome Film Fest at Auditorium Parco Della Musica on October 19, 2018 in Rome, Italy
1982
Hollywood, California, United States
Celebrating the winner of the Golden Globe Awards category Best Miniseries or TV Film, the CBS television movie Bill. (From left) Barry Morrow, Bill Sackter (the movie based on his life) and actor Dennis Quaid. Image dated January 30, 1982. Hollywood, California.
1988
Barry Morrow holding Academy Award statuette with Kim Peek, who directly inspired Dustin Hoffman’s role in the Oscar-winning film Rain Man.
2013
Fox Studio Lot, Century City, California, United States
Executive producer Michael Kase, screenwriter Barry Morrow, and executive producer Joey Plager attend the premiere of Disney ABC Television and The Hallmark Hall of Fame's "Remembering Sunday" at the Fox Studio Lot on April 17, 2013 in Century City, California.
2018
Hotel Gagarin, Los Angeles, California, United States
Writer Barry Morrow, makeup artist Alessandro Bertolazzi and producer Bobby Moresco attend the 13th Annual Los Angeles Italia Fest Film Fest opening night premiere of 'Hotel Gagarin' at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on February 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California.
2018
Auditorium Parco Della Musica, Rome, Italy
Gianluca Guzzo, Elisa Sednaoui, Barry Morrow, Igor Tuveri, Ana Ivanova and Andrea De Sica attend "Alice Nella Citta" Jury photocall during the 13th Rome Film Fest at Auditorium Parco Della Musica on October 19, 2018 in Rome, Italy
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, United States
Barry Morrow graduated from St. Olaf College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970.
University of La Verne, La Verne, California, United States
Barry Morrow received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of La Verne in 1991.
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Barry Morrow briefly attended the University of Hawaii at Honolulu in 1969.
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Barry Morrow briefly attended the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis in 1971.
Barry Morrow and his Oscar
Barry Morrow (left) credits Bill Sackter (right) as being the catalyst that started his screenwriting career and changed the direction of his life.
(When Charlie Babbitt goes home to the Midwest for his est...)
When Charlie Babbitt goes home to the Midwest for his estranged father's funeral, he learns not only that he's been cut out of his inheritance, but that he has a grown brother. Raymond, who has been sheltered almost all of his life in an East Coast institution for the developmentally disabled.
https://www.amazon.com/Rain-Man-Dustin-Hoffman/dp/B0095D4JUA/?tag=2022091-20
1988
(Based on a true story, Race The Sun tells the story of an...)
Based on a true story, Race The Sun tells the story of an attractive new science teacher at Hawaii's Kona Pali High School who takes on a bunch of bored and disillusioned students. When she gives them the inspiration to design and build their own solar-powered car she brings hope back into their world.
https://www.amazon.com/Race-Sun-Casey-Affleck/dp/B000VIJSAY/?tag=2022091-20
1996
(Behind the Mask: Donald Sutherland, Matthew Fox, Mary McD...)
Behind the Mask: Donald Sutherland, Matthew Fox, Mary McDonnell, Bradley Whitford, Sheila Larken, Lorena Gale, Ron Sauve, Currie Graham, Jennifer Clement, Dillon Moen, Tom McLoughlin.
https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Mask-Donald-Sutherland/dp/B000JBWWSI/?tag=2022091-20
1999
(In 1981, Mickey Rooney & Dennis Quaid starred in the high...)
In 1981, Mickey Rooney & Dennis Quaid starred in the highly-successful tv drama "Bill" that forever changed the world's perception of people with disabilities. Now meet the real Bill Sackter and witness his transformation from neglected individual to national hero for people with disabilities. A truly inspirational documentary voted the #1 audience favorite in 5 consecutive film festivals.
https://www.amazon.com/Friend-Indeed-Bill-Sackter-Story/dp/B0716KBSYD/?tag=2022091-20
2008
(In The Feeling of Greatness, second edition, golf coach T...)
In The Feeling of Greatness, second edition, golf coach Tim O’Connor updates his previous biography of the late great, Canadian golfer Moe Norman, who was famous for introducing the single plane golf swing. This edition includes new anecdotes about Moe both on and off the course by golfers, journalists, friends, and family, and offers a more in-depth portrait of the man and golfer, especially in the last years of his life. O’Connor shares with readers his personal and professional friendships with Moe along the way. Some twenty years later, from a distanced perspective, O’Connor sets the record straight about Norman, promotes his legacy as the legendary golfer he was, and reflects on life lessons learned from their association over the years.
https://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Greatness-Moe-Norman-Story-ebook/dp/B073V721GD/?tag=2022091-20
2017
Barry Morrow was born on June 12, 1948, in Austin, Minnesota, United States to the family of Robert Clayton Morrow and Rose Nell Nelson.
Barry Morrow graduated from St. Olaf College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970. He also briefly attended the University of Hawaii at Honolulu in 1969 and the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis in 1971. He received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of La Verne in 1991.
Barry Morrow’s interest in the art of storytelling began while studying children's theater at the University of Hawaii. Later, upon graduation from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Barry met and befriended Bill Sackter, a man who had spent 44 years in a state institution for the mentally retarded. Barry's recounting of this unusual friendship resulted in the highly-acclaimed CBS television movie, Bill, starring Mickey Rooney; Dennis Quaid played Barry. For this, his first effort, Barry’s original story received an Emmy Award. Other distinguished works in television include The Karen Carpenter Story, the #3 highest-rated movie of its decade; the Emmy-nominated Christmas On Division Street, starring Hume Cronyn, which Morrow wrote and produced; and Remember Sunday, a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation.
Morrow's early documentaries focused on the plight of vanishing communities, and he taught emerging video technology at the Afro-American Cultural Arts Center before accepting a media position at the University of Iowa. His first Hollywood job was as head of film research for a television reality show, the aptly-named You Asked for It (1950).
In 1990, Barry Morrow formed Morrow-Heus Productions with Richard Heus under the TriStar banner. Their nine-year collaboration resulted in the feature film Race the Sun (Halle Berry & Jim Belushi) from Barry’s original screenplay, and the critically-acclaimed documentary series, The Fifties, based on a best-selling book by David Halberstam. They also executive-produced the CBS Emmy-nominated movie Behind the Mask, starring Donald Sutherland and Matthew Fox. Additional producing credits include: Switched at Birth, which earned an Emmy nomination for Best Mini-Series and was the #1-rated show of its season; the foreign-produced motion picture, Gospa, starring Martin Sheen and Michael York; and the CBS made-for-television movie, The Disappearance of Vonnie.
In 1992, Morrow 's live stage performance of Bill for Short was released on CD by Gang of Seven, a record label featuring “the best of America's spoken word artists.” Bill for Short was subsequently submitted by Gang of Seven for Grammy Award consideration. Morrow is perhaps best known for his first motion picture screenplay, Rain Man, the tale of two estranged brothers (Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise) who embark on a rocky, emotional journey that ends, finally, at redemption’s door. This renowned American film earned Barry an Academy Award for his original story and screenplay, and Rain Man was named Best Picture of the Year.
Rain Man tells the story of Raymond Babbitt, an autistic man whose brilliance matches his helplessness. Whether memorizing entire telephone books or keeping track of six decks of cards at a Vegas blackjack table, Babbitt amazes all he meets with his numerical wizardry. Despite his mental might, however, Raymond lacks the ability to complete the more mundane tasks of everyday living. He “cannot connect perception to thought, or logic to feeling,” according to New York reviewer David Denby. “He has formidable mental equipment, but in clinical terms, he’s a psychotic,” said Denby.
How Raymond finds himself on a cross-country road trip with his brother Charlie is the core of Morrow’s plot. Charlie, the younger of the brothers, has been raised unaware of the existence of his brother. After his father dies, however, the bulk of the inheritance money is left to the asylum at which Raymond resides in Cincinnati and Charlie decides to investigate. Feeling jilted by his father, Charlie decides to kidnap Raymond in hopes of extorting a hefty ransom from Raymond’s asylum.
Reviewers have praised the performance of the film’s actors. “What makes Rain Man special is the strange and wonderful conversational rhythm between Cruise and Hoffman,” asserted Denby. Klawans added that, through his character, Hoffman displays a whole range of emotions and allows Raymond “to be funny, grating, infuriating and eerily impressive - a man who makes you marvel at the possibilities of the heart and mind.”
Morrow’s later work has largely failed to reach the benchmark set by Rain Man. In Race the Sun, a group of working-class teens in Hawaii enter a solar car race against a tough field of contenders. After beating their better financed prep-school rivals, they travel to Australia to compete against professional and corporate-sponsored vehicles.
(In The Feeling of Greatness, second edition, golf coach T...)
2017(Behind the Mask: Donald Sutherland, Matthew Fox, Mary McD...)
1999(Based on a true story, Race The Sun tells the story of an...)
1996(When Charlie Babbitt goes home to the Midwest for his est...)
1988(In 1981, Mickey Rooney & Dennis Quaid starred in the high...)
2008(The true story of Los Gatos high school football coach Ch...)
1988Early film projects related to disabilities, child and elder abuse, led Barry Morrow to become an advocate for marginalized groups, and he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Association of Social Workers.
Morrow put his Oscar statuette on permanent loan to Salt Lake City in memory of Kim Peek, and put forward the money for the Peek Award, which "pays tribute to artists, media makers, and film subjects who are positively impacting our society’s perception of people with disabilities" and is given out by the Utah Film Center.
Writers Guild of America , United States
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences , United States
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , United States
Wheelchair Athletics Foundation , United States
National Association for Retarded Citizens Communications Committee , United States
Autism Society of America , United States
National Association of Social Workers , United States
Barry Morrow is an avid golfer and is known to play the majority of his golf rounds using an eight-club bag of hickory stick (wooden shaft) golf clubs made pre-1940. He once bungee-jumped from an airport tower in a failed attempt to overcome an aversion to heights.
Quotes from others about the person
"I consider it a privilege to know Barry. Through his talent and craft, he has done more than anyone else, ever, to put autism and savant syndrome on the international radar screen." - scientist Darold Treffert, M.D.
"Barry is the most important person in my life because he made me Rain Man!" - Kim Peek
"My favorite program was unquestionably Bill for Short by Barry Morrow. There was no flash to this, no tricks. It was just heartfelt storytelling. This piece touched me more than anything else we did." - Will Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill Records
Barry Morrow married Beverly Lee McKenzie on March 3, 1969. They have two children: Clayton McKenzie and Zoe Anna Rachel.