Gene Barry, who played the well-dressed man of action in the television series “Bat Masterson,” “Burke's Law” and “The Name of the Game,” has died at age 90 of unknown causes, his son said. Fredric James Barry said Thursday that the actor died Wednesday at a retirement home in an LA neighborhood. Gene Barry essentially played the same character in all three series, which spanned the 1950s to the 1970s. Always fashionably dressed, the tall, handsome actor with the commanding voice dominated his scenes as he bested the bad guys in each show. Before he landed the role in 1958, Barry's movie career appeared to be on the rise, and he was at first reluctant to play Bat Masterson. He had starred in the science-fiction classic “War of the Worlds” in 1953 and opposite Clark Gable in “Soldier of Fortune” in 1955. After two decades as a TV star, Barry found himself typecast as a television actor and never returned to prominence in films. Instead, he stayed active with stage appearances and TV guest appearances.
