Tributes to much-loved film guru who definitely knew his onions
Barry was also affectionately tely known for his successful brandd of pickled onions, based on his gran’s ran’s recipe. He once joked that he made more money from them than TV.
Actor and comic Stephenn Fry tweeted: “Sad to hear of Barry arry Norman’s departure. A film critic and a provider of f ine pickled onions. That’s a good life.”
Londoner Barry was born into the movies. His dad, director Leslie Norman, produced The Cruel Sea.
The young Barry spent much of his childhood at Ealing Studios and reckoned that was where he got his unfazed attitude to stars.
Wayne called him a “goddam pinko liberal” after they clashed over the Vietnam War, and De Niro stormed out of a 2001 interview in a huff after Barry reminded him that Tom Hanks beat him to the starring role in Big.
Annoyed, Barry chased after De Niro and confronted him, but they shook hands afterwards.
“I thought I’d better let it go,” Barry said later. “He was a lot younger and a lot fitter than me.”
Barry’s two successors on the BBC were among the first to pay tribute to him.
Jonathan Ross cal led him “a great critic and a lovely, lovely man”. Claudia Winkleman, who took over from Jonathan in 2010, said he was “the greatest critic” and “incredibly kind”.
The famously tough Observer and 5 Live film critic, Mark Kermode, gave Barry a glittering review. He said: “Watching Barry Norman review f ilms was a pleasure, an education and an inspiration.
“Wi t , knowledge and wr y enthusiasm. He was the master.”
BBC director- general Tony Hall added: “Barry Norman dominated broadc a s t ing abou t f i lms for a generation with wit and great knowledge.”
Before joining the BBC, Barry worked in Fleet Street, where he met his novelist wife Diana. She died of heart failure in 2011, aged 77.
He became a CBE in 1998 for services to broadcasting and retired in 2001.