Barry Corbin

Not to be confused with Baron Corbin.

Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor.^[1] He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series Northern Exposure (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Barry Corbin
Corbin in 1993
Born	Leonard Barrie Corbin (1940-10-16) October 16, 1940 (age 84) Lamesa, Texas, U.S.
Education	Texas Tech University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1964–present
Spouses	Marie Elyse Soape ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1974)​ Susan Berger ​ ​ (m. 1976; div. 1992)​ Jo Corbin ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	4
Father	Kilmer B. Corbin
Website	barrycorbin.com

His other notable credits include the films Urban Cowboy (1980), Stir Crazy (1980), WarGames (1983), and No Country for Old Men (2007), as well as the television series Dallas (1979–1984), Lonesome Dove (1989), One Tree Hill (2003–2009), The Closer (2007–2012), The Ranch (2016–2020), Yellowstone (2021), and Tulsa King (2022).

Early life

Corbin's mother gave him his middle name in honor of author Sir James M. Barrie.^[2] He played football briefly in eighth grade, but soon moved to the arts, including acting and ballet classes.^[2] He graduated from Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas. Corbin studied theater arts at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.^[3]

At 21, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, served two years, and then returned to Texas Tech.^[4]

Career

Corbin began his career in the 1960s as a Shakespearean actor, but today is more likely to be seen in the role of the sheriff, military leader, or some other authority figure, though on occasion, he has portrayed murderous villains. To moviegoers, he is well remembered as General Beringer in WarGames, John Travolta's uncle Bob Davis in Urban Cowboy, Clint Eastwood's costar in Any Which Way You Can, and Roscoe Brown, July Johnson's bumbling deputy in the acclaimed Western Lonesome Dove.

From 1979 until 1984, Corbin appeared in several episodes of Dallas as Sheriff Fenton Washburn. In 1983, he co-starred in the television miniseries The Thorn Birds. Corbin played Mary Carson's stockman Pete, who teaches the Clearys' sons how to shear sheep on their aunt's gigantic Australian sheep station, Drogheda. Also in 1983, Corbin played Merit Sawyer in the television series Boone, cancelled after 10 episodes. Corbin's role was as a stern father to the young actor Tom Byrd, who played Boone Sawyer, an aspiring singer.

From 1990 to 1995, Corbin portrayed former astronaut and local business leader Maurice Minnifield on Northern Exposure, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination.^[5]

In 1994, Corbin narrated the acclaimed TV documentary MoonShot, telling the story of the 1960s space race from the first-person viewpoint of Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton. From 2007 to 2012, Corbin appeared in the recurring role of Clay Johnson, father of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on The Closer.

Corbin played the role of General Carville in consecutive video games developed by Westwood Studios: in 1998, Red Alert: Retaliation; in 2000, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2; and in 2001, Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge.

In 2003, Corbin co-starred with Northern Exposure castmate John Cullum in "Blackwater Elegy", a short film written by Matthew Porter and co-directed by Porter and Joe O'Brien.

From 2003 to 2009, Corbin played Whitey Durham, the basketball coach for the Tree Hill Ravens on the drama series One Tree Hill.^[6] He also had a role in 2007's No Country for Old Men.

Corbin lost most of his hair in the 1990s due to alopecia areata. Since then, he has played various roles with a shaved head, wearing a cowboy hat, or occasionally wearing a full toupee.

Corbin is the signature voice of radio station KPLX in Fort Worth, Texas, and has also voiced trailers and promotions for CMT and various other country radio stations.^[7] In 2014, he became the spokesman for the Texas Veterans Land Board. He also played a role in the Netflix series The Ranch.

In 2020, Corbin had a recurring guest role as Everett Acker in Better Call Saul.

Personal life

Corbin has won many cutting-horse competitions.^[2] Much of his spare time is spent riding horses and tending to cattle on his small ranch near Fort Worth. He has volunteered his time to charity for many years, including rodeos and being spokesman for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.^[2] In 2006, he participated in the Lubbock centennial.^[8]

In September 2011, Corbin was given a lifetime achievement award by the Estes Park Film Festival in Estes Park, Colorado.^[9] The Texas Film Hall of Fame inducted Corbin into its membership on March 8, 2012.^[2] In 2014, he was inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Urban Cowboy	Bob Davis
	Stir Crazy	Warden Walter Beatty
	Any Which Way You Can	Fat Zack Tupper
1981	Dead & Buried	Phil
	The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia	Wimbish
1982	The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez	B.R. Abernathy
	Six Pack	Sheriff "Big John" Stone
	The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas	C.J.
	Honkytonk Man	Derwood Arnspriger
1983	WarGames	General Jack Beringer
	The Man Who Loved Women	Roy Carr
1985	What Comes Around	Leon Redden
	My Science Project	Lew Harlan
1986	Nothing in Common	Andrew Woolridge
	Hard Traveling	Frank Burton
1987	Under Cover	Sergeant Irwin Lee
	Off the Mark	Walt Warner
1988	Permanent Record	Jim Sinclair
	Critters 2: The Main Course	Harv
	It Takes Two	George Lawrence
1989	Who's Harry Crumb?	P.J. Downing
1990	Short Time	Captain
	Ghost Dad	Mr. Emery Collins
	The Hot Spot	Sheriff
1991	Conagher	Charlie McCloud
	Career Opportunities	Officer Don
1996	Solo	General Clyde Haynes
	Curdled	Lodger
1997	The Fanatics	Robert Blister
1999	Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story	Tony Serra
	Held Up	Pembry
2000	Timequest	Lyndon B. Johnson
2001	The Journeyman	Charlie Ledbetter
	No One Can Hear You	Sheriff Joe Webster
	Race to Space	Earl Vestal
	The Gristle	Senator Dorm
2002	Clover Bend	Cotton
2003	Dunsmore	Sheriff Breen
	Tin Can Shinny	Daddy Jack
2005	Yesterday's Dreams	Pastor
	River's End	Sheriff 'Buster' Watkins
	The Dukes of Hazzard	Mr. Pullman	Uncredited
2006	Waitin' to Live	Buford Pike
	Beautiful Dreamer	Grandpa
2007	No Country for Old Men	Ellis
	The Grand	Jimminy 'Lucky' Faro
	Trail End	Hank	Short
	In the Valley of Elah	Arnold Bickman
2008	Lake City	George
	Beer for My Horses	Buck Baker
2009	That Evening Sun	Thurl Chessor
	Not Since You	Uncle Dennis
2010	Bloodworth	Itchy
	Rising Stars	Farmer
	Nonames	Ed
	Feed the Fish	Axel Andersen
	The Next Door Neighbor	Judge Rodgers
2011	Sedona	Les
	Valley of the Sun	Gene Taggert
	Universal Squadrons	Deakin
	Redemption: For Robbing the Dead	Judge Smith
	3 Blind Saints	Rusty Pickens
2012	Cinema Six	Roger
	The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez	Walker
	Born Wild	Ray Jennings
2013	This Is Where We Live	Bode
2014	Dawn of the Crescent Moon	Cyrus
	The Homesman	Buster Shaver
	Planes: Fire & Rescue	Ol' Jammer	Voice
	Finding Harmony	Grady Pickett
2015	Windsor	Gil Denton
	Beyond the Farthest Star	Chief Burns
	Christmas in the Smokies	Wade Haygood
2016	Last Man Club	Pete Williams
	New Life	Oscar
2017	Mountain Top	Sam Miller
	The Valley	Gary
	All Saints	Forrest
	An American in Texas	Larry Korchinsky
2018	Farmer of the Year	Hap Anderson
2019	Trading Paint	Deputy
	Eminence Hill	Noah
2020	Star Trek: First Frontier	John April
2023	Killers of the Flower Moon	Undertaker Turton
	Funny Thing About Love	Grandpa Joe

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Movin' On	Waldo	Episode: "The Old South Will Rise Again" (uncredited)
	NBC Special Treat	Stokey Andrews	Episode: "Big Henry and the Polka Dot Kid"
1979–1984	Dallas	Sheriff Fenton Washburn	9 episodes
1981	M*A*S*H	Sgt. Joe Vickers	Episode: "Your Retention, Please"
	This House Possessed	Lieutenant Fletcher	TV movie
	The Killing of Randy Webster	Nick Hanson	TV movie
	Murder in Texas	Dist. Atty. McMasters	TV movie
	Bitter Harvest	Dr. Agajanian	TV movie
1982	Hart to Hart	Sheriff Bud Williams	Episode: "Hart, Line, and Sinker"
1983	The Thorn Birds	Pete	4 parts (TV miniseries)
	Travis McGee	Sheriff Hack Ames	TV movie
1984	Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac	Burt Hamilton	TV movie
	The Duck Factory	Hubbell Browning	Episode: "The Way We Weren't"
1986	The A-Team	J.J. Kincaid	Episode: "Waiting for Insane Wayne"
	The Twilight Zone	Pete Siekovich	Episode: "Dead Run"
	Firefighter	Captain Johnson	TV movie
1987	Spies	Thomas "C of B" Brady	Main role
	LBJ: The Early Years	Judge Alvin J. Wirtz	TV movie
	Murder, She Wrote	Lt. Lou Flannigan	Episode: "The Bottom Line Is Murder"
	Matlock	Army Col. Steven McRea	Episode: "The Court Martial"
1988	Man Against the Mob	Big Mac McCleary	TV movie
1989	Lonesome Dove	Roscoe Brown	4 episodes
1989	I Know My First Name Is Steven	Officer Warner
1990–1995	Northern Exposure	Maurice J. Minnifield/Mace Mobrey	110 episodes (Main role)
1991	The Chase	Wallis	TV movie
	Conagher	Charlie McCloud, Stage Driver	TV movie
1994	Moon Shot • The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon	Narrator/Deke Slayton (voice)	TV movie documentary
1995	Deadly Family Secrets	"Mr. Potter"	TV movie
1995	Life with Louie	Uncle Sammy (voice)	Episode: "The Fourth Thursday in November"
1996	Ellen	Jack Penney	Episode: "A Penney Saved..."
1996–1997	The Big Easy	C.D. LeBlanc	35 episodes
1997	Columbo	Clifford Calvert	Episode: "A Trace of Murder"
1998	The Magnificent Seven	Wickes	Episode: "Working Girls"
	The Closer	Angus Clayton	Episode: "Pilot"
	Spin City	Peter Noland	Episode: "The Deer Hunter"
	JAG	Percival Bertram	Episode: "Act of Terror"
	The Drew Carey Show	Chuck Fifer	2 episodes
1999	King of the Hill	Fire Chief (voice)	Episode: "A Fire-fighting We Will Go"
	Chicken Soup for the Soul	Doctor	Episode: "The Real Father"
	Walker, Texas Ranger	Ben Crowder	Episode: "Widow Maker"
2001	Crossfire Trail	Sheriff Walter Moncrief	TV movie
2002	Reba	J. V. McKinney	Episode: "Meet the Parents"
	Hope Ranch	Shorty	TV movie
2003	Monte Walsh	Bob the Storekeeper	TV movie
2003–2009	One Tree Hill	Coach Whitey Durham	90 episodes (Main role)
2005	Celebrity Poker Showdown	Himself	Game show
2006	Hidden Places	Sheriff John Doggins	TV movie
2007–2012	The Closer	Clay Johnson	13 episodes
2008	Psych	Billy Joe	Episode: "There Might Be Blood"
2008–2009	The Unit	Carson	2 episodes
2009	Wyvern	Hass	TV movie
	Ben 10: Alien Swarm	Grandpa Max Tennyson	TV movie
2012	Ghoul	Grandfather	TV movie
	The Looney Tunes Show	Santa Claus (voice)	Episode: "A Christmas Carol"
2012–2013	Suit Up	Dick Devereaux	16 episodes
2012–2014	Modern Family	Merle Tucker	3 episodes
	Anger Management	Ed	100 episodes (Main role)
2013	Dallas	J.R. Ewing's lawyer/executor	Episode: "Ewings Unite!"
2014	Parenthood	Ernie	Episode: "Fraud Alert"
2015	Blood & Oil	Clifton Lundegren	6 episodes
2016–2020	The Ranch	Dale the Veterinarian	32 episodes
2019	Young Sheldon	Mr. Gilford	Episode: "A Math Emergency and Perky Palms"
2020	Better Call Saul	Everett Acker	3 episodes
2020–2022	9-1-1: Lone Star	Stuart Ryder	3 episodes
2021	Yellowstone	Ross	Episode: "Under a Blanket of Red"
2022	Tulsa King	Babe	Recurring role, 6 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The Pandora Directive	Jackson Cross	Played an NSA operative who kidnaps and threatens to kill the main character in his pursuit of an alien artifact.
	Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair	Warden
1998	Red Alert: Retaliation	General Ben Carville
2000	Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2	Gen. Ben Carville (General Thorn) / American Taunts	Reprised his role as General Carville from Red Alert with a much larger role in the story. The game also featured a number of cinematics spoofing his role in WarGames.
2001	Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge	Gen. Ben Carville	He played General Carville once more in this 2001 expansion pack to Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2.
2017	Madden NFL 18: Longshot	Hank Jamison
2018	Madden NFL 19: Longshot Homecoming