Lindenhurst High School has had a lot of extraordinary people come through it. A few have even reached what could be known as celebrity status. This is the beginning of a series that highlights some of the celebrities that have gone to Lindenhurst High School. One of the earliest celebrities to have gone to LHS is Jack Barry, a well known game show host and producer who was involved in over a dozen game shows. 

Jack Barry

The earliest known celebrity who has gone to Lindenhurst High School is Jack Barry, who graduated from LHS in the year 1935. After graduating from Lindenhurst High School, he went to the University of Pennsylvania. In the 1940s, Barry began to work as a host for radio programs where he met Dan Enright. In 1947, he co-founded Barry and Enright productions with Dan. The production company produced some early television programs such as Winky Dink and You, Wisdom of the Ages, Juvenile Jury, and Life Begins at Eighty. Eventually, they got into game shows and both Barry and Enright hosted shows. Their first show was The Big Surprise hosted by Barry, but some later popular shows included Twenty-One, Concentration, and Tic Tac-Dough. However, in 1958, it was found that the show Twenty-One was rigged and the winner of an episode was predetermined by the producers. This led to a scandal in which both Barry and Enright productions lost all their shows at the time (they were sold to other companies) and the company went under.

Although he took a hit to his career, Barry continued to be a part of shows. He directed a couple episodes of the TV-series Batman in the 1960s and played a small role in the show. Over the next few years, he also played a small role in The Addams Family, worked for a game show called You Don’t Say, and hosted another show that promoted local celebrities in LA and had games called The Jack Barry Show. Eventually, his gameshow career had a massive comeback and he was part of many other game shows. Some of the most notable ones include The Joker’s Wild, Break the Bank, Bullseye, and Hollywood Connections. He eventually passed away from a heart attack in 1984 and the 38th anniversary of his death is approaching on May 2nd.