Jaime Barry, 64, of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, died suddenly June 8. He was born in the Bronx Oct. 6, 1960, to the late Patricia and James Barry.
The third of six children, Jaime was born to dance his way around the world. A proud member of Actors’ Equity, Jaime was an accomplished modern jazz dancer and choreographer.
Jaime is survived by three siblings: Gene (Edalyn) of the Philippines; Kevin (Mary Pat) of Cold Spring, NY; and Maura (Eddie) of Bristol, England. He was predeceased by his younger brother Stephen in 2023 and older brother Christopher in 2022.
He is also survived by nine nephews and four nieces: Liam, Kevin, and Maria Barry of Cold Spring; Daniel Barry of California; Mitchell, Jimmy and Conner Barry of Thailand; Brendan Barry of Florida, Patricia and Isabella Barry of the Philippines; Dylan Boyle of Brooklyn, NY; Julia Boyle of Bristol, England; and Jack Barry of Chico, California. He was also very close to his sister-in-law’s sister, Nadine Gorman, of Yorktown Heights, and longtime friends Allen and Karen Brady, of Weehawken, NJ.
Jaime grew up in Yorktown Heights, NY and attended St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and Lakeland High School in Shrub Oak, NY. Jaime studied Irish step dancing for four years and successfully performed jigs and reels at Irish feisanna in the Bronx. He was a member of Lakeland’s gymnastics team and studied dance at the Country Academy of Dance and Art under Broadway choreographer Dee Erickson Parenti and Carol Hanzel.
Jaime was featured in Lakeland’s productions of West Side Story and Godspell. He finished high school early in 1978 and began an exciting theatrical career with summer stock at the Surflight Theater in Beach Haven, NJ. After blazing through 14 musicals in three months, Jaime began traveling the world with the Tommy Finnan Dancers and performed professionally for audiences in Puerto Rico, Egypt, Portugal, Thailand, Japan, and Singapore, to name a few.
Jaime helped open the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City performing in the Monte Carlo Carnival, followed by a revival of Cole Porter’s Can-Can, starring Yvonne DeCarlo. He was invited to Bogota, Colombia, where he taught, choreographed, and performed in A Salute to Broadway.
Jaime’s athleticism and grace fused the best of Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Fred Astaire. He loved Christmas, musicals, Broadway plays, Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz, classic movies, sunbathing, cooking, traveling and spending quality time with his family and friends. Jaime will be remembered for his joyful personality, free spirit, love of dance, theatrical knowledge, sense of humor and his eagerness to help in the kitchen and prepare for big celebrations.
Jaime was cremated and his family is planning a memorial service, according to his wishes. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Jaime’s memory to Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund) at entertainmentcommunity.org.
