Paris Barclay Music video career
When did Barclay start his music video career?
When did Barclay start the music video career?
Following his graduation from Harvard, he worked as a copywriter and creative supervisor at Grey, BBDO, Cunningham & Walsh, and Marsteller. Barclay then moved into music video directing and production through his own company, Black & White Television. He directed music videos for Bob Dylan ("It's Unbelievable"), the New Kids On The Block ("Games" ), Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross ("The Best Things in Life Are Free" ). Most notably, he created eight videos for LL Cool J, including "Mama Said Knock You Out", which won awards from both MTV and Billboard--and went on to be listed by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. In 2013, Complex Magazine ranked "Mama Said Knock You Out" as one of the top 50 rap videos of the 1990s, crediting it with creating "one of the most crucial links in establishing the cultural bridge between boxing and rap." Barclay was often hired to direct videos for films, introducing audiences to House Party (1990), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Mo' Money (1992), Posse (1993), and Cool Runnings (1993), among others.  In 2012, Barclay directed his first music video in 16 years, working once again with LL Cool J and R&B star Joe on the video for "Take It".  Also drawing on his music video experience was Barclay's episode ("The Coup") of the Steven Spielberg-produced NBC series Smash, in which TV Fanatic said that the Barclay-directed number for the original song "Touch Me" (written by OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder) "pushed the boundaries from traditional Broadway show to music video level." CANNOTANSWER
Following his graduation from Harvard, he worked as a copywriter and creative supervisor
Paris K. C. Barclay (born June 30, 1956) is an American television director, producer, and writer. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and is among the busiest single-camera television directors, having directed over 160 episodes of television to date, for series such as NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House, Law & Order, Monk, Numb3rs, City of Angels, Cold Case, and more recently Sons of Anarchy, The Bastard Executioner, The Mentalist, Weeds, NCIS: Los Angeles, In Treatment, Glee, Smash, The Good Wife, Extant, Manhattan, Empire, and Scandal. In 2016, Barclay worked as an executive producer and principal director for the Fox series Pitch. In 2018, Barclay directed the pilot and served as an executive producer on the Shondaland show, Station 19, which follows a group of Seattle firefighters that exist in the Grey's Anatomy universe and stars Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jason George, Grey Damon, Miguel Sandoval, Jay Hayden, Danielle Savre, Barrett Doss, Okieriete Onaodowan, and Boris Kodjoe. The show is also executive produced by Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Ellen Pompeo, and Krista Vernoff. It premiered on ABC in March 2018 and is currently filming its fifth season.

From 2013 to 2017, Barclay served two terms as the President of the Directors Guild of America. For the past three years, he has been listed by Variety as “one of 500 most influential business leaders in Hollywood.”

Early life
Barclay was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He attended La Lumiere School, a private college preparatory boarding school in La Porte, Indiana. On scholarship, he was one of the first African-Americans to attend the school, Barclay went on to Harvard College, where he was extremely active in student musical theatre productions and the a cappella singing group The Harvard Krokodiloes. During his four years there, he wrote 16 musicals, including the music for two of the annual Hasty Pudding shows. Barclay attended both the La Lumiere School and Harvard with John Roberts, now the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His Harvard roommate was novelist Arthur Golden, author of Memoirs of a Geisha.

Music video career
Following his graduation from Harvard, Barclay worked as a copywriter and creative supervisor at Grey, BBDO, Cunningham & Walsh, and Marsteller. Barclay then moved into music video directing and production through his own company, Black & White Television. He directed music videos for Bob Dylan ("It's Unbelievable"), the New Kids On The Block ("Games"), Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross ("The Best Things in Life Are Free"). Most notably, he created eight videos for LL Cool J, including "Mama Said Knock You Out", which won awards from both MTV and Billboard—and went on to be listed by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. In 2013, Complex Magazine ranked "Mama Said Knock You Out" as one of the top 50 rap videos of the 1990s, crediting it with creating "one of the most crucial links in establishing the cultural bridge between boxing and rap." Barclay was often hired to direct videos for films, introducing audiences to House Party (1990), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Mo' Money (1992), Posse (1993), and Cool Runnings (1993), among others.

In 2012, Barclay directed his first music video in 16 years, working once again with LL Cool J and R&B star Joe on the video for "Take It".

Also drawing on his music video experience was Barclay's episode ("The Coup") of the Steven Spielberg-produced NBC series Smash, in which TV Fanatic said that the Barclay-directed number for the original song "Touch Me" (written by OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder) "pushed the boundaries from traditional Broadway show to music video level."

Film and television career

1990s
Barclay began his successful career in television with an episode of Angel Street. He was hired by John Wells, who was making his debut as an executive producer.

Barclay directed Shawn and Marlon Wayans' first feature film, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996) – also featuring Keenen Ivory Wayans, Vivica Fox, and Bernie Mac. Although it received mixed reviews, it was a box office success and has built a cult following since its release. Barclay also directed the HBO movie, The Cherokee Kid (1996), a Western dramedy starring Sinbad, James Coburn, Burt Reynolds, Gregory Hines, and A Martinez.

After directing episodes of ER, Barclay directed and eventually became a producer of NYPD Blue. In three years there, Barclay would receive two Emmy Awards for best directing—the second of which was for the episode titled "Hearts and Souls"— featuring the death of Jimmy Smits' character Bobby Simone. The episode has been ranked one of TV Guides 100 Best Episodes of All Time. Barclay has since reteamed with Smits again in his role as "Nero Padilla" on Sons of Anarchy.

2000s
In 2000, Barclay joined forces with fellow NYPD Blue producers Steven Bochco and Nicholas Wootton to create City of Angels, a medical drama with a predominantly African-American cast including Blair Underwood, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Maya Rudolph, and Vivica Fox. The show aired on CBS for two seasons while winning two NAACP awards.

In 2002 he returned to the John Wells fold to produce and direct the pilot, The Big Time, featuring Christina Hendricks, Dylan Baker, Molly Ringwald and Christopher Lloyd—which eventually aired as a two-hour movie. In the years that followed, Barclay worked on a wide variety of television dramas and comedies. He served as co-executive producer and producing director of the series Cold Case, for which he has also directed nine episodes. Other shows he directed in the decade include The West Wing, Huff, Law & Order, Numb3rs, Lost, House, The Shield, Weeds, Monk,The Good Wife, NCIS: Los Angeles, Sons of Anarchy, CSI, The Mentalist and 9 episodes of Glee.

2008 marked Barclay's return to HBO, where he executive produced three seasons of In Treatment, as well as directed 36 episodes.

Also in 2008, Barclay collaborated with screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to write the MTV film Pedro, the story of Pedro Zamora from The Real World: San Francisco. The film, directed by Nick Oceano, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and earned the writers WGA, the Humanitas Prize, and GLAAD Media Awards nominations.

2010–present
In 2011, Barclay became the executive producer and primary director for the fourth season of FX's Sons of Anarchy, a role he continued through the seventh and final season.

Also in 2013, Barclay directed two episodes of Glee, "Diva" and "Lights Out". For his work on "Diva", Barclay was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Direction in a Comedy Series, his second Emmy nomination for Glee. In the same season, Barclay directed an episode of The New Normal and the penultimate episode of the ABC series Last Resort.

In 2014, Barclay directed the season premiere and penultimate episodes of Sons of Anarchy for the fourth year running. In addition to his Sons of Anarchy duties, Barclay also directed the milestone episode "100" for Glee, for which he received another Emmy nomination, in addition to episodes of The Good Wife, Extant, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Halle Berry, and Manhattan, a Tommy Schlamme/Sam Shaw period drama for WGN America; and Glee's emotional flashback episode "2009" – the first half of the series finale, "a perfect tribute to the origins of Glee, the original cast, and Cory Monteith."

In 2015, Barclay continued his role as Executive Producer/Director on FX's The Bastard Executioner. The show starred Katey Sagal, Stephen Moyer, and Matthew Rhys. At the end of the year, he was enlisted by FOX to direct an episode of Empire, the Television Critics Association program of the year.

In 2016, Barclay joined the Shondaland family by directing an episode of ABC's critically acclaimed show, Scandal, created/produced by Shonda Rhimes, starring Kerry Washington.

In fall 2016, he completed the first season of FOX's Pitch, from writer/creators Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer, starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Ali Larter, Mark Consuelos, Dan Lauria and up and comer Kylie Bunbury in the title role.

In spring 2017, Barclay was tapped to direct and executive produce the CBS pilot, Perfect Citizen, a legal drama written and executive produced by former The Good Wife executive producer Craig Turk. Perfect Citizen stars Noah Wyle, Kristin Chenoweth, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stéphanie Szostak, Adrienne Warren, and Shanley Caswell.

Barclay is currently working as the executive producing director on the Shondaland project, Station 19, which follows a group of Seattle firefighters in a spinoff of the highly successful Grey's Anatomy. The show is currently airing its third season in Spring 2020 on ABC.

In early 2019, Barclay teamed up with the Human Rights Campaign and fellow award winner Dustin Lance Black to produce and direct a star-studded Americans for the Equality Act public awareness and advertising campaign. The series, which launched on March 25, 2019 with a debut video featuring Academy Award-winning actress Sally Field and her son Sam Greisman, features prominent figures in entertainment, sports and beyond speaking about the need for the Equality Act — a crucial civil rights bill that would extend clear, comprehensive non-discrimination protections to millions of LGBTQ people nationwide. The powerhouse lineup of supportive film and television actors, influencers, musicians and professional athletes, includes Adam Rippon, Shea Diamond, Alexandra Billings, Blossom Brown, Justina Machado, Gloria Calderon Kellett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita, Charlie and Max Carver, Karamo Brown, Marcia Gay Harden, and Nyle DiMarco. The Americans for the Equality Act series is modeled after HRC's successful Americans for Marriage Equality campaign and was awarded at the 4th Annual Shorty Social Good awards, and helped lead to the passage of the act in the House of Representatives.

In May 2021, Barclay directed a virtual reading of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, with Sterling K. Brown, Laverne Cox, Jeremy Pope and Guillermo Diaz.

Also in 2021, after executive producing and directing 14 episodes of Station 19, Barclay has gone on to direct two episodes of Ryan Murphy's upcoming Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starring Evan Peters, Richard Jenkins, and Niecy Nash.

Directors Guild of America 
In June 2013, Barclay was elected President of the Directors Guild of America, the first African-American and first openly gay President in the history of the Guild. After the vote, Barclay expressed gratitude for the honor and admiration for the Union's history, saying "I am profoundly honored to be elected President of the DGA.... The DGA has worked for more than three-quarters of a century to advance the creative and economic rights of directors and their teams and I look forward to continuing this strong tradition of service. As the son of a glass blower and a tile maker from Chicago, I am extremely humbled to have the honor to serve in the footsteps of the legendary leaders of the DGA like Frank Capra, Robert Wise and Gil Cates." Barclay was nominated for the Presidency by past-President Michael Apted, who said of him, "Paris' qualifications for DGA president are exceptional.... His understanding of the issues facing directors and their teams is outstanding and his ability to resolve problems and create solutions is beyond compare." His nomination was seconded by Steven Soderbergh, who said of Barclay, "This is a great moment for our Guild; Paris will be a phenomenal leader as we move into the future." Barclay was enthusiastically re-elected in June 2015 to continue his notable presidency.

Before being elected DGA President, Barclay served four terms as First Vice President of the DGA, where he was the first African-American Officer in the history of the guild. While serving as First Vice President, Barclay was also chair of the DGA's Political Action Committee, whose mission it is to promote the interests of DGA members to state and federal lawmakers. Their top issues include battling online copyright threats and promoting production tax incentives. He also served on the Western Directors Council and co-chaired the Diversity Task Force, whose mission is to encourage the hiring of women and minority directors to networks and studios. In addition, Barclay served as a board member of the DGA-affiliated Franco-American Cultural Fund, which promotes cultural exchange between French and American directors.

Barclay completed his second term as DGA president in June 2017. He was succeeded by Thomas Schlamme, whom he worked with on The West Wing and Manhattan, as well as on the DGA board.

Barclay's work for the DGA continues even after his presidency: he helped create and teaches the Guild's First Time Director Orientation., and in the successful 2020 contract negotiations Barclay co-chaired the Television Creative Rights Committee.

In 2021, he was named an Honorary Life Member of the DGA, one of the guild's highest honors, recognizing his career achievements and leadership in the industry. His acceptance speech earned praise for its focus on his hopes for his two sons.

Reputation in the entertainment industry 
During his three decades as a director, Barclay has developed a strong reputation as a go-to director capable of working adeptly in multiple genres - described in a June 2011 article in Variety as a "highly adaptive force with the ability to control both TV detectives and scene-stealing gleesters". The same article ranked Barclay among the "Ten TV Directors Who Leave Their Mark." and another called him “one of the most reputable TV directors in Hollywood.”

Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter stated in an interview with The Star-Ledger that it wasn't until Barclay came on board to direct that the show found its "groove", observing: "We had all those glitches in those first two or three episodes [...] We had (Paris) come in [...] and we all just started trusting what we were doing here." Later in an interview for Variety, Kurt stated "The great thing about (exec producer Paris Barclay) is that he's a writer and he's also a director [...] so he can get the scripts and understand the production realities of it but also understand creatively what the need for everything is."

In an interview with TV Fanatic, Glee actor Blake Jenner credited Barclay for guiding him through a difficult scene in the episode "Lights Out", saying "He was just so nurturing."

In a piece for Vulture, television critic Matt Zoller Seitz cites Barclay as one of the few producer/directors who can "manage and drive the medium [of television]" as well as a writer-showrunner can. Seitz explains, "Directors tend to think in terms of images and moments; those skill sets aren't often compatible with the left-brain requirements of managing a sitcom or drama (though there are always exceptions; see veteran TV director Paris Barclay's executive-producer credit on FX's stylishly nasty biker drama, Sons of Anarchy)."

Ryan Murphy, creator of the Fox hit Glee, called Barclay's episode "Wheels" a "turning point for the show".

Over time, many of Barclay's former assistants have gone on to great Hollywood success in their own right. One of his first assistants was Kevin Williamson, writer of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and the creator and Executive Producer of the hit television shows Dawson’s Creek, The Vampire Diaries, and The Following. Josh Barry, another former Barclay assistant, was the head of the television department at Prospect Park after working as an executive in Drama Development at ABC. He was recently tapped to be the President of Shawn Levy's 21 Laps Television as part of a major deal with Netflix. Sam Martin, the former HBO executive (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Lackwanna Blues) and film producer (Pariah) and Jason Clodfelter, former VP of Drama Development, and now Co-President at Sony Television, both previously served as Barclay assistants.

Awards
Along with winning two Emmy Awards for NYPD Blue (Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series - "Lost Israel Part II" and "Hearts and Souls"), Barclay has garnered another six Emmy nominations: two for producing NYPD Blue (Outstanding Drama Series), one for directing The West Wing (Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series - "Indians In The Lobby"), and three for directing Glee (Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series - "Wheels", "Diva" and "100").

He has also received a Directors Guild of America Award for NYPD Blue and 10 other DGA Award nominations for The West Wing (3), In Treatment (2), NYPD Blue (2), ER, House, and Glee. In 2007, he and Taylor Hackford were recipients of the DGA Robert B. Aldrich Award, for Distinguished Service to the Directors Guild. In spring 2021, he was named an Honorary Life Member of the DGA, one of the guild's highest honors, recognizing his career achievements and leadership in the industry.

Barclay received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama Series as co-creator, writer, and director of the groundbreaking medical drama City of Angels, another Image Award for directing Cold Case, and a third Image Award for directing Smash. He has been nominated for the Image Award for Directing every year it has been offered, from 2006 to 2013. On February 22, 2014 the NAACP honored Barclay by inducting him into the NAACP Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Award is bestowed on an individual who is a pioneer in his or her respective field and whose influence will shape the profession for generations to come. Other recipients have included Lena Horne, Paul Robeson, Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey.

Also a writer, Barclay received his first WGA Award nomination for co-writing Pedro with screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, marking the Oscar-winner's first WGA credit. The moving story of The Real World's Pedro Zamora garnered the team nominations for a GLAAD Media Award and Humanitas Prize.

Episodes directed by Barclay for Glee and In Treatment have become the recipients of the prestigious Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. The Glee episode "Wheels" was also acknowledged at the 2010 Shane's Inspiration Gala, receiving the Visionary Leadership Award for shining a light on the abilities of those with disabilities.

The Glee episode, "Wheels" and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode, "Coup de Grace" were both chosen for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Television Academy Honor, saluting "Television with a Conscience," in which the Academy recognizes achievements in programming that present issues of concern to society in "a compelling, emotional, and insightful way." Barclay also accepted the Voice Award from the US Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of In Treatment, for "incorporating dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayals of people with mental illnesses."

In June 2011, Advertising Age featured Barclay on the cover as one of 2011's 50 Most Creative People, saying "Mr. Barclay brings an innate cultural awareness to shows." TV Guide also recognized his House episode, "Three Stories", as one of the 100 Best Episodes of All Time.

In April 2017, Barclay was awarded the Order of the Golden Sphinx by the acclaimed Hasty Pudding Institute of Harvard University – it is the highest honor bestowed by the Institute and recognizes individuals in the entertainment industry for their extraordinary contributions to the performing arts. The recipient represents the Institute's mission to support and foster performing arts within its membership, at Harvard, and around the world.

In addition to his honors in television, Barclay has been awarded the Founder's Award from Project Angel Food in 1998, the GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award in 2001, to honor his outstanding representation of the LGBT community, and in 2004 the Pan-African Film Festival Pioneer Award. In 2009 Barclay was named by POWER UP as one of the Top Ten Gay Men in Entertainment; 2010 he received the Bridge Award from the Cornerstone Theater in Los Angeles for over 20 years of contributing to the theater. Barclay received the 2012 Upton Sinclair Award from the non-profit Liberty Hill for "unwavering idealism and vision.". Also in 2012, he and husband Christopher Barclay were awarded with the Family Values Award from In the Life Media, given to "individuals whose representation of LGBT families serve as an inspiration for all Americans. More recently, he's been awarded the Artistic Excellence Award from the Aviva Family & Children Services Program, the Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign, as well as the Legacy Award from the African-American Film Critics Association.

Work in musical theater
In the theater, Barclay presented his original musical On Hold With Music at Manhattan Theater Club in 1984, with a cast including Jason Alexander, Terry Burrell, John Dossett, Ray Gill, and Maureen Brennan. Based on his life in advertising, Barclay wrote and composed the sung through musical in its entirety.

In 1985, he wrote the book, music and lyrics for another musical drama entitled Almos' a Man, based on a short story by Richard Wright – which had been developed in the second year of the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop in New York, under the tutelage of Charles Strouse and Stephen Sondheim. It was produced that year at Soho Rep, receiving a mixed review from the New York Times’ Mel Gussow.

After years of directing, Barclay returned to composing in September 2001 with the premiere of a musical based on the collection of letters Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. Called Letters from ‘Nam, the play featured Grammy winner Maureen McGovern, future Tony winner Levi Kreis, and David Burnham. Praised by most reviewers and opening days before the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Vietnam musical hit home emotionally with those who performed in it, produced it, or experienced it.

In 2003, Barclay wrote songs for and co-directed Order My Steps for the Cornerstone Theater Company. The musical play, with book by Tracey Scott Wilson, dealt with the African-American church's response to the AIDS epidemic. The Los Angeles Times call a "moving tale about the human toll of AIDS."

Barclay returned to Vietnam with One Red Flower: Letters from ‘Nam, a reworked version of the musical was produced at the Village Theater in Issaquah to further acclaim, with Levi Kreis and David Burnham reprising their roles. Other productions followed, with the most significant being Eric Schaeffer's "gritty and emotional" staging at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia in 2004.

In 2008, Barclay presented a reading of One Red Flower in Los Angeles to benefit New Directions, an organization that supports veterans of all wars. Maureen McGovern, Levi Kreis and David Burnham returned in featured roles, with television stars Hunter Parrish and Josh Henderson. Although it was not a full production, again it received glowing reviews, described by Beverly Cohn in the Santa Monica Mirror as an "evening that had the audience smiling with a lump in its throat."

Personal life 
Openly gay since late in his college days, he was a regular contributor to The Advocate for several years. Barclay married food-industry executive Christopher Barclay (né Mason), his partner of 10 years, in 2008. They have 2 children.

Filmography 
Directed episodes of (arranged in order from most episodes directed to least):

 In Treatment (36 episodes; also executive producer; Golden Globe nomination, 2 DGA nominations, and NAACP Image Award nomination)
 Sons of Anarchy (15 episodes, one NAACP Image Award nomination, also executive producer)
 Station 19 (14 episodes; also executive producer)
 NYPD Blue (12 episodes; 2 Emmy Awards; also supervising producer)
 Cold Case (9 episodes; also co-executive producer; NAACP Image Award)
 Glee (9 episodes, 3 Emmy nominations, 2 DGA nominations)
 The Bastard Executioner (4 episodes; also executive producer)
 City of Angels (4 episodes; NAACP Image Award for best drama series; also co-executive producer and co-creator)
 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (4 episodes; 2 NAACP Image Award nominations)
 Pitch (4 episodes, NAACP Image Award nomination, also executive producer)
 The Shield (3 episodes; NAACP Image Award nomination)
 The West Wing (3 episodes; Emmy nomination, 3 DGA nominations)
 ER (3 episodes; DGA nomination)
 Sliders (3 episodes)
 Monster (2 episodes)
 The Good Wife (2 episodes)
 Angel Street (2 episodes)
 Second Noah (2 episodes)
 Clueless (2 episodes)
 Monk (2 episodes)
 NCIS: Los Angeles (2 episodes)
 Dirt (2 episodes)
 Fastlane (2 episodes)
 Empire
 Scandal
 How to Get Away with Murder
 Diagnosis: Murder
 Brooklyn South
 American Dreams
 Huff
 Lost
 NUMB3RS
 House MD (DGA nomination)
 Weeds (DGA nomination)
 The Mentalist
 Miami Medical
 The New Normal
 Last Resort
 The Chicago Code
 Law & Order
 Silk Stalkings
 Moon Over Miami
 Rebel (ABC)

Television pilots:
 Station 19, for ABC
 Perfect Citizen, starring Noah Wyle, for CBS
 Pitch, for FOX
 The Bastard Executioner, for FX
 The Street Lawyer, based on the novel by John Grisham for ABC
 Dead Lawyers starring F. Murray Abraham for SyFy
 City of Angels with Blair Underwood and Viola Davis for CBS
 Hate starring Marcia Gay Harden for Showtime
 The Chang Family Saves the World written by John Ridley for ABC
 Big Mike starring Greg Grunberg for A&E
Television movies:
 The Cherokee Kid (HBO)
 The Big Time (TNT)

Feature Film:
 Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (Miramax)

References

External links 

1956 births
African-American film directors
African-American television directors
American music video directors
American television directors
Comedy film directors
American gay writers
Television producers from Illinois
American television writers
American male television writers
Film directors from Indiana
Harvard College alumni
La Lumiere School alumni
LGBT African Americans
LGBT people from Illinois
LGBT television directors
Living people
Businesspeople from Chicago
Presidents of the Directors Guild of America
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Directors Guild of America Award winners
Hasty Pudding alumni
Screenwriters from Illinois
People from Chicago Heights, Illinois
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people
Édouard Ruault (26 January 1921 – 13 May 2005), better known as Eddie Barclay, was a French music producer whose singers included Jacques Brel, Dalida and Charles Aznavour. He founded record label Barclay.

Life
Ruault, the son of a café waiter and a post office worker, was born in Paris on January 26, 1921. He spent much of his early childhood with his grandmother in Taverny (in today's Val-d'Oise). His parents bought the Café de la Poste bar in the middle of Paris while he was a child and at the age of 15 he left school to work in the café. He had not enjoyed his studies but he taught himself music and piano. He particularly liked American jazz and embraced the music of Fats Waller. He often visited the Hot Club de France to hear the quintet of Stéphane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt.

He became a pianist at "L'Étape" club in rue Godot-de-Mauroy, Paris, where his half-hour sets alternated with the young Louis de Funès, also at the start of his career. When the German occupiers of France banned jazz, he held regular social gatherings with other zazous at his home to listen to jazz records and illegal radio stations. Pierre-Louis Guérin employed him as a pianist at Guérin's first nightclub, "Le Club".

After the war, Eduard Ruault changed his name to Eddie Barclay and opened "Eddie's Club" in Paris. In 1947 he started a band which featured his wife, Nicole, on vocals under the name Eve Williams. Barclay and his wife started "Blue Star Records", using their apartment to store 78 rpm discs, with Barclay delivering them himself. Musicians on the label included Don Byas and Eddie Constantine. Barclay wrote songs with Charles Aznavour and Boris Vian, and with Vian he edited Jazz magazine.

In 1952 Alan Morrison, a visitor to Barclay's club, had invited him to visit the US to see the new recording technology that enabled the production of 45s and LPs. In 1955 Barclay agreed to manufacture and distribute Mercury Records in Europe. He took 60 masters to Pathé-Marconi's Paris factory and began promoting the new microgroove format to the French market. As well as releasing US records by the likes of Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Duke Ellington, Barclay engaged Gerhard Lehner, a German sound engineer, to make original recordings in Avenue Hoche, Paris. After selling 1.5 million copies of the Platters' "Only You", Barclay Records rose to become the top music production company in France. His success led to his nickname as "empereur du microsillon" (king of microgroove).

His francophone discoveries included the singers Hugues Aufray, Michel Delpech, Dalida (whom he launched in 1956), Mireille Mathieu, Claude Nougaro, and Eddy Mitchell. His artistes delighted in the artistic freedom that he afforded them, and in the trust that he placed in their judgement.

Aznavour joined the Barclay stable in 1956 even though they had been friends for over a decade by that time. They collaborated on some songwriting including Quand tu m'embrasses (When You Hold Me). Jacques Brel, the Belgian poet-singer who stayed with Barclay until his death in 1978, began his long association with Barclay in 1962, recording hits including "Le plat Pays" (The Flat Country), and "Les Bigotes" (The Holier-than-Thous) on the Barclay label. Brel left Philips Records to join Barclay as did Juliette Gréco. Philips threatened to litigate but the matter was settled out of court and Barclay released Johnny Hallyday to Philips as part of the settlement. Anarchist poet Léo Ferré was another established singer-songwriter who joined Barclay Records to great mutual benefit.

Barclay's nose for success was not infallible, however. He refused to sign Bob Marley, ended his collaboration with Pierre Perret and dropped Michel Sardou, four years after discovering him, by telling him "My little old fellow, write songs if you want, but especially do not sing them. You do not have any talent!"

At the beginning of the eighties, recovering from cancer of the throat, which had been diagnosed in 1979, he sold 80% of his label to PolyGram, and retired to Saint-Tropez, where he had spent 25 years building a house called Maison du Cap, Ramatuelle, since Brigitte Bardot persuaded him to buy land there in the late 1950s. His trademark was a white suit, and his Saint-Tropez parties at which all the guests wore white became huge events for the French media. He emerged briefly from retirement with a new record label but it was not the success he wished. The house was bought by Amanda Eliasch and Johan Eliasch and is now owned by Johan Eliasch alone.

In March 1994 Barclay underwent quadruple bypass surgery after a heart attack. On April 29, 2005 he was admitted to the Ambroise-Paré hospital in Paris with urinary and pulmonary infections. He died there during the night of May 12, 2005 and was pronounced dead in the morning. He has one son, Guillaume, from his third marriage to Marie-Christine Steinberg.

Works
Barclay transcribed and interpreted early jazz numbers. He co-wrote the songs Quand tu m'embrasses with Charles Aznavour, and Le rock de Monsieur Failair with Boris Vian.

He wrote the original soundtracks for several films, including Bob le flambeur (1955, English title: Bob the Gambler; one translation is "Bob the high roller") directed by Jean-Pierre Melville.

In 1988 he published his autobiography.

Wives
Barclay was notorious for his many wives to the extent that some journalists referred to him as 'Bluebeard'. At one of his later weddings, the officiating mayor of Neuilly said: "Ah, good day, Monsieur Barclay, what a pleasure to see you yet again." His nine wives were:
 Michele (2 years) married in 1945
 Nicole (14 years), jazz singer under the name of Eve Williams
 Marie-Christine (4 years)
 Béatrice (1.5 years) - she subsequently married Guy Marchand
 Michele (briefly)
 Danielle Mauroy (1 year)
 Cathy (3 years)
 Caroline (11 years) married in 1988
 Tiara, married in June 2002 on the island of Moorea.

See also
 Dalida
 Chaque jour a son secret (1958, film)

References

Other sources
 Associated Press release 12:34 May 14, 2005.
 Sleeve notes, Charles Aznavour: Je M'Voyais Deja CD (EMI, 1995).
 Barclay, Eddie. Que la Fête Continue (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1988)
 O'Connor, Patrick. 'Obituary: Eddie Barclay', The Guardian, May 16, 2005

External links
 

1921 births
2005 deaths
Musicians from Paris
French record producers
French jazz pianists
20th-century French male pianists
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Dalida
Barclay (record label)
French male jazz musicians Leah Barclay (born 1985, Adelaide, Australia) is an Australian sound artist, composer and researcher known for acoustic ecology, environmental field recording, sound walks.  She is the president of the Australian Forum for Acoustic Ecology, and is currently a research fellow at the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre. She is a multi-talented sound artist, sound activist and composer, raising environmental awareness through sound.

Leah Barclay organised the Sonic Environments Conference in 2016 hosted by The Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane, Australia.

Leah Barclay was part of the 100 Ways to Listen component of the World Science Festival 2017, where she ran Augmented Reality Soundwalks. Numerous sound artists and electronic musicians from the Queensland Conservatorium performed and did demonstrations as part of the 100 Ways to Listen component of the World Science Festival 2017.

Barclay primarily explores Biosphere Soundscapes and River Listening and raises environmental awareness utilising field recordings of endangered ecosystems as a form of acoustic ecology in her compositions and sound walks.

Leah Barclay organised the 100 Ways to Listen along with other prominent sound artists, performers and researchers, including Vanessa Tomlinson, John Ferguson and Erik Griswald, creating sonic playgrounds and installations for 100 Ways to Listen in 2017, along with student led demonstrations and performances from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music Technology department. At the 2021 APRA Art Music Awards she won an Award for Excellence in Experimental Music for Listening in the Wild (shared with Lyndon Davis and Tricia King).

Biography 
Barclay is the president of the Australian Forum for Acoustic Ecology, currently a research fellow at the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre.

Leah Barclay organised the Sonic Environments Conference in 2016 hosted by the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane, Australia.

An academic at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music Research Centre specialising in the fields of:  
 Environmental sciences
 Ecological Impacts of Climate Change
 Electronic Media Art
 Music Composition

Career 
Leah Barclay primarily explores Biosphere Soundscapes and River Listening and raises environmental awareness utilising field recordings of endangered eco systems as a form of acoustic ecology in her compositions and sound walks.

Works 
 Riverlistening
 Biosphere listening
 100 Ways to Listen Augmented Reality Soundwalks

References 

Living people
APRA Award winners
Australian women artists
1985 births