Originally Posted By Rebekah This topic is for discussion of the 7/25/2001 news item <b><a href="http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/playbill/20010724/en/_phantom_actor_barton_died_of_heart_failure_1.html" target="_blank">Playbill: Phantom Actor Barton Died of Heart Failure</a></b> <I>Playbill via Yahoo</I> in a July 25th article reports actor Steve Barton has died. He is best known for his performance as the Phantom of the Opera but also portrayed the Beast in the European premiere of Beauty and the Beast.
Originally Posted By cstephens Wow. I was stunned to see this headline in my daily LP news email. There seem to be an abundance of unexpected deaths due to heart failures lately. The last one, which had an even greater effect on me, was Douglas Adams. I love Phantom, and I especially enjoyed Steve Barton's Raoul. I've listened to the cast album so many times that I know just about every nuance. The first time I saw Phantom during its run in Los Angeles was three years into the show. Michael Crawford had already left, Dale Kristien was still there, and Davis Gaines was playing the title role. That first time, it turned out that the regular actor who played Raoul was soon to be scheduled to be out for medical reasons for several weeks, and someone was going to be filling in for him, but that someone started early - and that someone was Steve Barton. I was so happy that Steve Barton played Raoul instead that night, and it was indeed amazing to watch him. He kind of spoiled it for me after that, because the several subsequent times that I went to see the show was with the regular actor who played Raoul, and as good as he was, he didn't compare to Steve Barton. It's sad to know I'll never see Steve Barton perform again. Guess it's time to pull out that Phantom CD and give my "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack CD a break for a bit. /cs
Originally Posted By Corciopat I heard that he commited suicide and the heart failure story was a cover-up.
Originally Posted By SJHYM I believe that Steve Barton also played Frollo in the workshop editions of Der Glockner Von Notre Dame in Germany where he and his wife lived. He ended up not playing it in Berlin when the show openned.
Originally Posted By SJHYM The Austin paper just ran a rather long article on Steve Barton's sad death. It seems now that Steve took his own life after several years of battling depression and a alcohol addiction. He and his wife were seperated and he was attempting to get his life together again when he returned to Germany to work. It seems that he lost his battle with his own demons. Steve Barton was a great talent who was a major star in Europe. Unfortunately, according to the article, he, like so many other talented people, had very low self esteem and never could appreciate his own great talent or enjoy the many fans who loved his work. Another sad death.
