Barry Manilow is one of those singers whose music has a way of sticking with you. Over the years, he’s proven himself to be not just talented, but also incredibly likable, with songs that make people everywhere want to sing along.
Manilow became a global star in the 1970s with hits like “Mandy” and “Copacabana (At the Copa).” Even though critics weren’t always kind to him at first, he won over fans around the world with his catchy tunes and heartfelt performances.
But for a long time, Barry carried a big secret. He came out as gay at the age of 73. Today, he’s happier than ever, living his best life with his husband, Garry, and their daughter.
Barry has always been a heartthrob, adored by fans everywhere. However, there have also been rumors about whether he’s had plastic surgery. At 78, Barry, originally from Brooklyn, isn’t afraid to talk about it. Let’s dive into his life story and see how he looks today.
Barry Manilow’s Early Life
Barry Manilow was born on June 17, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York. His grandparents were Russian immigrants, but Barry is also half-Irish. His father, Harold, was from Ireland. However, Barry was taught not to speak about his Irish heritage.
“The fact that Harold was an Irish truck driver was hidden from the family,” Barry told the Irish Independent. “It was considered a terrible thing for my mother to have done. They wouldn’t even allow my name to be Kelliher. They changed it immediately.”
Barry added, “When I was born, I was called Barry Pincus. They had to dig deep into my father’s family to find one Jewish relative. They went back to the 1800s and found one uncle, a Jewish guy named Pincus. My mother made my father change his name to Pincus.”
Barry was raised by his mother, Edna, and his grandparents. His parents divorced when he was just a baby. Just weeks before his Bar Mitzvah, he legally changed his last name to Manilow.
Barry’s father was labeled a “monster” by his grandparents, but they did like his mother’s next love, Willie Murphy, who became Barry’s musical inspiration. Willie, an Irish truck driver, had a vast record collection, which he let Barry explore freely. Barry’s mother and stepfather even pooled their money to buy him a piano for $800, a purchase that took them five years to pay off. This sacrifice showed just how much they loved Barry—and thankfully, he was later able to repay their kindness.
Before Barry went to the New York College of Music, he enrolled at the City College of New York and then attended the Juilliard School, where he studied musical theater. To support himself, he worked as a log clerk at CBS. It was around this time that he experienced his first love. At 21, in 1964, he married his high school sweetheart, Susan Deixler. Barry later admitted, “I was in love with Susan.” He described her as “adorable, small, with great legs and a voluptuous figure.”
But he wasn’t ready for marriage. “I was too young, I wasn’t ready to settle down,” he said. “I was out making music every night, sowing my wild oats.”
Barry had a different dream. He was determined to make it in the entertainment business, no matter what it took.
Barry’s Start in Commercials
Manilow took a bold risk, putting everything on the line for a shot in the entertainment industry. He started out writing songs and got jobs writing for commercials. One of his early successes was a Dr. Pepper commercial, which, as Barry put it, “paid the rent for years.” His big break came with a McDonald’s jingle, “You Deserve a Break Today,” a decision he now calls one of the best he ever made.
“When I lucked into writing commercials, the only way you can compete with other songwriters is to write the catchiest melody you can in fifteen seconds,” Barry explained. “If you don’t, another songwriter will get the commercial. My instinct has always been to write catchy melodies. So when I started to do jingles, I won a lot of them because my melodies were catchier than the other guys’.”
He continued, “When I found myself in the pop music world, writing pop songs, I realized that pop music is all about catchy melodies and hooks. What I learned most of all in my jingle days was how to write a catchy melody.”
Barry finally released his first album in 1973. He had sent his songs to other artists, but no one wanted them, so he decided to record them himself. The album, “Barry Manilow,” wasn’t an instant hit, but just a year later, his fortunes would change dramatically.
“I would send my songs out but nobody wanted them because they wanted to do their own songs,” he told the Independent. “I made my first album and it was good but I thought that was the end of that, but then Clive Davis [producer] came in and he found ‘Mandy’ for me.”
Clive Davis, the president of Arista Records, had found a song called “Brandy” that he believed had potential for Barry. The original was a rock ‘n’ roll song, but Manilow decided to change it up.
“I slowed it down and changed the chords around,” Barry said in an Emmy interview. When he played the new version for Clive Davis, the producer said, “Do that. But we can’t use ‘Brandy.’ Sing ‘Mandy.’ There had been a hit record called ‘Brandy’ just two years earlier.”
The Rise of a Star
“Mandy” changed everything for Barry. The song shot straight to No.1 on the charts, and he quickly followed it up with hits like “I Write the Songs,” “Could It Be Magic,” and the unforgettable “Copacabana (At the Copa).” By 1978, just five years after his debut, Barry had five albums on the best-seller charts at the same time, along with ten No. 1 singles. He had also won several awards, including Grammys and Tonys, becoming the heartthrob of a generation. His fans were known as “Fanilows.”
Throughout history, we’ve seen many stars crumble under the weight of sudden fame, but Barry found a way to keep things under control. He says it was all about looking beyond himself.
“I’ve learned over the years that at the beginning of your life, it’s all about me, me, me,” he explained. “But somewhere in the middle, you realize the arrows have to flip around and point outwards. If you’re still showing everybody how great you are at 40, it’s very unbecoming.”
Personal Life and Coming Out
Barry’s marriage to Susan Deixler ended just two years in. He described her as “the perfect wife” but left to pursue “a wondrous musical adventure.”
Barry’s career continued to flourish, and he remains active today. He is reported to have a net worth of around $100 million. But behind his success, Barry kept a big secret for many years. In 2017, at the age of 73, he came out as gay. This was a brave decision, especially considering his age and the time he had kept this part of his life private. By then, he already had a partner, Garry Kief.
Barry and Garry married in 2014 at their Palm Springs estate. It was such a well-kept secret that even the guests didn’t know they were attending a wedding! The two had first met in 1978, and today, Garry is the president of Barry Manilow Productions and serves as Barry’s manager.
“I knew that this was it,” Barry said of meeting Garry for the first time. “I was pretty lonely before that.”
Coming out wasn’t easy for Barry. He worried it might damage his career or disappoint his fans, especially the female ones. However, the reaction was quite the opposite.
“If I had done it much earlier, I think it would have affected my career a lot,” he admitted. “But by the time Garry and I decided to do it, being gay was accepted, so nothing changed. People just wanted me to be happy.”
Besides his husband, Barry has also had the joy of helping to raise Garry’s daughter, Kristen. Despite working together, Barry and Garry’s relationship remains strong.
“That’s the miracle of this relationship,” Barry explained. “It’s built on respect. We’ve never bumped heads about anything.”
Plastic Surgery Rumors
Over the years, there has been much speculation about Barry’s appearance. Rumors have swirled about facelifts, eye surgery, and Botox. In an interview, Barry admitted he had tried Botox and had surgery to get rid of his jowls, but he wasn’t satisfied with the results.
“I gave it a try, but I just didn’t like it,” Barry said. “It didn’t look right for me.”
Despite some criticism, Barry says it’s “ridiculous” to call him the “Joan Rivers of the guys.” He explained that other surgeries, like those for his hip problems, have also affected his face.
“I’ve had three surgeries for my hip problem,” he shared. “The only way I got any relief was by steroid shots, but then your face blows up and looks odd.”
Just days ago, Barry appeared on a British morning show, looking almost unrecognizable. When asked how he stays so youthful, Barry laughed and said, “It’s luck, just blind luck.”
Barry Manilow Today
Barry Manilow is a true legend, known not just for his music but also for his courage in coming
