Denise DuBarry

Denise DuBarry (March 6, 1956 – March 23, 2019) was an American actress, businesswoman, film producer, and philanthropist.

She co-founded Thane International, Inc., a direct response industry company along with her husband, Bill Hay, in 1990. She served as its Chief Creative Officer for 15 years, from 1990–2005. As an actress, she is best known for her role as nurse Lieutenant Samantha Green, on the television series Black Sheep Squadron, and as Johanna Franklin in the film Being There.

She was a pioneer in the infomercial industry as producer of Play the Piano Overnight in 1988, which won the Billboard Music Award for Best Music Instruction Video that year and then Play the Guitar Overnight which won the 1991 Billboard Music Award for Best Music Instruction.

Contents

Early life

DuBarry was born in Killeen, Texas, at Fort Hood Army Base, to Adrian Pierre DuBarry and his wife, Betty Louise (née King). Her parents moved back to Louisiana where they were from so that her father could finish his master's degree at LSU in Baton Rouge. The family later moved to Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica, where DuBarry grew up from ages 2 to 10, and learned to speak fluent Spanish. The family moved throughout California, eventually settling in Granada Hills, California, where Denise attended middle school and high school. A child of divorce and the eldest of five children, at 14 she watched after her siblings while her mother worked.

Yoga

DuBarry practiced yoga starting in 1979. She founded and owned Malibu Yoga  in 1986 which catered to a celebrity clientele. She gave the studio to a friend in 1990 when she relocated. She was a partner in Palm Desert, California's Bikram Yoga University Village Studio.

Career

1974–1979

At age 18, she went to work for her father in his paper export business, DuBarry International, and took acting lessons at night with Milton Katselas and Charles E. Conrad. She landed commercials for Michelob Beer, Chevrolet Camaro and worked as an extra in the kid's shows, Magic Mongo, Wonder Woman and she made an appearance on The Gong Show as beauty contestant, "Ms. Hold the Mayo".

She competed in several real beauty contests including Ms. Malibu where she won "Most Photogenic". She was hired to co-star in a CBSMovie of the Week, Deadman's Curve. She landed a regular role in the second season of the NBC World War II television series, Black Sheep Squadron, and had bit-parts in popular television shows, including Charlie's Angels. Trapper John, M.D. and Match Game '78. Director Hal Ashby cast her in a featured role in the 1979 film Being There.

1980–1989

Having previously acted together in the 1980 television movie Top of the Hill, DuBarry and husband Gary Lockwood formed a production company, Xebec Productions, in 1982, and she began writing and fundraising for film development and production, while she continued to act. In 1985, she appeared in the cult film Monster in the Closet.

1990–2005

She met her future husband Bill Hay through mutual friend Dick Robertson, then president of Warner Bros. Television Distribution. The couple formed[4] and produced and distributed, Beat the Recession and a slew of other infomercials.

2005–2019

In 2005, DuBarry founded Kaswit, Inc., a direct response marketing company. Two of Kaswit's top direct response projects are the infomercials: "Pilates Power Gym", and "Secrets to Training the Perfect Dog" with Don Sullivan, "The DogFather". Through her production company, Blue Moxie Entertainment (founded 2006), she produced a feature film, Shoot the Hero, first shown at the 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival.