Barry Gordin (1952-2025)

By Ede Rothaus

Photo credit: Lisa Tamburini@Hamptonsphotog.

Barry Gordin, longtime active participant in the life of the West Village, Broadway, the theater, and the East End of Long Island died on May 28 from complications related to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). He was 72 years old.

He opened Barry Gordin’s Hair Design Salon at 4 Morton Street in the mid-1980s. He was a superb stylist, colorist and hairdresser. The quality of his work was matched only by the seemingly endless stories he told his very loyal clients. Always discreet, often hilarious.

A casual interest in photography combined with a lifelong love of Broadway, the theater, and celebrities developed into a second career. A local Hamptons newspaper gave him the opportunity to review and photograph theater openings, arts events and local charitable benefits and galas. Gordin’s Views, his column in Dan’s Papers, ran for 30 years.

He was a man in perpetual motion. Usually that meant driving or catching the jitney to or from the Hamptons, especially during the busy summer season — often attending and photographing several events in one day and then returning to his office to edit, write and publish. Barry was both the Editor in Chief of TheaterLife.com and DramaDesk.org, voting and photographing all their events and administering the website. He was also photographer for the Outer Critics Awards.

Barry is survived by his husband and partner Patrick Cristiano and their dog Truman. A memorial celebration at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor is planned for later in the year.