Barry Manilow is known for his infectious music and lovable personality, creating songs that the whole world can’t help but sing along to. With hits like “Mandy” and “Copacabana (At the Copa),” Barry soared to fame in the 1970s. At first, critics didn’t think much of him, but the fans proved them wrong.
However, Barry kept a huge secret for much of his life—he didn’t come out as gay until he was 73. Today, he’s happier than ever, living his best life with his husband, Garry, and their daughter.
Barry has been a heartthrob for many over the years, but some have also wondered if he’s had plastic surgery. At 78, the Brooklyn native isn’t afraid to tell the truth. Here’s everything you need to know about Barry Manilow—and 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. This part of his heritage was something he was taught not to talk about as a child.
“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.”
He 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 called Pincus. My mother made my father change his name to Pincus.”
Barry was raised by his mother, Edna, and his grandparents after his parents divorced when he was just a baby. Just weeks before his Bar Mitzvah, he legally took on the Manilow family name.
Barry’s father was labeled a “monster” by his grandparents, but they liked Barry’s mother’s next love, Willie Murphy, who turned out to be Barry’s inspiration for music. Murphy, an Irish truck driver, had a great record collection and let Barry listen to it all the time.
Barry’s mother and stepfather loved him so much that they saved up to buy him a piano, which cost $800 and took them five years to pay off. Their love and sacrifice paid off when Barry became successful and was able to repay them.
Barry Manilow’s Musical Journey
Before heading to the New York College of Music, Barry studied at the City College of New York. He then attended the Juilliard School, where he studied musical theater while working as a log clerk at CBS. During this time, he also found his first love.
In 1964, at the age of 21, Barry married his high school sweetheart, Susan Deixler, shortly after graduation. But, according to Barry, he wasn’t ready to settle down. “I was in love with Susan,” he said. He described her as adorable, small with “great legs and a voluptuous figure.”
“I just was not ready for marriage,” he admitted. “I was out making music every night, sowing my wild oats. I was too young; I wasn’t ready to settle down.”
Barry had a different dream—he wanted to break into the entertainment business and was willing to do anything to achieve it. He wrote songs and landed gigs writing jingles for commercials. He sang in a Dr. Pepper commercial, which he said “paid the rent for years.”
His big break came with the McDonald’s commercial jingle “You Deserve a Break Today.” Barry recalled, “When I lucked into writing commercials, the only way you can go up against other songwriters is to write the catchiest melody you can in fifteen seconds. If you don’t write the best one, another songwriter will get the commercial.”
His instinct for catchy melodies helped him win many jingle contracts, which eventually prepared him for writing pop songs.
The Rise to Stardom
In 1973, Barry released his first album, which wasn’t an immediate hit. “I would send my songs out, but nobody wanted them because they wanted to do their own songs,” Barry told the Independent. “I made my first album, and it was good, but I thought that was the end of that.”
Then, Clive Davis, president of Arista Records, came into the picture. He found a song called “Brandy” that he thought had potential. Initially, it was a rock ’n’ roll song, but Barry, being young and full of ideas, didn’t know exactly how to handle it.
“In order to learn ‘Brandy,’ I slowed it down and changed the chords around, adding a key change,” Barry explained in his Emmy interview. “I forgot about it and played Clive the rock-and-roll version, but then I played him the ballad version with my key and chord changes.”
Clive told him, “Do that. And we can’t use ‘Brandy.’ Sing ‘Mandy.’” There had already been a hit song called “Brandy” two years earlier, so they changed the name. The ballad version became “Mandy,” and with a small band backing him up, it was added to Barry’s second album. And just like that, his life changed.
Fame and Success
“Mandy” shot straight to No.1 on the charts, and Barry followed it up with more hits like “I Write the Songs,” “Could It Be Magic,” and the iconic “Copacabana (At the Copa).” By 1978, only five years after his first album, Barry had five albums on the best-selling charts at the same time and ten No. 1 singles.
He won several awards, including Grammy and Tony Awards, and became the heartthrob of an entire generation, earning his fans the nickname “Fanilows.”
Despite his fame, Barry kept himself grounded. “I’ve learned over the years that at the beginning of your life it’s all about me, me, me,” he said. “Then somewhere in the middle, you realize that now it’s got to go the other way. The arrows have to stop pointing towards yourself. They have to flip around and point out.”
Barry knew that to sustain his career, he needed to focus on giving back rather than just seeking attention.
Barry Manilow’s Personal Life
Barry’s career was soaring, but his marriage to Susan Deixler did not last. They divorced just two years after marrying, with Barry leaving to pursue his dream of a musical career.
Years later, Barry’s personal life took a significant turn. In 2017, at the age of 73, Barry came out as gay, revealing a relationship with Garry Kief that had spanned decades. The two had married in 2014 at their Palm Springs estate in a secret ceremony where even the guests didn’t know it was a wedding.
Barry and Garry met for the first time back in 1978. Today, Garry is the president of Barry Manilow Productions and Barry’s manager. Barry recalled, “I knew that this was it. I was pretty lonely before that.”
Coming out was not an easy decision for Barry. He feared it would harm his career and disappoint his fans, especially his female followers. However, the opposite happened. “People just wanted me to be happy,” he said. “When I said I had someone in my life, they were happy for me, and there was no negativity.”
Besides his relationship with Garry, Barry has also had the joy of helping to raise Garry’s biological daughter, Kristen. Despite some concerns about mixing personal and professional lives, Barry and Garry have made it work for over 40 years. “It’s a relationship built on respect,” Barry said. “We’ve never bumped heads about anything.”
Barry Manilow and Plastic Surgery
Over the years, Barry has faced rumors and speculations about plastic surgery. In an interview with the Irish Independent, he confirmed that he had undergone procedures to get rid of his jowls, but they didn’t last. “All of LA was running for Botox, and I did too,” Barry said. “I gave it a try, but I just didn’t like it. It didn’t look right for me.”
Despite the rumors, Barry remains unbothered. He attributes his youthful appearance to “luck, just blind luck,” he joked on the British morning show “This Morning.”
Barry Manilow has had a long and successful career, and his courage to come out later in life is inspiring. His story is a testament to the power of being true to oneself, no matter what the world may think. Share this story with friends and family to celebrate Barry’s journey!