Stay Connected
Barry Reardon '53 Returns for 50th Reunion, First Time Back in 50 Years
By Maria Healey
For Barry Reardon ’53, returning to Holy Cross for his 50th Reunion this past June was hardly a traditional visit back to his alma mater. In fact, he hadn't been back to campus since he graduated.
With an economics degree and the ambition and confidence typical of Holy Cross grads, Reardon went west after college, spending the next twenty-one years in Los Angeles, working for Warner Brothers, where he was President of Distribution and Marketing.
One of the most respected executives in the movie industry, Reardon was awarded the ShoWester award in 1998 by the National Association of Theatre Owners, naming him the best there is in marketing movies. It was the first time the association had given the award to someone outside its own organization, and the recognition is a testament not only to Reardon’s success but also to why he hadn’t been back to Holy Cross for previous reunions—because they fall during the same week big summer movies hit the screens.
"The big summer blockbusters always open in May or early June. So I was always in California, too busy to leave," says Reardon, who in the course of his career guided big commercial successes, such as the three Superman movies, the four Batman movies, The Green Mile and The Fugitive, as well more critically-acclaimed "award pictures", including The Color Purple and Chariots of Fire, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1981, and Driving Miss Daisy, which won Best Picture in 1989.
After retiring in 1999, Reardon moved to Vero Beach, Fla., where he lives for eight months out of the year. (He spends the summer and early fall in Vermont.) It was here that he coincidentally “returned” to Holy Cross, meeting fellow classmates Jack Magnier, Bill Glavin, Bud Kiley and Jack Scully, all of whom live in Vero Beach as well. The group has breakfast once a month at Toojays, bringing each other up to date on what’s going on at the College. With the 50th Reunion coming up, the group encouraged Reardon to go.
“It was just nice to see fellow classmates you hadn't seen in fifty years and hear how they'd fared since graduation,” Reardon says. “It was nostalgic seeing that Alumni Hall, where I lived, is still in good shape. But overall it was great to see how the school has changed. I think Father McFarland is doing a terrific job running the school through an ever-changing period. It's certainly not an easy task, trying to placate the body of graduates.
“A Holy Cross education is a well-rounded one,” Reardon continues. “It has a great impact on how you conduct your professional life in the business world, especially these days. It’s the best education you could possibly get.” And to help make that education available to others, Reardon has established a scholarship fund in tribute to his time at Holy Cross.