A transformation by makeup and costume took place on stage on Friday, February 9, 1996 at the Sam Noble Special Events Center at the National Cowboy Hall Of Fame in Oklahoma City.

After many years, Barry Corbin once again walked out on stage at 8:00 p.m. and actually became trailblazer Charlie Goodnight. The event was the national premiere of a one-man show called "Charlie Goodnight's Last Night".

Barry co-wrote the play with Cowboy/Poet-singer Andy Wilkinson:
 "Actually, more of it was written by Andy than by me. What happened is that I was casting for a one-man project, something I could just take out of the trunk whenever I liked. I read the J. Evetts Haley biography of Charlie Goodnight and I thought his story was pretty dramatic. But then I read in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about Andy's musical project on the life of Goodnight, and I sure didn't want to step on any toes. So I called Andy long distance and, when I talked to him, he told me that he thought our two projects could compliment each other."

Months of work were devoted to writing and shaping the one-man play, and a few
months before it premiered Barry said:
"The play has progressed to a point where I think we're doing more than just telling the life story of Charlie Goodnight. It says something about the land and the values of the people who settled the land - because those values are something we are in danger of losing. We have become a fragmented, shattered society in which everybody is afraid of everybody else. We've been afraid of each other for a long time and the fear I'm talking about just doesn't refer to color lines. We have got to come to an understanding with each other without the help of the government. And Charlie is a good example of a man who went his own way; he did what he did with no apology to anyone. Goodnight did not judge people externally, say, by the color of their skin. It was the core that concerned him, the fiber of a man, and he judged that harshly."

"Sure, this is Charlie Goodnight I'm going to portray. But I think if people come out and see an old man on stage talking about integrity and honor and loyalty, it might help - especially if we can make the play entertaining."

And the play was a success. After its premiere The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal wrote: "Corbin shines in one-man show 'Goodnight'. The timing that Corbin displays as he laughs heartily at his own jokes only to stop abruptly as another distant harsher memory returns, is a combination of directorial know-how and the actor's stage experience."

                                 

Barry Corbin's distinctively deep voice has become familiar from his many narrations and commercials over the last two decades.

In 1993 he signed a contract with Audio Renaissance Tapes to record 12 audio books on Max Brand's westerns which were published between 1993 and 1994: "Carcajou's Trail", "Chip Champions a Lady", "The Race", "Outcast Breed", "Black Thunder", "Battle's End", "The Best Bandit", "The Three Crosses", "Range Jester", "Forgotten Treasure", "The Third Bullet", and "The Red Bandanna."

AudioFile Magazine said about Barry's work: "Barry Corbin is a Max Brand hero incarnate. His reading is so easy to listen to you don't want these short Westerns to end. Craven outlaws, bloodthirsty bandits and of course, beautiful women are all portrayed equally well in Barry's resonant voice. Characters accents and genders are easily identified."

During the same year, Barry did a TV documentary called "The Wild West Part 3: Gunfighters" in which he lent his voice to Wild Bill Hickock.

In 1995 he was back into the record studio to read the classic "Old Yeller", which stands as one of his most moving and powerful narratives to date.

School Library Journal wrote: "Actor Barry Corbin is a narrator par excellence in this familiar story of love between a boy and a dog. His timing and inflection are perfect, and his Texas accent lends authenticity and a touch of humor to the narration."

One of Barry's personal highlights is "Moonshot", a documentary written by astronauts Shepard and Slayton, members of the original Mercury Seven Team, which tells the inside story about their journey to the moon. Barry worked in both versions, the TV documentary and the Audio Book, which were released in 1995.

On Saturday, May 4, 1996, Barry read "Sick Day", a short story by Tom Doyal about a middle-aged bookkeeper's day off, to a packed auditorium at the Dallas Museum of Art, and he could barely get through a line without hysterical laughter from the audience.

The New York Times wrote: "On the first night of the new literary season, the actor Barry Corbin brought the house down, Texas style."

This performance was recorded and is part of a of two tapes set called "Texas Bound III. More Stories by Texas Writers Read by Texas Actors", published in 1998.

Barry's vocal talent is also heard in "Fate Of The Plains", (1995) a documentary about the struggle to survive on America's last frontier, "Eyes in The Sky" (1996) about the satellite technology at AMSAT, "The U.S.-Mexican War 1846-1848" (1998), a valuable retelling of this largely forgotten conflict, and even in the hit animated series "King Of The Hill" (1999), playing a Fire Chief.

                         

He's done some voice work for stage like in the rock opera "The Man Who Rides The Wind" (1998) and "Buffalo Altar" (2000). This piece was scored for a 52-piece orchestra plus 7 offstage instruments and where Barry does the voice of an 81-year-old oilman reminiscing about a long-ago morning in a West Texas canyon that changed his life.

Latest Barry's voice and hosting works include "Uniquely Texas" (2000), a promotional tape about tourism in Texas, and two documentaries that may be released during 2001: "Texas Tales and Legends" and "Cowboy Country".

Barry Corbin's voice is on the radio as well. On May, 2000, he signed a new two year exclusive agreement with the Dallas-Ft. Worth radio station KPLX-FM, 99.5 "The Wolf". The distinctive voice of Barry is featured on various Wolf on-air productions, and he also does the station's TV commercials and appears at special events. Barry has been the voice of "The Wolf" since 1998. 

                                               

Since the second half of the 90's the new technology has given Barry another field to show his talents:
Interactive Video Games.

Barry has starred in "The Pandora Directive" (1996) with Tanya Roberts, "Steven Spielberg's Directors Chair" (1996) with Quentin Tarantino, "Red Alert: Retaliation" (1998), "Red Alert 2" (2000), and just recently in "Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge", which hit the stores in October 2001.

Barry explains what it is like to work on a Video Game:
"It usually takes one long day to do my part in a game. So, as you can see, there are not a whole lot of takes. It is an entirely new technology to me and I have to depend on the director a lot more than I normally do, because there are alternate ways to play the game and there are some scenes that must be played very neutral so that you can go in either direction."

However, Barry admits he's never even seen any of his video games:
"I do enjoy doing interactive games, but I haven't mastered how to play them yet. I haven't even seen any of them! If I ever see the full thing I'll have to be watching someone play the game from an easy chair! I've heard good reports though."