He was badly burned when a stunt went wrong on the set of his series
The Powers of Matthew Star (1982). Production on the series was delayed a year while the star
healed.
There was a scene in Hell Night (1981) where Peter was thrown down a flight of
stairs and hurt his leg. In reality, he had really hurt himself and
most of his limping wasn't an act.
He and Kevin Brophy were bequeathed $500,000 each by Ray Fulk of Lincoln, Illinois. According to the newspaper The State Journal-Register, Fulk, who never met Barton or Brophy, was a fan of their TV shows. [July 2012].
Was thinking of retiring from the film industry until Linda Blair coaxed
him into doing Hell Night (1981) with her. He now credits that film as bringing
him back and has been in the business ever since.