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{{short description|Anglo-Irish actor and playwright}}
{{distinguish|Joseph O'Connor}}
{{distinguish|Joseph O'Connor}}
⚫
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name = Joseph O'Conor
| name = Joseph O'Conor
|image =
| image = Joseph_O'Conor.jpg
|caption =
| caption =
|birth_name =
| birth_name =
|birth_date = 14 February 1916
| birth_date = {{birth date|1916|2|14|df=yes}}
|birth_place = [[Dublin]], [[County Dublin]], Ireland
| birth_place = [[Dublin]], Ireland
|death_date = 21 January 2001 (aged 84)
| death_date = {{death date and age|2001|1|21|1916|2|14|df=yes}}
|death_place = [[London]], England
| death_place = [[London]], England
|occupation = [[Actor]]
| occupation = [[Actor]]
| yearsactive = 1947–2001
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Naita Moore|1939|1977|end=her death}}
* {{marriage|Lizann Rodger|1979}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39384372|title=Joseph O'Conor (1910–2001) - Find A Grave-gedenkplek}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jan/26/guardianobituaries1|title=Obituary: Joseph O'Conor|first=Stephen|last=Gilbert|date=26 January 2001|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>
}}
| children = 4
}}
}}
'''Joseph O'Conor''' (14 February 1916 &ndash; 21 January 2001) was an Irish actor and playwright.
'''Joseph O'Conor''' (14 February 1916 &ndash; 21 January 2001) was an Irish actor and playwright.


== Early years ==
== Early years ==
O'Conor was born in Dublin<ref name=independent>Alan Strachan, [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joseph-oconor-728823.html Obituary], ''The Independent'', 2 February 2001</ref><ref name=filmref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/43/Joseph-O-Conor.html Full credits at filmreference.com]</ref><ref name=guardian>Stephen Gilbert, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2001/jan/26/guardianobituaries1 Obituary], ''The Guardian'', 25 January 2001</ref> on 14 February 1916, the son of Frances (née Call) and Daniel O'Conor.<ref name=filmref/> His family moved to London, where he attended the [[Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School]], the [[University of London]] and [[RADA]].<ref name=independent/><ref name=guardian/> He made his professional stage debut in 1939 playing Flavius, Trebonius, and Titinius in a modern-dress production of ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' at the [[Embassy Theatre (London)|Embassy Theatre]], and subsequently at [[Her Majesty's Theatre|His Majesty's Theatre]].<ref name=filmref/> Also in 1939 he married Naita Moore; they had two children.<ref name=independent/>
O'Conor was born in Dublin<ref name=independent>Alan Strachan, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joseph-oconor-728823.html Obituary]{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''The Independent'', 2 February 2001</ref><ref name=filmref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/43/Joseph-O-Conor.html|title=Joseph O'Conor Biography (1916-)|website=www.filmreference.com}}</ref><ref name=guardian>Stephen Gilbert, [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jan/26/guardianobituaries1 Obituary], ''The Guardian'', 25 January 2001</ref> on 14 February 1916, the son of Frances (née Call) and Daniel O'Conor.<ref name=filmref/> His family moved to London, where he attended the [[Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School]], the [[University of London]] and [[RADA]].<ref name=independent/><ref name=guardian/> He made his professional stage debut in 1939 playing Flavius, Trebonius, and Titinius in a modern-dress production of ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' at the [[Embassy Theatre (London)|Embassy Theatre]], and subsequently at [[Her Majesty's Theatre|His Majesty's Theatre]].<ref name=filmref/> Also in 1939 he married Naita Moore; they had two children.<ref name=independent/>


== After the war ==
== After the war ==
Returning to the stage in 1946 after wartime service in the [[British Army]], he played a wide variety of roles in London, but with an emphasis on Shakespeare.<ref name=independent/><ref name=filmref/> He spent a season under [[Donald Wolfit]] at the Bedford, Camden Town, alternating Iago and Othello with him in ''[[Othello]]'' (1949) and taking the title role in ''[[Hamlet]]'' (1949), with Wolfit as the Gravedigger.<ref name=independent/><ref name=guardian/>
Returning to the stage in 1946, he played a wide variety of roles in London, but with an emphasis on Shakespeare.<ref name=independent/><ref name=filmref/> He spent a season under [[Donald Wolfit]] at the Bedford, Camden Town, alternating Iago and Othello with him in ''[[Othello]]'' (1949) and taking the title role in ''[[Hamlet]]'' (1949), with Wolfit as the Gravedigger.<ref name=independent/><ref name=guardian/>


O'Conor had a strong spiritual side which found expression in a series of productions at religious-drama festivals and as Christ in the [[York Mystery Plays]] (1951 and 1954).<ref name=independent/> A prohibition on the representation of God or Christ still existed in England at that time, so his name for the 1951 production was kept a secret.<ref name=york>[http://www.yorkmysteryplays.org/index_highres.htm York Mystery Plays website]</ref>
O'Conor had a strong spiritual side which found expression in a series of productions at religious-drama festivals and as Christ in the [[York Mystery Plays]] (1951 and 1954).<ref name=independent/> A prohibition on the representation of God or Christ on the public stage still existed in England at that time, so his name for the 1951 production was kept a secret.<ref name=york>{{Cite web|url=http://www.yorkmysteryplays.org/index_highres.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430081519/http://www.yorkmysteryplays.org/index_highres.htm|url-status=dead|title=York Mystery Plays Archive|archivedate=30 April 2009}}</ref>


Seeking a change from London he played two seasons at the [[Citizens Theatre]] in Glasgow where his roles included Benedick in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' (1954).<ref name=independent/> This he followed with three seasons (1956–1958) at the [[Bristol Old Vic]]. Bristol acted in several [[George Bernard Shaw|Bernard Shaw]] classics. O'Conor played Higgins in ''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'' and Undershaft in ''[[Major Barbara (play)|Major Barbara]]''.<ref name=independent/> There was also a production of his own early play, ''The Iron Harp'', set in his Ireland. O'Conor wrote five others.<ref name=guardian/>
Seeking a change from London he played two seasons at the [[Citizens Theatre]] in Glasgow where his roles included Benedick in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' (1954).<ref name=independent/> This he followed with three seasons (1956–1958) at the [[Bristol Old Vic]]. Bristol acted in several [[George Bernard Shaw|Bernard Shaw]] classics. O'Conor played Higgins in ''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'' and Undershaft in ''[[Major Barbara (play)|Major Barbara]]''.<ref name=independent/> There was also a production of his own early play, ''The Iron Harp'', set in his Ireland. O'Conor wrote five others.<ref name=guardian/>


He continued his theatre work, including major roles in several productions at [[the Old Vic]], but meanwhile he had been building up his television and film activities. In 1967 he played Old Jolyon Forsyte in the television series ''[[The Forsyte Saga (1967 series)|The Forsyte Saga]]''<ref name=filmref/><ref name=firsyte>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061253/fullcredits Forsyte Saga at IMDB]</ref> and in 1968 Mr Brownlow in the film ''[[Oliver! (film)|Oliver!]]''<ref name=filmref/>
He continued his theatre work, including major roles in several productions at [[the Old Vic]], but meanwhile he had been building up his television and film activities. In 1967 he played Old Jolyon Forsyte in the television series ''[[The Forsyte Saga (1967 TV series)|The Forsyte Saga]]''<ref name=filmref/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1071033/credits.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Forsyte Saga, The (1967) Credits|website=www.screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> and in 1968 Mr Brownlow in the film ''[[Oliver! (film)|Oliver!]]''.<ref name=filmref/>


He spent a season with the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] under [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]] for ''[[The Tempest]]'' (1974) playing Alonso to [[John Gielgud]]'s Prospero and, with a frightening sense of moral rectitude, Herr Gabor in [[Frank Wedekind]]'s ''[[Spring Awakening (play)|Spring Awakening]]'' (1974).<ref name=independent/> In a season in [[Greenwich Theatre|Greenwich]] (1975) under [[Jonathan Miller]], he played the King of France in ''[[All's Well That Ends Well]]''. He played the Duke in ''[[Measure for Measure]]'', set in Freud's Vienna. In the BBC serial 'The Barchester Chronicles' [1982] he played Bunce.
He spent a season with the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] under [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]] for ''[[The Tempest]]'' (1974) playing Alonso to [[John Gielgud]]'s Prospero and, with a frightening sense of moral rectitude, Herr Gabor in [[Frank Wedekind]]'s ''[[Spring Awakening (play)|Spring Awakening]]'' (1974).<ref name=independent/> In a season in [[Greenwich Theatre|Greenwich]] (1975) under [[Jonathan Miller]], he played the King of France in ''[[All's Well That Ends Well]]''. He played the Duke in ''[[Measure for Measure]]'', set in Freud's Vienna. In the BBC serial ''[[The Barchester Chronicles]]'' (1982) he played Bunce.


== Later life ==
== Later life ==
Following his wife's death in 1977, he married the much younger actress Lizann Rodger. They had two children.<ref name=independent/> He continued to take part in numerous plays, particularly Shakespeare, in the theatre and for television. In 1982 he took the part of the narrator and the voice of the Urskeks in the Muppet film ''[[The Dark Crystal]]''.<ref name=darkcrystal>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083791/ The Dark Crystal at IMDb]</ref>
Following his wife's death in 1977, he married the much younger actress Lizann Rodger. They had two children.<ref name=independent/> He continued to take part in numerous plays, particularly Shakespeare, in the theatre and for television. In 1982 he took the part of the narrator and the voice of the urSkeks in the puppet film ''[[The Dark Crystal]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6e73d281|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509203610/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6e73d281|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 May 2016|title=The Dark Crystal (1982)|website=BFI}}</ref>


In the 1990s he appeared in several cinema productions. A highlight was the role of J. C. Sullivan in ''[[The Forbidden Quest]]'' (1993), directed by [[Peter Delpeut]], which gave O'Conor a role as a polar survivor.<ref name=guardian/> His subsequent work included the Bishop of Oxford in the film of ''[[Tom & Viv]]'' (1994) and Mr. Nancarrow in ''[[The Wisdom of Crocodiles]]'' (1998).<ref name=filmref/>
In the 1990s he appeared in several cinema productions. A highlight was the role of J. C. Sullivan in ''[[The Forbidden Quest]]'' (1993), directed by [[Peter Delpeut]], which gave O'Conor a role as a polar survivor.<ref name=guardian/> His subsequent work included the Bishop of Oxford in the film of ''[[Tom & Viv]]'' (1994) and Mr. Nancarrow in ''[[The Wisdom of Crocodiles]]'' (1998).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9eeb096e|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926095023/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9eeb096e|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 September 2019|title=Joseph O'Conor|website=BFI}}</ref>


Today he is remembered chiefly by younger viewers for his appearance as Mr Brownlow in ''Oliver!''
Today he is remembered chiefly by younger viewers for his appearance as Mr Brownlow in ''Oliver!''
Line 37: Line 45:


==Selected filmography==
==Selected filmography==
* ''[[The Devil-Ship Pirates]]'' (1964)
* ''[[Paul Temple's Triumph]]'' (1950) - Inspector Crane
* ''[[Crooks in Cloisters]]'' (1964)
* ''Stranger at My Door'' (1950) - Michael Foley
* ''[[The Gorgon]]'' (1964)
* ''[[Gorgo (film)|Gorgo]]'' (1961) - Prof. Hendricks
* ''[[The Devil-Ship Pirates]]'' (1964) - Don Jose Margella (uncredited)
* ''[[Oliver! (film)|Oliver!]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Anne of the Thousand Days]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Crooks in Cloisters]]'' (1964) - Father Septimus
* ''[[A Walk with Love and Death]]'' (1969)
* ''[[The Gorgon]]'' (1964) - Coroner
* ''[[Doomwatch (film)|Doomwatch]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Oliver! (film)|Oliver!]]'' (1968) - Mr. Brownlow
* ''[[Father, Dear Father (film)|Father, Dear Father]]'' (1973)
* ''[[A Walk with Love and Death]]'' (1969) - Pierre of St. Jean
* ''[[Penny Gold]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Anne of the Thousand Days]]'' (1969) - Bishop Fisher
* ''[[Yellow Dog (film)|Yellow Dog]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Doomwatch (film)|Doomwatch]]'' (1972) - Vicar
* ''[[The Black Windmill]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Father, Dear Father (film)|Father, Dear Father]]'' (1973) - Vicar
* ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Penny Gold]]'' (1973) - Blachford
* ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Yellow Dog (film)|Yellow Dog]]'' (1973) - Dover
* ''[[The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc]]'' (1999)
* ''[[The Black Windmill]]'' (1974) - Sir Edward Julyan
* ''[[The Barchester Chronicles]]'' (1982) - Bunce
* ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'' (1982) - Narrator / urSkeks (voice)
* ''[[The Forbidden Quest]]'' (1993) - J.C. Sullivan
* ''[[Tom & Viv]]'' (1994) - Bishop of Oxford
* ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'' (1998) - Earl of Derby
* ''[[The Wisdom of Crocodiles]]'' (1998) - Mr. Nancarrow
* ''[[The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc]]'' (1999) - Poitiers' Chief Inquisitor


== Writings ==
== Writings ==
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== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Joseph O&#39;Conor}}
{{Commons category|Joseph O'Conor}}
*{{IMDb name|0640561}}
* {{IMDb name|0640561}}
* {{IBDB name|92182}}
⚫
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2011}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Conor, Joseph}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConor, Joseph}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Irish male stage actors]]
[[Category:Irish male stage actors]]
[[Category:Irish male film actors]]
[[Category:Irish male film actors]]
[[Category:Irish dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Male actors from Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Irish male writers]]
[[Category:Irish male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:People from Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:Alumni of RADA]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century male writers]]

Latest revision as of 10:28, 4 November 2023

Not to be confused with Joseph O'Connor.

Joseph O'Conor
Born(1916-02-14)14 February 1916
Dublin, Ireland
Died21 January 2001(2001-01-21) (aged 84)
London, England
OccupationActor
Years active1947–2001
Spouses
Naita Moore
​
​
(m. 1939; died 1977)​
Lizann Rodger
​
(m. 1979)​
[1][2]
Children4

Joseph O'Conor (14 February 1916 – 21 January 2001) was an Irish actor and playwright.

Early years[edit]

O'Conor was born in Dublin[3][4][5] on 14 February 1916, the son of Frances (née Call) and Daniel O'Conor.[4] His family moved to London, where he attended the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, the University of London and RADA.[3][5] He made his professional stage debut in 1939 playing Flavius, Trebonius, and Titinius in a modern-dress production of Julius Caesar at the Embassy Theatre, and subsequently at His Majesty's Theatre.[4] Also in 1939 he married Naita Moore; they had two children.[3]

After the war[edit]

Returning to the stage in 1946, he played a wide variety of roles in London, but with an emphasis on Shakespeare.[3][4] He spent a season under Donald Wolfit at the Bedford, Camden Town, alternating Iago and Othello with him in Othello (1949) and taking the title role in Hamlet (1949), with Wolfit as the Gravedigger.[3][5]

O'Conor had a strong spiritual side which found expression in a series of productions at religious-drama festivals and as Christ in the York Mystery Plays (1951 and 1954).[3] A prohibition on the representation of God or Christ on the public stage still existed in England at that time, so his name for the 1951 production was kept a secret.[6]

Seeking a change from London he played two seasons at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow where his roles included Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (1954).[3] This he followed with three seasons (1956–1958) at the Bristol Old Vic. Bristol acted in several Bernard Shaw classics. O'Conor played Higgins in Pygmalion and Undershaft in Major Barbara.[3] There was also a production of his own early play, The Iron Harp, set in his Ireland. O'Conor wrote five others.[5]

He continued his theatre work, including major roles in several productions at the Old Vic, but meanwhile he had been building up his television and film activities. In 1967 he played Old Jolyon Forsyte in the television series The Forsyte Saga[4][7] and in 1968 Mr Brownlow in the film Oliver!.[4]

He spent a season with the National Theatre under Peter Hall for The Tempest (1974) playing Alonso to John Gielgud's Prospero and, with a frightening sense of moral rectitude, Herr Gabor in Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening (1974).[3] In a season in Greenwich (1975) under Jonathan Miller, he played the King of France in All's Well That Ends Well. He played the Duke in Measure for Measure, set in Freud's Vienna. In the BBC serial The Barchester Chronicles (1982) he played Bunce.

Later life[edit]

Following his wife's death in 1977, he married the much younger actress Lizann Rodger. They had two children.[3] He continued to take part in numerous plays, particularly Shakespeare, in the theatre and for television. In 1982 he took the part of the narrator and the voice of the urSkeks in the puppet film The Dark Crystal.[8]

In the 1990s he appeared in several cinema productions. A highlight was the role of J. C. Sullivan in The Forbidden Quest (1993), directed by Peter Delpeut, which gave O'Conor a role as a polar survivor.[5] His subsequent work included the Bishop of Oxford in the film of Tom & Viv (1994) and Mr. Nancarrow in The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998).[9]

Today he is remembered chiefly by younger viewers for his appearance as Mr Brownlow in Oliver!

As well as his extensive work as an actor, he also directed, and wrote six plays. He died in London on 21 January 2001.[3]

Selected filmography[edit]

Writings[edit]

  • The Iron Harp, 1955 (published by Penguin in Three Irish Plays, 1959)
  • Inca, 1961 (play, published by Hutchinson, 1968)
  • The Tumble Stone, 1962
  • A Lion Trap, 1963 (historical adventure, based on the life of Sir Walter Raleigh, published Hutchinson 1969)
  • The Third Picture, 1964
  • The Heiress, 1971
  • King Canoodlum and the Great Horned Cheese (children's story, published BBC 1979)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Joseph O'Conor (1910–2001) - Find A Grave-gedenkplek".
  2. ^ Gilbert, Stephen (26 January 2001). "Obituary: Joseph O'Conor" – via www.theguardian.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Alan Strachan, Obituary[dead link], The Independent, 2 February 2001
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Joseph O'Conor Biography (1916-)". www.filmreference.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e Stephen Gilbert, Obituary, The Guardian, 25 January 2001
  6. ^ "York Mystery Plays Archive". Archived from the original on 30 April 2009.
  7. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Forsyte Saga, The (1967) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  8. ^ "The Dark Crystal (1982)". BFI. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Joseph O'Conor". BFI. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joseph O'Conor.
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