Arthur Shields

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The birthplace of Arthur Shields and his brother Barry Fitzgerald in Dublin

Arthur Shields (born February 15, 1896 in Dublin , Ireland , † April 27, 1970 in Santa Barbara , California ) was an Irish actor.

life and career

Arthur Shields was born into an Irish Protestant family in Ireland, his older brother being Oscar-winning actor and Oscar winner Barry Fitzgerald . He followed his brother's example and entered the Abbey Theater - the famous Irish national theater - as a teenager in 1914 . Shields was an Irish freedom fighter and fought the Easter Rising in 1916. He was arrested for his activities and in a prison camp in Wales Merionethshire brought. His fellow prisoners included the Irish revolutionaries Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith. After his imprisonment, Shields returned to the Abbey Theater. After playing on Broadway in New York in 1918 and 1921 , Shields moved permanently to the United States in the early 1930s. During the 1930s, the character actor appeared on Broadway in numerous plays, some of which were not just an actor, but also a director and producer.

After Shields had previously played in a few British silent films, director John Ford brought him to Hollywood for the first time in 1936 for The Plow and the Stars . In The Plow and the Stars , he played alongside many other old friends from the Abbey Theater - including his brother Barry Fitzgerald, with whom he would later make several films - the role of the Irish freedom fighter Patrick Pearse , the leader of the Easter Rising. Shields was to make several films with John Ford, and he was Ford's assistant director for The Plow and the Stars . From the 1930s onwards, Shields turned regularly in Hollywood, where he often received smaller but high-profile supporting roles. Shields played members of the clergy more often than the average , although the role type of the versatile actor varied: while in Schlagende Wetter (1941) he played a fanatical village deacon who threatened his believers with hellfire; he embodied the good-hearted Reverend Playfair in Der Sieger (1952). From the 1950s onwards, Shields mainly worked for television.

His last film work was It began in Rome (1962), then he retired. He was married to Laurie Bailey until his death and they had two children. In 1970 he died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the age of 74 .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arthur Shields at Allmovie
  2. ↑ Arthur Shields at IBDB
personal data
SURNAME Shields, Arthur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish actor and younger brother of actor Barry Fitzgerald
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin , Ireland
DATE OF DEATH April 27, 1970
Place of death Santa Barbara (California)