Dan O'Herlihy

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Dan O'Herlihy (born May 1, 1919 in Wexford , County Wexford , † February 17, 2005 in Malibu , California ) was an Irish actor .

Life

Dan O'Herlihy originally studied architecture at the National University of Ireland and got into acting to earn his tuition. His first major success was the lead role of a young Protestant in Seán O'Casey's play Red Roses for Me . O'Herlihy was already a seasoned stage actor when he made his film debut in 1947. He played his second film role, directed by Carol Reed, in the political thriller Outcast . This portrayal drew Orson Welles' attention to O'Herlihy, who brought him to Hollywood and cast Macbeth as Macduff in his Shakespeare film adaptation . He then stayed in Hollywood, where he appeared frequently in coat-and-epee adventure films, among other things.

In 1955 he was nominated for the title role in Luis Buñuel's adaptation of the novel Robinson Crusoe for an Oscar in the category of Best Actor . This remained one of the few leading roles of the actor, who is mainly known as a busy supporting actor. He played roles as varied as an intellectual playwright in Douglas Sirk's melodrama As Long There Are People (1959) and a fanatical IRA leader in Dawn Riot (1960). In 1962 he played the title role in The Cabinet of Caligari , a rather unsuccessful US remake of the German film classic Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari . Another well-known role was that of Marshal Ney in Waterloo (1970) on the side of Rod Steiger . With Franklin D. Roosevelt he also embodied a historical figure in MacArthur - Hero of the Pacific (1977). As a company boss with sinister intentions, Dan O'Herlihy appeared in the science fiction films RoboCop (1987) and RoboCop 2 (1990).

In addition to his cinema career, the character actor has also been featured in television productions since the 1950s. He has guest roles on popular series such as Batman , Bonanza , Hawaii Five-Zero , Cobra, Take Over , Battlestar Galactica , Charlie's Angels , Murder Is Her Hobby, and Remington Steele . In David Lynch's cult television series Twin Peaks , he took over the character of Andrew Packard , the former owner of the sawmill, in six episodes in 1990 . His last role was in 1998 as Family Patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy in a television movie about the Rat Pack career .

O'Herlihy was the brother of film director Michael O'Herlihy and father of actor Gavan O'Herlihy . He died in February 2005 at the age of 85, leaving behind his wife Elsa, with whom he was married for 59 years, five children, ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ronald Bergan: Obituary: Dan O'Herlihy . In: The Guardian . February 21, 2005, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed August 29, 2019]).
  2. ^ Dan O'Herlihy | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved August 29, 2019 (American English).
  3. ↑ Ronald Bergan: Obituary: Dan O'Herlihy . In: The Guardian . February 21, 2005, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed August 29, 2019]).
personal data
SURNAME O'Herlihy, Dan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish actor
DATE OF BIRTH May 1, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH County Wexford , Ireland
DATE OF DEATH February 17, 2005
Place of death Malibu , California