Thursday 10 March 2011

TP McKENNA - A BIOGRAPHY

(Biography adapted from obituary in the The Times)

TP McKenna was a prolific and versattile character actor who performed regularly on stage, film and television for 50 years.  One of the most gifted of Irish actors of his generation to make his career in England, he made his stage debut at the tiny Pike Theatre in Dublin in 1953 as John Buchanan in Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke before successfully branching out into film appearing alongside everyone from Richard Burton (in Anne of the Thousand Days, 1969) and Dustin Hoffman (Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs 1971) to Johnny Depp (The Libertine 2004).

Few Irish actors were to become as qualified as McKenna to play all the leading character parts, from Shaw and Shakespeare to Ibsen and Chekov.  He was undoubtedly one of Ireland's most accomplished Joycean actors with a reputation in classical Irish drama from Synge to O'Casey.

Love Story: Give My Love
to the Pilchards ATV (1965)
McKenna, though, was not content to master only the stage.  In the 1960s he appearedin a variety of popular television dramas including The Avengers, Dangerman, The Saint  and Adam Adamant.  In the following decades he was in a host of television staples such as The Sweeney, Minder, Blakes 7, Casualty, Doctor Who, Lovejoy and Inspector Morse.

McKenna's lengthy filmography ranges from his earliest appearances in three 1959 films, Broth of a Boy, Home is the Hero and Shake Hands with the Devil  to The Girl with Green Eyes (1964), Ulysses (1967), Charge of the Light Brigade (1968),  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977), Britannia Hopsital (1982) and The Libertine.
Holocaust (1978)
He had an early, uncredited role in the IRA-Nazi drama A Terrible Beauty (1961) but despite a common mis-conception went on to appear only twice as a Nazi on film - as an SS commander in the US mini-series Holocaust  (with Meryl Streep) and when he played Himmler in the TV movie Scarlet and the Black, alongside Gregory Peck, Christopher Plummer and John Gielgud in 1983.

Thomas Patrick McKenna was born at Mullagh, Co.Cavan, Ireland, in 1929 and educated at Mullagh School and St.Patrick's College, Cavan, where he performed in several Gilbert & Sullivan operas.  After leaving school he joined the Ulster Bank in Grannard, Co.Longford, and worked in banking for the next five years.  However, he remained set on becoming an actor and left to train for the stage at the Abbey School of Acting in Dublin.


Early Portrait
After his stage debut at the Pike,  McKenna played a season at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, with Anew McMaster's Shakespearean company, before spending eight years at the old Abbey in Dublin, the oldest national theatre in the British Isles where he played at least a hundred roles, including Jamie, his favourite role, in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey in Night (1962).

The play that brought him to London was Stephen D.  This was an adaptation by Hugh Leonard from James Joyce's autobiographical novels.  It tranferred to the West End from the Dublin theatre festival.  McKenna played Cranly, the argumentative student friend of Stephen Dedalus (Norman Rodway).  It moved to the St.Martin's in 1963 from the Dublin Gate.

McKenna stayed on when the London run ended and soon found work as the Irishman O'Keefe in J.P.Donleavy's The Ginger Man (Ashcroft, Croydon).  Then he went to the Royal Court Theatre in Lindsay Anderson's revival of Julius Caesar (1964);  the next year he took over as the Burglar in Shaw's Too Good to be True (Garrick).

Summoned back to Dublin for the reopening of the Abbey Theatre in 1966 he played in Recall the Years.  He was proud to be listed as one of the Abbey's honorary life members.  He went on to play George in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  and Ned in Eugene McCabe's play, Breakdown, at the subsequent Dublin theatre festival.  McKenna won the Dublin Evening Herald award as the year's best actor.

Nottingham Playhouse, 1967
Returning to England in 1968 he joined Stuart Burge at Nottingham Playhouse.  In a revival of King John, the usually disdained, dark play by Shakespeare, McKenna played with fine understanding Philip Faulconbridge, bastard son of Richard I, and was a powerful presence on the stage.

Jonathan Miller's thoughful revival of The School for Scandal  brought another lively performance by McKenna as Joseph Surface, and a compelling Tirgorin in Chekov's The Seagull.  He was a good Macduff to Barry Foster's Macbeath, and his debut as director of The Playboy of the Western World was, according to The Times, "better than the Abbey's own recent version".

The Contractor (1969/70)
Royal Court Theatre/Fortune London
Back at the Royal Court in 1969 McKenna played Fitzpatrick, a bitter-sweet Irishman, in David Storey's The Contractor, which moved into West End at the Fortune.  For the 1971-72 season he joined the RSC at the Aldwych.  He played Robert Hands in James Joyce's Exiles  and the Bishop in Genet's The Balcony.

In 1973 he spent some time in Dublin:  after Andrew Wyke in Anthony Shaffer's thriller, Sleuth, he directed Thomas Kilroy's The Death and Resurrection of Mr.Roche at the new Abbey Theatre.  In 1975 he played at Watford Palace in Don Taylor's Out on the Lawn  before rejoining the RSC as the Preacher in Shaw's The Devil's Disciple  (Aldwych).  Returning to Dublin in the mid-1970s as Captain Boyle in O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock, McKenna went on to play five parts in The Golden Cradle, taken from five plays by the Abbey Theatre.

Molly Sweeney (1994)
In the 1980s his parts included Gregers Werle in Ibsen's The Wild Duck (Guildford) and the Doctor in Chekov's The Seagull (Royal Court), as well as roles in Stewart Parker's Nightshade (Dulin theatre festival), Brian Friel's The Communication Cord (Hampseatd Theatre), Mary O'Malley's Talk of the Devil  (Watford), Ibsen's A Doll's House (Haymarket, Leicester), and the title role in Uncle Vanya  (Gate, Dublin).  He also directed O'Casey's Shadow of a Gunman  (Crucible, Sheffield).  In the 1990s his roles included Francisco in Webster's The White Devil  (National Theatre, London) and Gaev in The Cherry Orchard (Gate, Dublin, 1992);  he also appeared in Friel's Molly Sweeney (Gate & Almeida 1994).  In 2005, in a Chekhovian revival by Tom Cairns at the Lyttelton of Friel's 1979 play, Aristocrats, McKenna played - in a brief, doddering appearance - the father of five blighted children.

TP at the Gate Theatre, Dublin
McKenna appeared in The Avengers three times in the Sixties, alongside Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg and Linda Thornson.  He was also conspicuous in The Duchess of Malfi (1972), The Changeling (1974), To the Lighthouse (1982) and Bleak House (1985).  His later television appearances included Heartbeat (1992) and Ballykissangel (1996).

McKenna was married to May White, who predeceased him.  He is survived by four sons and a daughter.

T.P. McKenna, actor, was born on September 7, 1929.  He died on February 13, 2011, aged 81  

   

IMDB LIST OF FILM/TV CREDITS

Sourced from 'IMDB.COM'.  Cedits appear in reverse chronology in the order of production, transmission/release date and role.

1.Death's Door (2009/I) [Actor .... Old Man]
2."Fair City: Fair City Civil Action Story: Part 4 (#16.48)" (2004) TV Episode [Actor .... Tom Mitchell]
3."Fair City: Fair City Civil Action Story: Part 3 (#16.47)" (2004) TV Episode [Actor .... Tom Mitchell]
4.Raphael: A Mortal God (2004) (TV) [Actor .... Pope Julius II]
5.The Libertine (2004) [Actor .... Black Rod] (as TP McKenna)
6."Waking the Dead: Anger Management: Part 1 (#4.7)" (2004) TV Episode [Actor .... Phil Brown]
7.The Boys from County Clare (2003) [Actor .... The Announcer] (as TP McKenna)
... aka "The Boys & Girl from County Clare" - USA
8."Rockface: Episode #2.8" (2003) TV Episode [Actor .... Liam]
9."Any Time Now: Episode #1.1" (2002) TV Episode [Actor .... Arthur Moggin]
10."The Bill: The Jury's Out (#17.44)" (2001) TV Episode [Actor .... Judge Hugh Alexander]
11."Ballykissangel: Smoke Signals (#6.8)" (2001) TV Episode [Actor .... Bishop Goldberg]
12."Inspector Morse: The Remorseful Day (#12.1)" (2000) TV Episode [Actor .... Professor Sir Lionel Phelps]
13.Monarch (2000) [Actor .... Henry]
14.Longitude (2000) (TV) [Actor .... Edmund Burke]
15."DDU: Unforgiven: Part 2 (#1.2)" (1999) TV Episode [Actor .... Dr. Noonan]
16."DDU: Unforgiven: Part 1 (#1.1)" (1999) TV Episode [Actor .... Dr. Noonan]
17.Dear Boy: The Story of Michael Mac Liammoir (1999) (TV) [Actor .... Narrator]
18.The American (1998) (TV) [Actor .... Marquis de Bellegarde]
19."Kings in Grass Castles" (1998) TV mini-series [Actor .... Lord Dunraven]
20."The Ambassador: Pilot (#1.1)" (1998) TV Episode [Actor .... Taoiseach Healy]
21."Casualty: Out of Control (#12.14)" (1997) TV Episode [Actor .... Dr. Archie Whitlock]
22."Testament: The Bible in Animation: Abraham (#1.6)" (1996) TV Episode [Actor .... God] (voice)
23."Kavanagh QC: A Stranger in the Family (#2.5)" (1996) TV Episode [Actor .... George Crosby QC]
24."The Chief: Episode #4.8" (1994) TV Episode [Actor .... Colin Fowler]
25."The Chief: Episode #4.3" (1994) TV Episode [Actor .... Colin Fowler]
26."The Chief: Episode #4.2" (1994) TV Episode [Actor .... Colin Fowler]
27."Kurtulus" (1994) TV mini-series [Actor .... Lloyd George, P.M. of England]
28."The Scarlet and the Black" (1993) TV mini-series [Actor .... Marquis de la Mole]
29."Heartbeat: Going Home (#3.4)" (1993) TV Episode [Actor .... Michael O'Leary]
30."The Chief: Episode #3.6" (1993) TV Episode [Actor .... Colin Fowler]
31."The Chief: Episode #3.2" (1993) TV Episode [Actor .... Colin Fowler]
32."The Chief: Episode #3.1" (1993) TV Episode [Actor .... Colin Fowler]
33."Lovejoy: Irish Stew (#4.10)" (1993) TV Episode [Actor .... Bertram Montague Montserrat]
34."Casualty: Silent Night (#7.15)" (1992) TV Episode [Actor .... Arthur Jackson]
35."Screen Two: The Law Lord (#8.10)" (1992) TV Episode [Actor .... Judge Selwyn]
36."Rumpole of the Bailey: Rumpole a la Carte (#6.1)" (1991) TV Episode [Actor .... Jean Pierre O'Higgins]
37."Screenplay: Events at Drimaghleen (#6.3)" (1991) TV Episode [Actor]
38."The Chief: Episode #2.4" (1991) TV Episode [Actor .... Colin Fowler]
39."The Chief: Episode #2.3" (1991) TV Episode [Actor .... Colin Fowler]
40."The Chief: Episode #2.2" (1991) TV Episode [Actor .... Colin Fowler]
41."Parnell & the Englishwoman" (1991) TV mini-series [Actor .... Justin McCarthy]
42.Shoot to Kill (1990) (TV) [Actor .... Sir John Hermon]
43.A Caribbean Mystery (1989) (TV) [Actor .... Dr. Grahame] (as T. P. McKenna: in opening credits)
44.Valmont (1989) [Actor .... Baron]
45."Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: Part 4 (#25.14)" (1989) TV Episode [Actor .... Captain Cook]
46."Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: Part 3 (#25.13)" (1988) TV Episode [Actor .... Captain Cook]
47."Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: Part 2 (#25.12)" (1988) TV Episode [Actor .... Captain Cook]
48."Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: Part 1 (#25.11)" (1988) TV Episode [Actor .... Captain Cook]
49.Red Scorpion (1988) [Actor .... General Vortek]
... aka "Red Exterminator" - Philippines (English title)
50.Jack the Ripper (1988) (TV) [Actor .... O'Connor]
51.Pascali's Island (1988) [Actor .... Dr. Hogan]
52."The Modern World: Ten Great Writers: James Joyce's 'Ulysses' (#1.1)" (1988) TV Episode [Actor .... Citizen]
53."All in Good Faith" (1985) TV series [Actor .... Oscar Randolph (1987)]
54."Boon: Northwest Passage to Acock's Green (#1.7)" (1986) TV Episode [Actor .... Erroll McLaverty]
55.Strong Medicine (1986) (TV) [Actor .... Dr. Sweeting]
56.The Christmas Tree (1986) (TV) [Actor .... Bill]
57.Behind Enemy Lines (1985) (TV) [Actor .... Sir James Dorsett]
58.The Doctor and the Devils (1985) [Actor .... O'Connor]
59.My Brother Jonathan (1985) (TV) [Actor .... Lloyd Moore]
60.Honour, Profit & Pleasure (1985) (TV) [Actor]
61."C.A.T.S. Eyes: Fingers (#1.11)" (1985) TV Episode [Actor .... Billy Truscott]
62."Bleak House: Episode #1.5" (1985) TV Episode [Actor .... Harold Skimpole]
63."Bleak House: Episode #1.3" (1985) TV Episode [Actor .... Harold Skimpole]
64."Bleak House: Episode #1.2" (1985) TV Episode [Actor .... Harold Skimpole]
65."Bleak House: Episode #1.1" (1985) TV Episode [Actor .... Harold Skimpole]
66.Memed My Hawk (1984) [Actor .... Dursan]
67."Play for Today: Moving on the Edge (#14.5)" (1984) TV Episode [Actor .... Liam]
68."Minder: Sorry Pal, Wrong Number (#4.4)" (1984) TV Episode [Actor .... J.J. Mooney]
69."Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime: The Ambassador's Boots (#1.6)" (1983) TV Episode [Actor .... Randolph Wilmot]
70."Sweet Sixteen: Episode #1.5" (1983) TV Episode [Actor .... Mr. Houston]
71.To the Lighthouse (1983) (TV) [Actor .... Augustus Carmichael]
72.The Scarlet and the Black (1983) (TV) [Actor .... Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler]
73.Brian Friel and Field Day (1983) [Writer] (narration)
74.Britannia Hospital (1982) [Actor .... Theatre Surgeon]
75."The Brack Report: Chapter 3 (#1.3)" (1982) TV Episode [Actor .... Frank Clements]
76."Play for Tomorrow: Crimes (#1.1)" (1982) TV Episode [Actor .... Melvyn]
77."Crown Court: Ignorance in the Field: Part 1 (#11.7)" (1982) TV Episode [Actor .... Patrick Canty QC]
78."Nancy Astor" (1982) TV mini-series [Actor .... Lord Curzon]
... aka "Masterpiece Theatre: Nancy Astor" - USA
79."The Manions of America" (1981) TV mini-series [Actor .... Harry Clement]
80."Goodbye Darling: Barbara (#1.5)" (1981) TV Episode [Actor .... Jack]
81."BBC2 Playhouse: Random Moments in a May Garden (#7.26)" (1981) TV Episode [Actor]
82."Levkas Man" (1981) TV series [Actor]
83."Play for Today: Pasmore (#11.1)" (1980) TV Episode [Actor .... Helen's husband]
84."Ladykillers: Not for the Nervous (#1.2)" (1980) TV Episode [Actor .... Sir Hardinge Gifford Q.C.]
... aka "Lady Killers: Not for the Nervous (#1.2)" - UK (original title)
85.Silver Dream Racer (1980) [Actor .... Bank Manager]
86.The Outsider (1980) [Actor .... John Russell]
87.Deasey (1979) (TV) [Actor]
88."Premiere: Deasey (#3.3)" (1979) TV Episode [Actor .... F.G.]
89."The Onedin Line: Homeward Bound (#7.10)" (1979) TV Episode [Actor]
90."The Onedin Line: Outward Bound (#7.9)" (1979) TV Episode [Actor]
91."Strangers: Marriages, Deaths and Births (#2.5)" (1979) TV Episode [Actor .... Chief Constable]
92.Exposure (1978) [Actor .... Dan]
93.A Child's Voice (1978) [Actor .... Ainsley Rupert Macreadie]
94."ITV Playhouse: Forty Weeks (#10.11)" (1978) TV Episode [Actor .... Dr. Murphy]
95."Holocaust: Part 4 (#1.4)" (1978) TV Episode [Actor .... Blobel]
96."Holocaust: Part 3 (#1.3)" (1978) TV Episode [Actor .... Blobel]
97."Holocaust: Part 2 (#1.2)" (1978) TV Episode [Actor .... Blobel]
98."Blakes 7: Bounty (#1.11)" (1978) TV Episode [Actor .... Sarkoff]
99."Crown Court: White Lies: Part 3 (#7.12)" (1978) TV Episode [Actor .... Patrick Canty]
100."Crown Court: White Lies: Part 2 (#7.11)" (1978) TV Episode [Actor .... Patrick Canty]
101."Crown Court: White Lies: Part 1 (#7.10)" (1978) TV Episode [Actor .... Patrick Canty]
102."Target: Lady Luck (#1.6)" (1977) TV Episode [Actor .... Ruby Daniels]
103."The Duchess of Duke Street: The Passing Show (#2.5)" (1977) TV Episode [Actor .... Sir Martin Mallory]
104.A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977) [Actor .... Simon Dedalus]
105."ITV Playhouse: Love-Lies-Bleeding (#9.12)" (1977) TV Episode [Actor .... Geoffrey]
106."The Mackinnons: Working Weekend (#1.5)" (1977) TV Episode [Actor .... Sir William]
107."Fathers and Families: Ancient Scars (#1.4)" (1977) TV Episode [Actor .... Charles Matthews]
108."Fathers and Families: Nothing to Lose (#1.1)" (1977) TV Episode [Actor .... Charles Matthews]
109."Beasts: Baby (#1.4)" (1976) TV Episode [Actor .... Dick Pummery]
110."BBC2 Playhouse: The Mind Beyond: Stones (#4.5)" (1976) TV Episode [Actor .... Harvey Fenton-Jones]
111."Thriller: The Next Victim (#6.2)" (1976) TV Episode [Actor .... Frampton]
112."Crown Court: The Jolly Swagmen: Part 1 (#5.42)" (1976) TV Episode [Actor .... Patrick Canty]
113."Crown Court: Scared: Part 1 (#5.21)" (1976) TV Episode [Actor .... Patrick Canty]
114."Wide World Mystery: The Next Victim" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Frampton]
115."Quiller: Sacrifice to Survival (#1.4)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Buchanan]
116."Crown Court: The Natural Bond (#4.67)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Patrick Canty]
117."Looking for Clancy" (1975) TV series [Actor .... Marcus Selby]
118."Crown Court: The Obsession: Part 1 (#4.57)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Patrick Canty]
119."Crown Court: Light the Blue Touch-Paper: Part 1 (#4.51)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Patrick Canty]
120."Churchill's People: The Whip of Heaven (#1.13)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Dr. Layton]
121."The Sweeney: Night Out (#1.6)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Det. Supt. Grant]
122."Rooms: Peter: Part 2 (#1.25)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Peter]
123.All Creatures Great and Small (1975) (TV) [Actor .... Soames]
124."Hallmark Hall of Fame: All Creatures Great and Small (#24.3)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Soames]
125."Rooms: Peter: Part 1 (#1.24)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Peter]
126."The Venturers: The Rich Lunch (#1.3)" (1975) TV Episode [Actor .... Harry Donlan]
127."Father Brown: The Dagger with Wings (#1.7)" (1974) TV Episode [Actor .... Inspector Boyne]
128."Crown Court: Immoral Earnings: Part 2 (#3.131)" (1974) TV Episode [Actor .... Paul Napier]
129."Crown Court: Immoral Earnings: Part 1 (#3.130)" (1974) TV Episode [Actor .... Paul Napier]
130.Percy's Progress (1974) [Actor .... London News Editor]
... aka "It's Not the Size That Counts" - USA
131."Comedy Playhouse: Pygmalion Smith (#14.10)" (1974) TV Episode [Actor .... Brewster]
132."Fall of Eagles: Indian Summer of an Emperor (#1.10)" (1974) TV Episode [Actor .... Count Conrad von Hotzendorf]
133."Napoleon and Love: Pauline (#1.3)" (1974) TV Episode [Actor .... Barras]
134."Napoleon and Love: Josephine (#1.2)" (1974) TV Episode [Actor .... Barras]
135."Napoleon and Love: Rose (#1.1)" (1974) TV Episode [Actor .... Barras]
136."BBC Play of the Month: The Changeling (#9.5)" (1974) TV Episode [Actor .... Tomazo de Piracquo]
137.Fixation (1973) (TV) [Actor .... William Hughes]
138."Crown Court: Hit and Miss: Part 1 (#2.124)" (1973) TV Episode [Actor .... Henry Burnett]
139."Omnibus: The British Hero" (1973) TV Episode [Actor .... Narrator]
140."Thriller: Lady Killer (#1.1)" (1973) TV Episode [Actor .... Jack Hardisty]
141."Justice: Conspiracy (#2.1)" (1973) TV Episode [Actor .... Supt. Lester]
142.The Duchess of Malfi (1972) (TV) [Actor .... Cardinal]
143."Callan: The Richmond File: A Man Like Me (#4.13)" (1972) TV Episode [Actor .... Richmond]
144."Callan: The Richmond File: Do You Recognise the Woman? (#4.12)" (1972) TV Episode [Actor .... Richmond]
145."Callan: The Richmond File: Call Me Enemy (#4.11)" (1972) TV Episode [Actor .... Richmond]
146."Jason King: A Thin Band of Air (#1.18)" (1972) TV Episode [Actor .... Rene Chenard]
147."Callan: That'll Be the Day (#4.1)" (1972) TV Episode [Actor .... Richmond]
148.Straw Dogs (1971) [Actor .... Major John Scott]
... aka "Strawdogs" - USA (review title)
149."BBC Play of the Month: Rasputin (#7.2)" (1971) TV Episode [Actor .... Kommissarov]
150.Villain (1971) [Actor .... Frank Fletcher]
151.Percy (1971) [Actor .... Meet the People Compere]
152.Perfect Friday (1970) [Actor .... Smith] (as T.P.McKenna)
153.Dio è con noi (1970) [Actor]
... aka "5th Day of Peace" - USA (DVD title)
... aka "The Fifth Day of Peace" - USA
154.The Beast in the Cellar (1970) [Actor .... Supt. Paddick]
155."BBC Play of the Month: The Rivals (#5.8)" (1970) TV Episode [Actor .... Sir Lucius O'Trigger]
156."Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased): Money to Burn (#1.20)" (1970) TV Episode [Actor .... Kevin O'Malley] (voice) (uncredited)
157."Manhunt: Break-up (#1.2)" (1970) TV Episode [Actor .... Louis Sampere]
158.Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) [Actor .... Norris]
159."The Wednesday Play: Blood of the Lamb (#1.155)" (1969) TV Episode [Actor .... Joe Katz]
160."Dr. Finlay's Casebook: Action, Dr. Cameron (#7.22)" (1969) TV Episode [Actor .... Eric Lauder]
161."The Avengers: Noon-Doomsday (#7.10)" (1968) TV Episode [Actor .... Norman Grant]
162."The Saint: Legacy for the Saint (#6.3)" (1968) TV Episode [Actor .... Tony]
163."Love Story: A Man Alone (#6.4)" (1968) TV Episode [Actor .... Ernest]
164."Detective: Born Victim (#2.8)" (1968) TV Episode [Actor .... Detective Wilks]
165."Love Story: The Egg on the Face of the Tiger (#6.1)" (1968) TV Episode [Actor .... Timothy Driscoll]
166.The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) [Actor .... William Russel]
167."Man in a Suitcase: Day of Execution (#1.3)" (1967) TV Episode [Actor .... Peter]
168."The Fellows: No Cage for This Bird (#1.10)" (1967) TV Episode [Actor .... Drag Anglem]
169."Armchair Theatre: Quite an Ordinary Knife (#8.3)" (1967) TV Episode [Actor]
170."Theatre 625: The Winner (#4.19)" (1967) TV Episode [Actor .... Jerry]
171."Adam Adamant Lives!: A Sinister Sort of Service (#2.13)" (1967) TV Episode [Actor .... Jason Lang]
172."The Wednesday Play: A Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocer's Assistant (#1.87)" (1967) TV Episode [Actor .... John Joe Moran]
173.Ulysses (1967) [Actor .... Buck Mulligan]
174."The Saint: The Angel's Eye (#5.7)" (1966) TV Episode [Actor .... Malone]
175."The Troubleshooters: This Is Where I Came In (#2.5)" (1966) TV Episode [Actor .... Geoffrey Arles]
176."Danger Man: To Our Best Friend (#2.11)" (1965) TV Episode [Actor .... Ivan]
177."The Avengers: Death at Bargain Prices (#4.4)" (1965) TV Episode [Actor .... Major Robert Wentworth]
178."Love Story: Give My Love to the Pilchards (#3.9)" (1965) TV Episode [Actor .... Pat]
179."Love Story: Toccota for Toy Trumpet (#3.4)" (1965) TV Episode [Actor .... Stevie Ellis]
180.Deirdre (1965) (TV) [Actor .... Naoise]
181.Young Cassidy (1965) [Actor .... Tom]
182.Ferry Cross the Mersey (1965) [Actor .... Jack Hanson]
183."No Hiding Place: The Link (#7.2)" (1965) TV Episode [Actor .... Dave Allen]
184."Dixon of Dock Green: Edward the Confessor (#11.17)" (1965) TV Episode [Actor .... Edward Palmer]
185."Thursday Theatre: Write Me a Murder (#1.5)" (1964) TV Episode [Actor .... Charles Sturrock]
186."Love Story: A Word in Season (#2.15)" (1964) TV Episode [Actor]
187.Girl with Green Eyes (1964) [Actor .... The Priest]
188."Dr. Finlay's Casebook: Mortal Sin (#2.32)" (1964) TV Episode [Actor .... Father O'Brien]
189."The Avengers: Trojan Horse (#3.20)" (1964) TV Episode [Actor .... Tony Heuston]
190.Downfall (1964) [Actor .... Martin Somers]
191."The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre: Downfall (#5.4)" (1964) TV Episode [Actor .... Martin Somers]
192."Espionage: He Rises on Sunday and We on Monday (#1.5)" (1963) TV Episode [Actor .... Tom Gorman]
193."First Night: The Strain (#1.1)" (1963) TV Episode [Actor .... Jack Christie]
194.The Quare Fellow (1962) [Actor .... Walsh]
... aka "The Condemned Man" - International (English title) (literal title)
195.Johnny Nobody (1961) [Actor .... Garda (policeman)]
196.Freedom to Die (1961) [Actor .... Mike]
197.Das schwarze Schaf (1960) [Actor]
198.The Siege of Sidney Street (1960) [Actor .... Lapidos]
199.A Terrible Beauty (1960) [Actor .... A McIntyre Boy] (uncredited)
... aka "The Night Fighters" - USA
200.Shake Hands with the Devil (1959) [Actor .... Unknown] (uncredited)
201.Home Is the Hero (1959) [Actor .... Young Man at Dance]
202.Broth of a Boy (1959) [Actor .... Holmes]
... aka "The Big Birthday" - Ireland (English title)


END

ABBEY THEATRE CREDITS (1953-62)


Credits appear in chronological sequence in the order of:-

Role
Play
Author
First Performance

---------------------------------------------
An Ceann Comhairle
Blaithin Agus An Mac Ri
Unknown
26 December 1953



Maistir an tSaircis
Sonia Agus An Bodach
Padraig O Siochfhradha
21 December 1954



Comhairleoiri eile
An Coimisinear
Tomas O Suilleabhain
17 March 1955



Mortimer Clyne
The Glorious Uncertainty
Brinsley Mac Namara
29 March 1955



Lieut. Langon
The Plough and the Stars
Sean O'Casey
25 April 1955



Na Comharsan
An Posadh
Douglas Hyde
09 May 1955



Oliver Lexington
Blood Is Thicker Than Water
John McCann
25 July 1955



Na Comharsan
An Posadh
Douglas Hyde
08 August 1955

Kieron White
The Will and the Way
Michael J Molloy
05 September 1955



Colonel Blake
Peter
Rutherford Mayne
10 October 1955



Tomas
An tabhairne Saoirse
Risteard De Paor
05 November 1955



Sincope
Ulysses Agus Penelope
Eoghan O Tuairisc
26 December 1955

Sean Scully
The Big Birthday
Hugh Leonard
23 January 1956



Neighbours
Judgement On James O'Neill
Francis Mc Manus
20 February 1956



Jurymen
The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet
George Bernard Shaw
20 February 1956



An American
Is The Priest At Home
Joseph Tomelty
05 March 1956



Crowd
This Other Eden
Louis Lynch D' Alton
31 March 1956



Frankie O'Carolan
Twenty Years A-Wooing
John McCann
30 April 1956



Johnny Boyle
Juno and the Paycock
Sean O'Casey
14 May 1956



Willie Shanahan
Early and Often
John McCann
16 July 1956



Pol
Iomrall Aithne
Gearoid Mac An Bhua
13 August 1956



John George Smyly
Strange Occurance on Ireland's Eye
Denis Johnston
20 August 1956

The Embezzler
The Quare Fellow
Brendan Behan
08 October 1956

Sir John Fitzwilliam
Gunna Cam agus Slabhra
Sean O'Tuama Oir
21 October 1956



The Red Man
Winter Wedding
Tomas Mac Anna
26 November 1956



Alfred Wilson
A Leap in the Dark
Hugh Leonard
21 January 1957



Sergeant Peter Clarke
Waiting Night
P. S. Laughlin
25 February 1957



Maois
Cead Feadha Sios
Labhras Mac Bradaigh
18 March 1957



Percy Mooney
The Less We Are Together
John O Donovan
22 July 1957

Sean Scully
The Big Birthday
Hugh Leonard
09 September 1957



Rogerigo Callanan
Never the Time and the Place
Lennox Robinson
21 October 1957


Very Rev. Cornelius
The Wanton Tide
Niall Carroll
21 October 1957



Professor Tim
Professor Tim
George Shiels
04 November 1957



Frankie O'Carolan
Give Me A Bed Of Roses
John McCann
25 November 1957



Ruairi
Muireann Agus an Prionnsa
Unknown
26 December 1957



Turloc O'Connor
Look In The Looking-Glass
Walter Macken
10 March 1958



Tommy Mims
Crabbed Youth and Age
Lennox Robinson
28 April 1958

Guard Crowley
Seven Men And A Dog
Niall Sheridan
28 April 1958



Capt. Anthony Palliser
The Scythe and the Sunset
Denis Johnston
19 May 1958

Lucas Barnaby
A Change of Mind
John O Donovan
04 August 1958

Bob Fitzpatrick
The Risen People
James Plunkett
23 September 1958



Paddy Beirne
A Right Rose Tree
Michael J. Molloy
27 October 1958



Oisin Mac Fhinn
Oisin I dTir Na nOg
Liam O Ceallaigh
26 December 1958



George Kinsella
I Know Where I'm Going
John McCann
26 January 1959



James Tyrone Jr.
Long Day's Journey into Night
Eugene O Neill
28 April 1959

Others
Stranger, Beware
Thomas Coffey
17 August 1959

Erskine Craig
Danger, Men Working
J. D. Stewart
19 October 1959



Lieut. Murphy, M.D.
No Man is An Island
Peter Hutchinson
09 November 1959



Seanie Simmons
In Dublin's Fair City
Criostoir O'Floinn
30 November 1959


Tom Fennelly
It Can't Go On Forever
John McCann
01 February 1960

Philip Mannion
The Money Doesn't Matter
Louis Lynch D' Alton
23 May 1960



Tony O' Shea
Anyone Could Rob A Bank
Thomas Coffey
01 August 1960


Fr. "O Priest" McHugh
The Song of the Anvil
Bryan Mac Mahon
12 September 1960

Sean Barry
The Deputy's Daughter
Anthony Butler
14 November 1960



Aonghus
An Sciath Draiochta
Tomas Mac Anna
26 December 1960



Sergeant Bornican
The Evidence I Shall Give
Richard Johnson
30 January 1961

Gerry O'Neill
All The King's Horses
John Mc Donnell
20 March 1961



Frankie O'Carolan
Put a Beggar On Horseback
John McCann
10 April 1961

1st B Special
The Honey Spike Bryan
[Michael] Mac Mahon
22 May 1961



Dairyman
The Post Office
Rabindranath Tagore
27 May 1961



Harry
The Long Sorrow
Thomas Coffey
19 September 1961



Balor
Diarmuid Agus Balor
Aoin [Eoghan] O Tuairisc and Antoine
26 December 1961



Robert Emmet
A Light in the Sky
Donal Giltinan
27 February 1962



Finn Thompson
In Tir-Na-nOg
Gerald Mac Namara
19 March 1962

Peter Murnaghan
They Got What They Wanted  
Louis Lynch D' Alton
09 April 1962



Aedh
The Enemy Within
Brian Friel
06 August 1962



Sammy Rosenberg
A Jew Called Sammy
John McCann
27 August 1962



James Tyrone Jr.
Long Day's Journey into Night
Eugene O Neill
24 September 1962


Orla
An Claoimh Soluis
Antoine de Buitleir
26 December 1962



END