Bonar Colleano (born Bonar Sullivan; 14 March 1924 – 17 August 1958) was an American-British stage and film actor based in the United Kingdom.

Biography

Early life

Colleano was born Bonar Sullivan in New York City. He had childhood experiences with the Ringling Brothers Circus and in his family's famous circus. He moved to the United Kingdom when he was 12 so his family could appear at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

. He spent several years performing in

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

s. When war broke out in 1939, he began entertaining troops in Britain and was not called up for either nation's military forces. In 1941 he was in a revue ''Piccadixie''.

Film career

Colleano's first important role came with the popular wartime drama '' The Way to the Stars'' (also known as ''Johnny in the Clouds'', 1945), playing an American airman. He played American servicemen in '' Wanted for Murder'' (1946), '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946), and ''

While the Sun Shines ''While the Sun Shines'' is a 1947 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Barbara White, Ronald Squire, Brenda Bruce, Bonar Colleano, and Michael Allan. It was based on Terence Rattigan's 1943 play of the same name. P ...

'' (1947). Colleano played an Italian in '' One Night with You'' (1948), and was in '' Good-Time Girl'' (1948) and '' Sleeping Car to Trieste'' (1948) and "

Broken Journey ''Broken Journey'' (also known as ''Rescue'') is a 1948 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and featuring Phyllis Calvert, James Donald, Margot Grahame, Raymond Huntley and Guy Rolfe. It was written by Robert Westerby. Passengers a ...

" (1948). He worked regularly in radio, appearing in a revue ''Navy Mixture'', and had a lead part in ''

Once a Jolly Swagman ''Once a Jolly Swagman'' (U.S. title: ''Maniacs on Wheels'') is a 1949 British film starring Dirk Bogarde, Bonar Colleano, Bill Owen, Thora Hird and Sid James. It was written by William Rose and Jack Lee, based on the 1944 novel of the sa ...

'' (1949).

Leading roles

Colleano's reputation shot up when cast in the role of

Stanley Kowalski Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play '' A Streetcar Named Desire''. In the play Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella ( DuBois), and is employe ...

in the original English stage production of ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'' (1949) at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

, London, directed by

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

and co-starring

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

. His film parts got better. '' Give Us This Day'' (1949) was set in the U.S. but shot in England. He was a romantic lead in ''

Dance Hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...

'' (1950). It led to lead roles in films starting with ''

Pool of London The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse. Part of the Tideway of the Thames, the Pool was navigable by tall-masted vessels bringing coastal and later overseas goods—the wharves there were t ...

'' (1951) and ''

A Tale of Five Cities ''A Tale of Five Cities'' ( and released as ''A Tale of Five Women'' in the US) is a 1951 British-Italian international co-production comedy drama film directed by Romolo Marcellini, Emil E. Reinert, Wolfgang Staudte, Montgomery Tully, Irma ...

'' (1952). The latter enabled him to display some of his circus skills. He went to the US and starred in a Hollywood production,

Stanley Kramer Stanley Earl Kramer (September 29, 1913February 19, 2001) was an American film director and producer, responsible for making many of Hollywood's most famous " message films" (he called his movies ''heavy dramas'') and a liberal movie icon.

's '' Eight Iron Men'' (1952).Over There Horton, Robert. Film Comment; New York Vol. 54, Iss. 5, (Sep/Oct 2018): 18-19. He went back to Britain to play the lead in '' Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?'' (1953), a comedy with

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a Bombshell (slang), blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van ...

, and in '' Escape by Night'' (1953).

Support parts

Colleano had another Hollywood role, a support, in '' Flame and the Flesh'' (1954), shot in England and Italy. He went back to support parts in British films with ''

Time Is My Enemy ''Time Is My Enemy'' is a 1954 British crime film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Dennis Price, Renée Asherson and Patrick Barr. Plot Small-time crook Radley returns after a long absence to discover his wife Barbara has remarried, believi ...

'' (1954) and '' The Sea Shall Not Have Them'' (1955). Colleano had good support roles in the oddball

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

derivation '' Joe MacBeth'' (1955) and '' Stars in Your Eyes'' (1956).

Warwick Productions

Warwick Productions used him in '' Zarak'' (1956). They liked his work and kept him on for ''

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

'' (1957), '' Fire Down Below'' (1957), ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy thriller film and the twenty-fifth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series, and the fifth and final to star Daniel Craig as fictional British MI6 agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bon ...

'' (1958) and '' The Man Inside'' (1958). He was also in '' Death Over My Shoulder'' (1958).

Personal life

Colleano was from a well-known Australian circus family and was a nephew of Con Colleano, the first

tightrope walker Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

to perform a forward somersault on the wire. In 1946, he married actress Tamara Lees, but the couple divorced in 1951. His second wife was actress

Susan Shaw Susan Shaw (29 August 192927 November 1978; born Patricia Gwendoline Sloots) was an English actress. Early life Shaw was born Patricia Gwendoline Sloots on 29 August 1929 in West Norwood, London, to Edward John Sloots and Lillian Rose Lewis. S ...

, who descended into alcoholism after his death. Their son Mark Colleano is also an actor. In 1950, while living in the U.K., he fathered future Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh. Colleano was not married to McIntosh's mother.

Death

Colleano died in 1958 at the age of 34, when he crashed his sports car (a

Jaguar XK140 The Jaguar XK140 is a sports car manufactured by Jaguar Cars, Jaguar between 1954 and 1957 as the successor to the Jaguar XK120, XK120. Upgrades included more interior space, improved brakes, rack and pinion steering, increased suspension trav ...

) in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

shortly after leaving the

Queensway Tunnel The Queensway Tunnel ( signposted as the Birkenhead Tunnel or B'head Tunnel) is a road tunnel under the River Mersey, in the north west of England, between Liverpool and Birkenhead. Locally, it is often referred to as the "old tunnel", to disti ...

. He was driving back from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

's New Shakespeare Theatre, where he had been appearing in a stage production of ''

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' is a 1957 American satire (film and television), satirical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall, with Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams (actor), John Williams, Henry Jones (actor), Hen ...

''. His passenger, fellow actor and friend Michael Balfour, required 98 stitches, but eventually recovered.

Legacy

In the lyrics of Ian Dury and the Blockheads' 1979 song "

Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3 "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3" is a song and single by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, initially released as the single "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 / Common as Muck" on 27 July 1979, which reached number 3 in the UK singles chart the followin ...

", Colleano was included in the list of reasons to be cheerful.

Filmography

References

How a Star Gets in Trouble over Tax Author: By Daily Mail Reporter Date: Wednesday, May 21, 1958 Publication: Daily Mail (London, England) Issue: 19309 p 3

Citations

External links

* * * The Importance of Being Bonar https://web.archive.org/web/20080407000529/http://www.november3rdclub.com/08-07/nonfiction/williams.html * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colleano, Bonar 1924 births 1958 deaths American male film actors American male stage actors Male actors from New York City Road incident deaths in England American people of Australian descent American emigrants to England American music hall performers 20th-century American male actors