Ray McAnally (30 March 1926 – 15 June 1989) was an Irish actor. He was the recipient of three

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

in the late 1980s: two BAFTA Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor (for ''The Mission'' in 1986 and ''My Left Foot'' in 1989), and a BAFTA Television Award for

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

for '' A Very British Coup'' in 1989. In 2020, he was ranked at number 34 on

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

's list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Background

Ray McAnally was born in Buncrana, a seaside town located on the

Inishowen Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland. The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringf ...

peninsula of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and brought up in the nearby town of

Moville Moville (; ) is a coastal town located on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, Ireland, close to the northern tip of the island of Ireland. It is the first coastal town of the Wild Atlantic Way when starting on the northern end. Location ...

from the age of three. The son of a bank manager, he was educated at St Eunan's College in Letterkenny where he wrote, produced and staged a musical called ''Madame Screwball'' at the age of 16. He entered

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick ...

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

at the age of 18 but left after a short time having decided that the priesthood was not his vocation. He joined the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

in 1947 where he met and married actress Ronnie Masterson.

Acting career

McAnally and Masterson later formed Old Quay Productions and presented an assortment of classic plays in the 1960s and 1970s. He made his West End theatre debut in 1962 with ''A Nice Bunch of Cheap Flowers'' and gave a well-received performance as George in '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'', opposite Constance Cummings, at the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...

. On television he was a familiar face, often in glossy thriller series like ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

'', '' Man in a Suitcase'' and ''

Strange Report ''Strange Report'' is a British television crime drama series starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969 on ITV In the United States, NBC broadcast ''Strange Report'' between 8 ...

''. In 1968 he took the title role in '' Spindoe'', a series charting the return to power of an English gangster, Alec Spindoe, after a five-year prison term. This was a spin-off from another series, '' The Fellows'' (1967) in which several episodes McAnally had appeared as the Spindoe character. He could render English accents very convincingly. McAnally regularly acted in the Abbey Theatre and at Irish festivals, but in the last decade of life he achieved award-winning notice on TV and films. His performance as Cardinal Altamirano in the film '' The Mission'' (1986) earned him

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

and BAFTA awards. He earned a BAFTA award nomination for his role in the BBC's ''

A Perfect Spy ''A Perfect Spy'' (1986) is a novel by British author John le Carré about the mental and moral dissolution of a high-level intelligence-officer. Major aspects of the novel are lifted from the real life of the author, including the relationsh ...

'' and the

ScreenPlay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, ...

drama ''

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

'' in 1988 for the 1987 BAFTA Awards. Then in 1989 he won the 1988 BAFTA for Best Actor for his performance in '' A Very British Coup'', a role that also brought him a Jacob's Award, and just three months before his sudden death. In the last year of his life he portrayed the father of Christy Brown (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) in the Academy Award-winning film, '' My Left Foot'' (1989).

Death

McAnally died suddenly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

on 15 June 1989, aged 63, at his home, which he shared with Irish actress Britta Smith. He remained married to actress Ronnie Masterson until his death, although they lived apart. He received a posthumous

BAFTA Film Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for Best Supporting Actor for his last film in '' My Left Foot'' in 1990. At the time of his death he was due to play 'Bull' McCabe in Jim Sheridan's film '' The Field''. The part eventually went to Richard Harris, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance. McAnally had also been cast in the lead role of ''First and Last'', a drama about a man who walked from

Land's End to John o' Groats Land's End to John o' Groats is the traversal of the whole length of the island of Great Britain between two List of extreme points of the United Kingdom#Extreme points within the UK, extremities, in the southwest and northeast. The tradition ...

. Almost a third of the filming had been completed when he died but the whole play had to be refilmed, with Joss Ackland taking the role instead. McAnally had four children: Conor, Aonghus, Máire and Niamh. Conor is a producer, based in Texas, and Aonghus is a television and radio presenter/producer in Ireland.

Filmography

* ''Professor Tim'' (1957) – Hugh O'Cahan * '' She Didn't Say No!'' (1958) – Jim Power * '' Sea of Sand'' (1958) – Sgt. Hardy * ''

Shake Hands with the Devil ''Shake Hands with the Devil'' may refer to: * ''Shake Hands with the Devil'' (1959 film), American drama set in 1921 Ireland * ''Shake Hands with the Devil'' (album), Kris Kristofferson 1979 release on Monument Records * ''Shake Hands with the ...

'' (1959) – Paddy Nolan * '' The Naked Edge'' (1961) – Donald Heath * '' Murder in Eden'' (1961) – Inspector Sharkey * '' Billy Budd'' (1962) – William O'Daniel – Maintopman * '' He Who Rides a Tiger'' (1965) – Orphanage Superintendent * '' The Looking Glass War'' (1970) – Undersecretary of State * '' Quest for Love'' (1971) – Jack Kahn * '' Fear Is the Key'' (1972) – Ruthven * ''Pollyanna'' (1973) – John Pendleton * ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wale ...

'' (1976, TV drama: 'Scard') – Robert E. Scard * ''

The Outsider The Outsider may refer to: Film * ''The Outsider'' (1917 film), an American film directed by William C. Dowlan * ''The Outsider'' (1926 film), an American film directed by Rowland V. Lee * ''The Outsider'' (1931 film), a film starring Joan Barr ...

'' (1979) – MacWhirter * ''The Sleep of Death'' (1980) – Inspector Carmingac * ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inc ...

'' (1982) – Bloom * ''

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

'' (1984) – Cyril Dunlop * '' No Surrender'' (1985) – Billy McRacken * '' The Mission'' (1986) – Cardinal Altamirano * '' Empire State'' (1987) – Frank * ''

The Fourth Protocol ''The Fourth Protocol'' is a thriller novel by British writer Frederick Forsyth, published in August 1984. Etymology The title refers to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which (at least in the world of the novel) contained four secr ...

'' (1987) – General Yevgeny Sergeyevich Karpov * '' The Sicilian'' (1987) – Trezza * '' White Mischief'' (1987) – Morris * ''

'' (1987) – Palmer * ''

'' (1987, TV Series) – Rick Pym * '' Last of the Summer Wine'' (1987, Christmas Special ''Big Day at Dream Acres'') – The Tramp * '' Taffin'' (1988) – O'Rourke * '' A Very British Coup'' (1988, British TV series) – The Cabinet – Harry Perkins * ''

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer ...

'' (1988, TV Movie) – Sir William Gull * '' High Spirits'' (1988) – Plunkett Senior * '' My Left Foot'' (1989) – Mr. Brown * '' Venus Peter'' (1989) – Grandpa * '' We're No Angels'' (1989) – Warden (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McAnally, Ray 1926 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Irish male actors Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award winners Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners Burials at St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton Irish male film actors Irish male stage actors Irish male television actors Jacob's Award winners Male actors from County Donegal People educated at St Eunan's College People from Buncrana