Denis O'Dea (26 April 1905 – 5 November 1978) was an Irish stage and film actor. He was born in Dublin and attended

Synge Street CBS Synge Street CBS (colloquially Synger) is a boys' non-fee-paying state school, under the auspices of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, located in the Dublin 8 area of Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1864 by Canon ...

. When very young he and his mother Kathleen (from

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

) moved in with her sister, who kept a boarding house at 54 South Richmond Street. He worked in insurance until taking up acting. O'Dea was a leading member of Dublin's

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 ...

where he had a great acting career from 1929 to 1953; a list of his performances can be found in the Abbey archives. He also appeared in numerous plays by Irish playwright

Teresa Deevy Teresa Deevy (21 January 1894 – 19 January 1963) was an Irish dramatist and writer, who was deaf from the age of 19. Best known for her works for theatre, she was also a short story writer, and writer for radio. Early life Teresa Deevy w ...

, some of which toured New York and England. His work led to a number of notable film roles, including two mid-1930s

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

films, '' The Informer'' and ''

The Plough and the Stars ''The Plough and the Stars'' is a four-act Play (theatre), play by the Irish writer Seán O'Casey that was first performed on 8 February 1926 at the Abbey Theatre. It is set in Dublin and addresses the 1916 Easter Rising. The play's title refe ...

'' (1936), and the part of the police inspector in pursuit of

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

man

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for ''Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded the ...

's ''

Odd Man Out ''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade polic ...

'' (1947). Other films in which he appeared include ''

The Mark of Cain The curse of Cain and the mark of Cain are phrases that originated in the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis. In the stories, if someone harmed Cain, the damage would come back sevenfold. Some interpretations view this as a physica ...

'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948, again for Reed, and again as a police inspector),

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's ''

Under Capricorn ''Under Capricorn'' is a 1949 British historical thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock about a couple in Australia who started out as lady and stable boy in Ireland, and who are now bound together by a horrible secret. The film is based on ...

'' (1949), ''

The Bad Lord Byron ''The Bad Lord Byron'' is a 1949 British historical drama film about the life of Lord Byron. It was directed by David MacDonald and starred Dennis Price as Byron with Mai Zetterling, Linden Travers and Joan Greenwood. Plot The film sees life f ...

'' (1949), ''

Landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

'' (1949), '' Marry Me!'' (1949),

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' (1950), ''

Captain Horatio Hornblower ''Captain Horatio Hornblower'' (a.k.a. ''Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.'' in the UK, "R.N." standing for "Royal Navy") is a 1951 British naval swashbuckling war film in Technicolor from Warner Bros., produced by Gerry Mitchell, directed by Raou ...

'' (1951), ''

The Long Dark Hall ''The Long Dark Hall'' is a 1951 British mystery, suspense, courtroom-drama, crime film directed by Reginald Beck and Anthony Bushell and starring Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer and Raymond Huntley. It was based on the 1947 novel ''A Case to Answe ...

'' (1951), ''

Mogambo ''Mogambo'' is a 1953 Technicolor adventure/ romantic drama film directed by John Ford and starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly, and featuring Donald Sinden. Shot on location in Equatorial Africa, with a musical soundtrack consisti ...

'' (1953; another John Ford film), ''

Niagara Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...

'' (1953), ''Never Take No for an Answer'' (1953), '' The Rising of the Moon'' (1957), ''

Captain Lightfoot ''Captain Lightfoot'' is a 1955 American CinemaScope Technicolor adventure film directed by Douglas Sirk starring Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush and Jeff Morrow and is Sirk's adaptation of a book by W. R. Burnett written in 1954. The movie is set in ...

'' (1957), ''

Darby O'Gill and the Little People ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' is a 1959 American fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the ''Darby O'Gill'' stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Lawrence Ed ...

'' (1959), and ''

Esther and the King ''Esther and the King'' ( it, Ester e il re) is a 1960 American-Italian religious epic film produced and directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Joan Collins as Esther, Richard Egan as Ahasuerus, and Denis O'Dea as Mordecai. Walsh and Michael Elkins ...

'' (1960).

Family

He was married to actress

Siobhán McKenna Siobhán McKenna (; 24 May 1922 – 16 November 1986) was an Irish stage and screen actress. Background She was born Siobhán Giollamhuire Nic Cionnaith in Belfast in the newly-created Northern Ireland into a Catholic and nationalist family. ...

from 1946 until his death in 1978 at the age of 73; they had one son,

Donnacha O'Dea Donnacha "The Don" O'Dea (born 30 August 1948) is an Irish professional poker player. In his youth, he was a swimmer, and represented Ireland in the 1968 Olympics. He was also the first Irish swimmer to swim 100m in less than one minute. His par ...

, who is a champion swimmer and professional poker player.

Filmography

* ''Guests of the Nation'' (1935) * '' The Informer'' (1935) – Street Singer * ''

Beloved Enemy ''Beloved Enemy'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by H.C. Potter and starring Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, and David Niven. It was loosely based on the life of Michael Collins. Plot During the Irish War of Independence in 1921, Irish re ...

'' (1936) – Sean's I.R.A. Friend (uncredited) * ''

'' (1936) – The Covey * ''

'' (1947) – Inspector * ''

'' (1947) – Sir William Godgrey * '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948) – Inspector Crowe * ''

'' (1949) – Prosecuting Counsel * '' Marry Me!'' (1949) – Saunders * ''

'' (1949) – Mr. Corrigan * ''

'' (1949) – Capt. Burnaby * ''

'' (1950) – Dr. Livesey * ''

'' (1951) – Sir Charles Morton * ''

'' (1951) – RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton * '' Peppino e Violetta'' (1951) – Father Damico * '' Never Take No for an Answer'' (1951) – Father Damico * ''

'' (1953) – Inspector Starkey * '' Sea Devils'' (1953) – Lethierry * ''

'' (1953) – Father Josef * ''

'' (1955) – Regis Donnell * '' The Rising of the Moon'' (1957) – Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (3rd Episode) * ''

The Story of Esther Costello ''The Story of Esther Costello'' is a 1957 British drama film starring Joan Crawford, Rossano Brazzi, and Heather Sears. The film is an exposé of large-scale fundraising. ''The Story of Esther Costello'' was produced by David Miller and Jack ...

'' (1957) – Father Devlin * ''

'' (1959) – Father Murphy * ''

'' (1960) – Mordecai (final film role)

Playography

* ''The Reapers'' (1930) * ''A Disciple'' (1931) * ''Temporal Powers'' (1932) * ''Katie Roche'' (1937) New York * ''Katie Roche'' (1937)

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England * ''Temporal Powers'' (1937) * ''The King of Spain's Daughter'' (1938)

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

* ''The King of Spain's Daughter'' (1939)

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

References

External links

* * * Denis O'Dea a
The Teresa Deevy Archive
* Denis O'Dea a
The Abbey Theatre Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odea, Denis 1905 births 1978 deaths Irish male film actors Irish male stage actors Abbey Theatre People from Portobello, Dublin 20th-century Irish male actors