Joseph O'Conor (14 February 1916 – 21 January 2001) was an Irish actor and playwright.

Early years

O'Conor was born in DublinAlan Strachan

''The Independent'', 2 February 2001Stephen Gilbert
Obituary
''The Guardian'', 25 January 2001 on 14 February 1916, the son of Frances (née Call) and Daniel O'Conor. His family moved to London, where he attended the

Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School , established = , closed = , type = Comprehensive, academy , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head ...

, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

and

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the S ...

. He made his professional stage debut in 1939 playing Flavius, Trebonius, and Titinius in a modern-dress production of ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

'' at the Embassy Theatre, and subsequently at His Majesty's Theatre. Also in 1939 he married Naita Moore; they had two children.

After the war

Returning to the stage in 1946, he played a wide variety of roles in London, but with an emphasis on Shakespeare. He spent a season under

Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 ...

at the Bedford, Camden Town, alternating Iago and Othello with him in ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...

'' (1949) and taking the title role in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (1949), with Wolfit as the Gravedigger. O'Conor had a strong spiritual side which found expression in a series of productions at religious-drama festivals and as Christ in the York Mystery Plays (1951 and 1954). A prohibition on the representation of God or Christ on the public stage still existed in England at that time, so his name for the 1951 production was kept a secret. Seeking a change from London he played two seasons at the

Citizens Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various s ...

in Glasgow where his roles included Benedick in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' (1954). This he followed with three seasons (1956–1958) at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...

. Bristol acted in several Bernard Shaw classics. O'Conor played Higgins in '' Pygmalion'' and Undershaft in ''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

''. There was also a production of his own early play, ''The Iron Harp'', set in his Ireland. O'Conor wrote five others. He continued his theatre work, including major roles in several productions at

the Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

, but meanwhile he had been building up his television and film activities. In 1967 he played Old Jolyon Forsyte in the television series '' The Forsyte Saga'' and in 1968 Mr Brownlow in the film ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age Musical theatre, stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre ...

''. He spent a season with the National Theatre under Peter Hall for '' The Tempest'' (1974) playing Alonso to

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

's Prospero and, with a frightening sense of moral rectitude, Herr Gabor in

Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the deve ...

's '' Spring Awakening'' (1974). In a season in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

(1975) under

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 1 ...

, he played the King of France in ''

All's Well That Ends Well ''All's Well That Ends Well'' is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the '' First Folio'' in 1623, where it is listed among the comedies. There is a debate regarding the dating of the composition of the play, with possible dates rangi ...

''. He played the Duke in ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the '' First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'', set in Freud's Vienna. In the BBC serial '' The Barchester Chronicles'' (1982) he played Bunce.

Later life

Following his wife's death in 1977, he married the much younger actress Lizann Rodger. They had two children. He continued to take part in numerous plays, particularly Shakespeare, in the theatre and for television. In 1982 he took the part of the narrator and the voice of the urSkeks in the puppet film ''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and The ...

''. In the 1990s he appeared in several cinema productions. A highlight was the role of J. C. Sullivan in ''

The Forbidden Quest ''The Forbidden Quest'' is a 1993 pseudo-documentary written and directed by Peter Delpeut. The film won the 1994 International Fantasy Film Special Jury Award at the Fantasporto (aka Festival Internacional de Cinema do Porto) in Portugal. The ...

'' (1993), directed by

Peter Delpeut Peter Delpeut (born 12 July 1956, Vianen) is a Dutch filmmaker and writer. Several of his films have heavily used found footage. He has won several literary awards for his writing.Tom & Viv ''Tom & Viv'' is a 1994 historical drama film directed by Brian Gilbert, based on the 1984 play of the same name by British playwright Michael Hastings about the early love life of American poet T. S. Eliot. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Mirand ...

'' (1994) and Mr. Nancarrow in ''

The Wisdom of Crocodiles ''The Wisdom of Crocodiles'' (also released as ''Immortality'') is a 1998 British romantic thriller film directed by Po-Chih Leong and starring Jude Law. It is based on the book of the same name by Paul Hoffman. Plot Cast * Jude Law ...

'' (1998). Today he is remembered chiefly by younger viewers for his appearance as Mr Brownlow in ''Oliver!'' As well as his extensive work as an actor, he also directed, and wrote six plays. He died in London on 21 January 2001.

Selected filmography

* ''

Paul Temple's Triumph ''Paul Temple's Triumph'' is a 1950 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley, Dinah Sheridan and Jack Livesey. It was the third in the series of four Paul Temple films made at Nettlefold Studios, and was an adaptat ...

'' (1950) - (uncredited) * ''Stranger at My Door'' (1950) - Michael Foley * '' Gorgo'' (1961) - Prof. Hendricks * ''

The Devil-Ship Pirates ''The Devil-Ship Pirates'' is a 1964 British pirate adventure film directed by Don Sharp. The film was the first of several collaborations between Don Sharp and star Christopher Lee. Plot A pirate ship, involved in 1588 battles on the side of ...

'' (1964) - Don Jose Margella (uncredited) * ''

Crooks in Cloisters ''Crooks in Cloisters'' is a 1964 British comedy film directed by Jeremy Summers and starring Ronald Fraser as 'Little Walter', the leader of a gang of forgers, including Barbara Windsor as 'Bikini', Bernard Cribbins as 'Squirts', Melvyn Hayes ...

'' (1964) - Father Septimus * '' The Gorgon'' (1964) - Coroner * ''

'' (1968) - Mr. Brownlow * ''

A Walk with Love and Death ''A Walk with Love and Death'' is a 1969 American adventure drama historical romance war film directed by John Huston and starring Anjelica Huston and Assi Dayan. Plot The story is based on the 1961 novel by Hans Koningsberger, set at the time ...

'' (1969) - Pierre of St. Jean * ''

Anne of the Thousand Days ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' is a 1969 British period historical drama film based on the life of Anne Boleyn, directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B. Wallis. The screenplay by Bridget Boland and John Hale is an adaptation of the 19 ...

'' (1969) - Bishop Fisher * '' Doomwatch'' (1972) - Vicar * ''

Father, Dear Father ''Father, Dear Father'' is a British television sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring Patrick Cargill. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973. An Australian sequel ...

'' (1973) - Vicar * '' Penny Gold'' (1973) - Blachford * '' Yellow Dog'' (1973) - Dover * '' The Black Windmill'' (1974) - Sir Edward Julyan * '' The Barchester Chronicles'' (1982) - Bunce * ''

'' (1982) - Narrator / urSkeks (voice) * ''

'' (1993) - J.C. Sullivan * ''

Tom & Viv ''Tom & Viv'' is a 1994 historical drama film directed by Brian Gilbert, based on the 1984 play of the same name by British playwright Michael Hastings about the early love life of American poet T. S. Eliot. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Mirand ...

'' (1994) - Bishop of Oxford * '' Elizabeth'' (1998) - Earl of Derby * ''

'' (1998) - Mr. Nancarrow * '' The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'' (1999) - Poitiers' Chief Inquisitor

Writings

* ''The Iron Harp'', 1955 (published by Penguin in ''Three Irish Plays'', 1959) * ''Inca'', 1961 (play, published by Hutchinson, 1968) * ''The Tumble Stone'', 1962 * ''A Lion Trap'', 1963 (historical adventure, based on the life of Sir Walter Raleigh, published Hutchinson 1969) * ''The Third Picture'', 1964 * ''The Heiress'', 1971 * ''King Canoodlum and the Great Horned Cheese'' (children's story, published BBC 1979)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:OConor, Joseph 1916 births 2001 deaths Irish male stage actors Irish male film actors Male actors from Dublin (city) Irish male dramatists and playwrights Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century male writers