Milo O'Shea

Milo O'Shea
Milo O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish character actor. He was nominated for the Tony Award
Tony Award for his roles in Staircase and Mass Appeal.

Contents

1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal

3.1 Death

4 Selected filmography 5 References 6 External links

Early life[edit] O'Shea was born and brought up in Dublin
Dublin and educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street school,[1] along with his friend Donal Donnelly. His father was a singer and his mother a ballet teacher. Because he was bilingual, O'Shea performed in English-speaking theatres and in Irish in the Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre Company.[1] At age 12, he appeared in George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra at the Gate Theatre. He later studied music and drama at the Guildhall School in London and was a skilled pianist.[2] He was discovered in the 1950s by Harry Dillon, who ran the 37 Theatre Club on the top floor of his shop the Swiss Gem Company, 51 Lower O'Connell Street Dublin. Career[edit] O'Shea began acting on the stage, then moved into film in the 1960s. He became popular in the United Kingdom, as a result of starring in the BBC
BBC sitcom Me Mammy alongside Yootha Joyce. In 1967–68 he appeared in the drama Staircase, co-starring Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach and directed by Barry Morse, which stands as Broadway's first depiction of homosexual men in a serious light. For his role in that drama, he was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award in 1968.[3] O'Shea starred as Leopold Bloom
Leopold Bloom in Joseph Strick's 1967 film version of Ulysses. Among his other memorable film roles in the 1960s were the well-intentioned Friar Laurence in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet and the villainous Dr. Durand Durand (who tried to kill Jane Fonda's character by making her literally die of pleasure) in Roger Vadim's counterculture classic Barbarella (both films were released in 1968). In 1984, O'Shea reprised his role as Dr. Durand Durand (credited as Dr. Duran Duran) for the Duran Duran
Duran Duran concert film Arena, since his character inspired the band's name. He played Inspector Boot in the 1973 Vincent Price
Vincent Price horror/comedy film Theatre of Blood. He was active in American films and television, such as his memorable supporting role as the trial judge in the Sidney Lumet-directed movie The Verdict
The Verdict (1982) with Paul Newman, an episode of The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls in 1987, and portraying Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States Roy Ashland in the television series The West Wing. In 1992, O'Shea guest starred in the season 10 finale of the sitcom Cheers, and, in 1995, in an episode of the show's spin-off Frasier. In the episode of Frasier, he played Dr. Schachter, a couples therapist who counsels the Crane brothers together.[4] He appeared in the pilot episode of Early Edition
Early Edition as Sherman. He was married to the Irish actress Kitty Sullivan, with whom he occasionally acted, most notably in a 1981 Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. He had two sons from his first marriage ( to actress Maureen Toal), Colm and Steven, but O'Shea and Sullivan had no children together. O'Shea and his wife both adopted United States citizenship and resided in New York City, where they had lived since 1976.[2] Other notable stage appearances include Mass Appeal (1981) in which he originated the role of "Father Tim Farley" (for which he was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award as "Best Actor" in 1982),[3] the musical Dear World in which he played the Sewer Man opposite Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury as Countess Aurelia, Corpse! (1986) and a 1994 Broadway revival of Philadelphia, Here I Come. O'Shea received an honorary degree from Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University in 2010.[5] Personal[edit] O'Shea's first wife was Maureen Toal, an Irish actress, with whom he had two sons.[1] He divorced her in 1974 and later married Kitty Sullivan,[2] whom he met in Italy, where he was filming Barbarella and she auditioning for Man of La Mancha.[1] Death[edit] O'Shea died on 2 April 2013, in New York City following a short illness at the age of 86.[6][citation needed] Selected filmography[edit]

Contraband (1940) – Air Raid Warden (uncredited) Talk of a Million (1951) – Signwriter Never Love a Stranger
Never Love a Stranger (1958) – Off-Screen Narrator (uncredited) This Other Eden (1959) – Pat Tweedy Mrs. Gibbons' Boys (1962) – Horse Carry On Cabby
Carry On Cabby (1963) – Len Never Put It in Writing (1964) – Danny O'Toole Ulysses (1967) – Leopold Bloom Romeo and Juliet (1968) – Friar Laurence Barbarella (1968) – Concierge / Durand-Durand Journey into Darkness (1968) – Matt Dystal (episode 'The New People') The Adding Machine (1969) – Mr. Zero Me Mammy (1968–1971) 21 episodes – Bunjy Kennefick Paddy (1970) – Harry Redmond Loot (1970) – Mr. McLeavy The Angel Levine (1970) – Dr. Arnold Berg Sacco e Vanzetti (1971) – Fred Moore The Love Ban (1973) – Father Andrew Theatre of Blood
Theatre of Blood (1973) – Inspector Boot Steptoe and Son Ride Again
Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973) – Doctor Popplewell Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World
Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World (1973) – Dr. Jameson Professor Popper's Problem (1974) – Dr. Klein QB VII (1974) – Dr. Lotaki Percy's Progress (1974) – Professor Crabbit Arabian Adventure
Arabian Adventure (1979) – Khasim The Pilot (1980) – Doctor O'Brian The Verdict
The Verdict (1982) – Judge Hoyle The Purple Rose of Cairo
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) – Father Donnelly Arena (An Absurd Notion)
Arena (An Absurd Notion) (1985) – Duran Duran The Dream Team (1989) – Dr. Newald Opportunity Knocks (1990) – Max Only the Lonely (1991) – Doyle The Playboys (1992) – Freddie Murder in the Heartland
Murder in the Heartland (1993) – Clem Gaughan The Butcher Boy (1997) – Father Sullivan The Matchmaker (1997) – Dermot O'Brien Puckoon
Puckoon (2002) – Sgt. McGillikuddie Mystics (2003) – Locky

References[edit]

^ a b c d Blank, Ed (31 January 1982). " Milo O'Shea
Milo O'Shea Has Mass Appeal". The Pittsburgh Press. pp. J1, J3. access-date= requires url= (help) ^ a b c Coveney, Michael (3 April 2013). " Milo O'Shea
Milo O'Shea obituary: Milo O'Shea obituary Irish stage and screen character actor who appeared in Barbarella, The Verdict
The Verdict and the BBC's 1969 sitcom Me Mammy". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2013. ^ a b To view nominations, type "Milo O'Shea" in the search box. "Search Past Winners". Tony Awards. Retrieved 7 April 2013. ^ "Episode Information for Fraiser". fancast.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. ^ "Graduation Day". New Haven Register. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. ^ BBC
BBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2013