Bonar Sullivan (14 March 192417 August 1958), also known by the stage name Bonar Colleano, was an American 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 the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

. He spent several years performing in music halls. 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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (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 Pl ...

'' (1947). Colleano played an Italian in '' One Night with You'' (1948), and was in ''

Good-Time Girl ''Good-Time Girl'' is a 1948 British film noir-crime drama film directed by David MacDonald. A homeless girl is asked to explain her bad behaviour in the juvenile court, and says she’s run away from home because she’s unhappy there. They exp ...

'' (1948) and '' Sleeping Car to Trieste'' (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'' is a 1949 British film starring Dirk Bogarde, Bonar Colleano, Bill Owen, Thora Hird and Sid James. It is centred on the sport of motorcycle speedway racing, which was at its peak of popularity at the time. It was relea ...

'' (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 employed a ...

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 the ...

, London, directed by

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

and co-starring

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...

. 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 dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and cities i ...

'' (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 the ...

'' (1951) and '' A Tale of Five Cities'' (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 would call his movies ''heavy dramas'') and a liberal movie icon.

's ''

Eight Iron Men ''Eight Iron Men'' is a 1952 American World War II drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Stanley Kramer. It stars Bonar Colleano, Arthur Franz, Lee Marvin and Richard Kiley. The screenplay by Harry Brown was based on his 19 ...

'' (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 blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was ...

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

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 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 ''Joe MacBeth'' is a 1955 British–American crime drama, directed by Ken Hughes and starring Paul Douglas, Ruth Roman and Bonar Colleano. It is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'', set in a 1930s American criminal underworld. Th ...

'' (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 (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

'' (1957), '' Fire Down Below'' (1957), '' No Time to Die'' (1958) and '' The Man Inside'' (1958). He was also in '' Death Over My Shoulder'' (1958). In May 1958 Colleano admitted to debts of nearly £10,000 due to extravagant living, including more than £8,000 owed to the tax office. He said he had earned around £9,000 a year for the past five years.

Personal life

Colleano was from a well known Australian circus family and was a nephew of

Con Colleano Con Colleano (born Cornelius Sullivan; 26 December 1899 – 13 November 1973) was an Australian Tightrope walking, tightrope walker. He was the first person to successfully attempt a forward somersault on a tightrope and became one of the mos ...

, 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 Tamara Lees (14 December 1924 – 22 December 1999), born as, Diana Helena Tamara Mapplebeck was an Austrian-born English film actress. She appeared in 48 films between 1947 and 1961. Selected filmography * ''While the Sun Shines'' (1947) ...

, but the couple divorced in 1951. His second wife was actress Susan Shaw, 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 Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band fu ...

. 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 between 1954 and 1957 as the successor to the XK120. Upgrades included more interior space, improved brakes, rack and pinion steering, increased suspension travel, and telescopic shock a ...

) in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; Historic counties of England, historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the R ...

shortly after leaving the Queensway Tunnel. He was driving back from

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

's New Shakespeare Theatre, where he had been appearing in a stage production of '' Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?''. His passenger, fellow actor and friend Michael Balfour, required 98 stitches, but eventually recovered.The life and Wild times of Bonar Colleano Author: Cecil Wilson Date: Monday, Aug. 18, 1958 Publication: Daily Mail (London, England) Issue: 19385 p3

Legacy

In the lyrics of Ian Dury and the Blockheads' 1979 song " Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3", Colleano was included in the list of reasons to be cheerful.

Filmography

References

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 Music hall performers 20th-century American male actors