Charles B. Fitzsimons (8 May 1924 – 14 February 2001) was an Irish actor who emigrated to the United States, where he became a film producer after ending his acting career. He was a younger brother of famed actress

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was an Irish-born naturalized American actress who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate b ...

. His name was sometimes spelled as FitzSimons.

Life

Fitzsimons, an actor and attorney, went to the US in 1951. His previous acting experience was with Dublin's

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

. Fitzsimons also studied law in Ireland at the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

and

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

. He completed his law degree at age 20 and was the youngest person to do so at the time, but had to wait until the age of 21 before being able to practice law. Fitzsimons originally was hired by producer

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

in a legal capacity, in preparation for the arrival of the cast and crew of the film '' The Quiet Man'' for filming in Ireland. Upon their first meeting, Ford believed Fitzsimons would be right for the film role of Forbes in addition to his legal duties. Ford then proceeded to hire O'Hara's brother, James, for the role of Father Paul in the film. James also worked at the Abbey in Dublin, but used his mother's maiden name of Lilburn as a professional name. Both brothers made their film debuts in ''The Quiet Man'' and both came to the United States upon completion of the film. In 1957, Maureen O'Hara sued ''

Confidential Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise sometimes executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access to or places restrictions on the distribution of certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, law ...

'' magazine because of false accusations made about her. Fitzsimons served as his sister's attorney during the trial. He became a Hollywood film actor and later a supervising production executive before becoming a producer himself. He was

Merian C. Cooper Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker, actor, producer and air officer. In film, his most famous work was the 1933 movie ''King Kong (1933 film), King Kong'', and he is credited as co-inventor of ...

's executive assistant during Cooper's unsuccessful legal dispute with John Beck,

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

and

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

over the rights to the

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

character following the release of ''

King Kong vs. Godzilla is a 1962 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the third film in both the ''Godzilla'' and ''King Kong'' franchises, as well as the first T ...

'' in 1962. He served as executive director of the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing the interests Television producer, television producers, Film producer, film producers and emerging media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership inclu ...

from 1981 to 1999. In 1989, he received an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award from that organisation.

Death

Fitzsimons died from

liver failure Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its normal synthetic and metabolic functions as part of normal physiology. Two forms are recognised, acute and chronic (cirrhosis). Recently, a third form of liver failure known as acute- ...

in 2001, aged 76. He was survived by his wife, Cherie Bromley, and daughter. By his first wife Consuelo Vaughn and their four children. As well as his three sisters: Maureen O'Hara, Mrs. Margot Edwards, and Sister Mary Margaret, R.S.C., a nun.

Selected filmography

Producer

*'' The Deadly Companions'' (1961; starring his elder sister, Maureen O'Hara) *''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (1966) (assoc.) *'' Love American Style'' (1969 TV series) *''

Nanny and the Professor ''Nanny and the Professor'' is an early 1970s American sitcom created by AJ Carothers and Thomas L. Miller for 20th Century-Fox Television that aired on ABC from January 21, 1970 until December 27, 1971. During pre-production, the proposed ...

'' (1970 TV series) *'' The Red Badge of Courage'' (1974) *''

Matt Helm Matt Helm is a fictional character created by American author Donald Hamilton (1916–2006). Helm is a U.S. government counter-agent, a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of ...

'' (1975 TV series) *''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

'' (1983 TV series) *''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'' (TV series)

Actor

*'' I Was a Male War Bride'' (1949) - Lt. Kelly (scenes deleted) *'' The Quiet Man'' (1952; alongside Maureen O'Hara, his elder sister) - Hugh Forbes *'' What Price Glory?'' (1952) - Capt. Wickham (uncredited) *''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (1952) - Noel - Student (uncredited) *''

Against All Flags ''Against All Flags'' is a 1952 American pirate film directed by George Sherman, with uncredited assist from Douglas Sirk. It features Errol Flynn as Lt. Brian Hawke, Maureen O'Hara as Prudence "Spitfire" Stevens, and Anthony Quinn as Roche Brazi ...

'' (1952) - Flag Lieutenant (uncredited) *''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' (1953) - Chief Officer Wilde (uncredited) *''

The Desert Rats The 7th Armoured Division (Desert Rats) was an armoured warfare, armoured division (military), division of the British Army. It was formed as the Mobile Division (Egypt) on 27 September 1938, after increased tensions between Britain and the Ax ...

'' (1953) - Fire Officer (uncredited) *''

The Black Shield of Falworth ''The Black Shield of Falworth'' is a 1954 American Technicolor historical adventure film from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur (film producer), Robert Arthur and Melville Tucker and directed by Rudolph Maté. It stars Tony Cur ...

'' (1954) - Giles *'' Captain Lightfoot'' (1955) - Dan Shanley *'' The Last Hurrah'' (1958) - Kevin McCluskey (uncredited) (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzsimons, Charles B. 1924 births 2001 deaths Film producers from Los Angeles American male film actors Deaths from liver failure Irish male film actors Irish emigrants to the United States People from Ranelagh People educated at Synge Street CBS 20th-century American male actors Alumni of King's Inns Male actors from County Dublin