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 () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
) 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 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, 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), 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 ...
films, ''
The Informer'' and ''
The Plough and the Stars'' (1936), and the part of the police inspector in pursuit of
IRA man
James Mason in
Carol Reed's ''
Odd Man Out'' (1947).
Other films in which he appeared include ''
The Mark of Cain'' (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 film director. 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 featu ...
's ''
Under Capricorn'' (1949), ''
The Bad Lord Byron'' (1949), ''
Landfall'' (1949), ''
Marry Me!'' (1949),
Disney's ''
Treasure Island'' (1950), ''
Captain Horatio Hornblower'' (1951), ''
The Long Dark Hall'' (1951), ''
Mogambo'' (1953; another John Ford film), ''
Niagara'' (1953), ''Never Take No for an Answer'' (1953), ''
The Rising of the Moon'' (1957), ''
Captain Lightfoot'' (1957), ''
Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' (1959), and ''
Esther and the King'' (1960).
Family
He was married to actress
Siobhán McKenna from 1946 until his death in 1978 at the age of 73; they had one son,
Donnacha O'Dea, who is a champion swimmer and professional poker player.
[
]
Filmography
* ''Guests of the Nation'' (1935)
* '' The Informer'' (1935) – Street Singer
* '' Beloved Enemy'' (1936) – Sean's I.R.A. Friend (uncredited)
* '' The Plough and the Stars'' (1936) – The Covey
* '' Odd Man Out'' (1947) – Inspector
* '' The Mark of Cain'' (1947) – Sir William Godgrey
* '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948) – Inspector Crowe
* '' The Bad Lord Byron'' (1949) – Prosecuting Counsel
* '' Marry Me!'' (1949) – Saunders
* '' Under Capricorn'' (1949) – Mr. Corrigan
* '' Landfall'' (1949) – Capt. Burnaby
* '' Treasure Island'' (1950) – Dr. Livesey
* '' The Long Dark Hall'' (1951) – Sir Charles Morton
* '' Captain Horatio Hornblower'' (1951) – RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton
* '' Peppino e Violetta'' (1951) – Father Damico
* '' Never Take No for an Answer'' (1951) – Father Damico
* '' Niagara'' (1953) – Inspector Starkey
* '' Sea Devils'' (1953) – Lethierry
* '' Mogambo'' (1953) – Father Josef
* '' Captain Lightfoot'' (1955) – Regis Donnell
* '' The Rising of the Moon'' (1957) – Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (3rd Episode)
* '' The Story of Esther Costello'' (1957) – Father Devlin
* '' Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' (1959) – Father Murphy
* '' Esther and the King'' (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 List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, England
* ''Temporal Powers'' (1937)
* ''The King of Spain's Daughter'' (1938) Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
* ''The King of Spain's Daughter'' (1939) Cork
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
Male actors from County Dublin
People educated at Synge Street CBS