F. J. McCormick (real name Peter Christopher Judge)
(1 June 1890
in
Skerries
A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation.
Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to:
Geography
Northern Ireland
* Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh
* Skerry, County Antrim, a ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
– 24 April 1947 in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
) was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
actor who became known for his work at Dublin's
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...
. He acquired the stage name F.J. McCormick to disguise his identity from his current and future employers, and to avoid parental disapproval. He joined the Abbey at age 19, and acted in some 500 productions there.
He is especially remembered for his work in the plays of
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.
...
.
Early life and family
After living in Skerries in his early years, at age 10 he moved to Dublin and proceeded to live here for the majority of the duration of his life.
He was educated locally in Skerries. His father, Michael Judge, was a maltser and later became a brewery manager. McCormick was of medium height, with "expressive eyes" and thick brown hair.
As a young man, he began writing by contributing articles to the press. He worked briefly as a post office clerk in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
but returned to Dublin to work as a junior clerk in the Civil Service.
Eventually, he resigned from his public service career in 1918 and decided to embrace acting as a full time career as a member of the
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...
at age 19.
McCormick's mother died when he was 2 years old. He and his family moved to Dublin when he was 10 or 12 years old. He was raised in Skerries and attended the Holy Faith Convent for primary education. McCormick described his childhood in Skerries "as a very happy one".
He married Eileen Crowe on 2 December 1925 in Rathdown. They met at the Abbey where Crowe was also an actor.
In describing their performances together, De Burca wrote "F.J McCormick and Eileen Crowe lived a life together of perfect bliss". The couple had two children, a son, David, and a daughter, Marie.
Career
After moving briefly to London, McCormick returned to Dublin, where he worked in the Civil Service.
[Mikhail, E. H. ''The Abbey Theatre: Interviews and Recollections'', ]Macmillan
MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to:
People
* McMillan (surname)
* Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan
* Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician
* James MacMillan, Scottish composer
* William Duncan MacMillan ...
, Basingstoke: 1988, p. 183. [Clarke, Frances]
"F. J. McCormick"
McGuire, James. Quinn, James. (Eds.) ''Dictionary of Irish Biography
The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.[Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...]
, Cambridge: 2009 He also took acting roles in the Workmen's Club on York Street, and for the first time under the pseudonym by which he became known for roles with the
Queen's Theatre, Dublin
The Queen's Theatre, Dublin, located in Pearse Street was originally built in 1829 as the Adelphi Theatre. This building was demolished in 1844 and rebuilt. It reopened that same year as the Queens Royal Theatre, the new owner having been granted ...
.
By May 1919, he had a leading role in an independent production at the
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...
(''The Curate of St. Chad's'' by Constance Powell Anderson).
An attack on Irish acting by
Edward Martyn
Edward Martyn (30 January 1859 – 5 December 1923) was an Irish playwright and early republican political and cultural activist, as the first president of Sinn Féin from 1905–08.
Early life
Martyn was the elder son of John Martyn of Tullira ...
was answered by McCormick in the pages of the journal ''Banba'' in June, 1921.
McCormick acted in over 500 plays at the Abbey Theatre, becoming particularly associated with the plays of
Sean O'Casey
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...
staged there.
From 1923–1925, he was also stage manager at the Abbey.
Of his performance as Seumus Sheilds in ''
The Shadow of a Gunman
''The Shadow of a Gunman'' is a 1923 tragicomedy play by Seán O'Casey set during the Irish War of Independence. It centres on the mistaken identity of a building tenant who is thought to be an IRA assassin.
It is the first in O'Casey's "Dublin ...
'', O'Casey said that the actor had created a character greater than that O'Casey had written.
He played Capt. Brennan in the filmed version of O'Casey's ''
The Plough and the Stars
''The Plough and the Stars'' is a four-act Play (theatre), play by the Irish writer Seán O'Casey that was first performed on 8 February 1926 at the Abbey Theatre. It is set in Dublin and addresses the 1916 Easter Rising. The play's title refe ...
'' but it was his return to film in
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for ''Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded the ...
's ''
Odd Man Out
''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade polic ...
'' (1947) that saw him singled out for praise in contemporaneous reviews. The ''
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' wrote that "the acting of the Irish players was unremittingly professional, and, in the case of F. J. McCormick, as Shell, a weak-minded and elderly corner-boy, quite outstanding." ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' of London found "it is Mr. F. J. McCormick as a sly, bird-like creature, who stops just the right side of informing, who catches most surely at the imagination."
In their review of the film ''
Hungry Hill
Hungry Hill or Knockday ( ga, Cnoc Daod) is the highest of the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula in Munster, Ireland.
Etymology
The first part of the Irish name ''Cnoc Daod'' means "hill". The second part may be a dialectal variant of ...
'' (also 1947), ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote, "As the butler who served John Brodrick, his sons, and their sons in turn, the late F. J. McCormick is truly magnificent, giving an even more subtle portrayal of Irish character than he did as the wily tramp in ''Odd Man Out''."
Later life and death
![FJ McCormick Grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/FJ_McCormick_Grave.jpg)
In the last 5 years of McCormick’s life he continued to work in the Abbey where he acted in over 70 plays before he died. He only starred in one play in the theatre in the final year of his life,
the play ''They Got What They Wanted'' playing the role of Bartley Murnaghan.
He secured more leading roles in the film industry. McCormick died on the 24 April 1947 from a
brain tumour
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondary ...
at 56 years old, in Dublin.
He is buried in
Deansgrange
Deansgrange () is a southern suburb of Dublin, centred on the crossroads of Clonkeen Road and Kill Lane. The area shares the name Clonkeen () with the area further east, known as Kill of the Grange (i.e. "Church of the Grange of ": referring to ...
, Blackrock. He continued to work right up until his death.
It is said that people regarded him as one of the greatest actors in his era. This comes from his work in 500 plays and 4 films over his career.
A year after his passing in 1948
Barry Fitzgerald
William Joseph Shields (10 March 1888 – 14 January 1961), known professionally as Barry Fitzgerald, was an Irish stage, film and television actor. In a career spanning almost forty years, he appeared in such notable films as ''Bringing Up Ba ...
said he only knew of two actors with the gift that McCormick had and they were
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future w ...
and
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
.
Legacy
There are many popular plays and films that McCormick was part of which are still remembered to this day by many, some of them include the original ''
The Plough and the Stars
''The Plough and the Stars'' is a four-act Play (theatre), play by the Irish writer Seán O'Casey that was first performed on 8 February 1926 at the Abbey Theatre. It is set in Dublin and addresses the 1916 Easter Rising. The play's title refe ...
'' in (1926) where he played Fluther Good, he then played a different role of Captain Brennan in the same play when it was staged in the United States.
In his appreciation for McCormick, Gabriel Fallon remembered him as both a great actor and a great man.
It is said that he was one of the most versatile actors of his generation, his early death was a huge loss to the Irish arts and more specifically the Abbey Theatre where he carried most of his work.
Filmography
References
External links
*
* F.J. McCormick a
The Abbey Theatre Archive* F.J. McCormick a
The Teresa Deevy Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, F. J.
1890 births
1947 deaths
Abbey Theatre
Irish male stage actors
Irish male film actors
20th-century Irish male actors
People from Skerries, Dublin
Actors from Dublin (city)