Tom Hickey (1944 – 1 May 2021) was an Irish actor who appeared on stage and screen in a career that began in the early 1960s. He was best known for playing Benjy Riordan in the long-running television series, ''

The Riordans ''The Riordans'' was the second Irish television drama serial made by Raidio Telefís Éireann (then called ''Telefís Éireann''). It ran from 1965 to 1979 and was set in the fictional townland of Leestown in County Kilkenny. Its location fi ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

, Hickey began his career in 1963 at

Deirdre O'Connell Eleanore Deirdre O'Connell (16 June 1939 – 9 June 2001) was an Irish American actress, singer, and theatre director who founded the Focus Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Biography O'Connell was born in the South Bronx district of New York City, o ...

's Stanislavski Studio 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 ...

where he trained in

Stanislavski's system Stanislavski's system is a systematic approach to training actors that the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski developed in the first half of the twentieth century. His system cultivates what he calls the "art of experiencing" ...

of acting. He said that he saw his choice of profession as a "vocation", having decided to become an actor when he was five or six years old.

Television

In 1965, Hickey joined the cast of

RTÉ television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Republic of Ireland's state controlled national broadcaster. Its first channel was Teilifís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RT ...

's new rural drama series, ''

''. He went on to play the part of Benjy Riordan in the successful serial for the next sixteen years. In 2001, he made a rare venture into

television advertising A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

with his appearances in a series of commercials for

Club Orange Club is the brand name for a series of Irish carbonated soft drinks produced in Ireland by Britvic Ireland and previously by Cantrell & Cochrane (C&C). It is bottled by the Britvic plant in Dublin. The series includes Club Orange, Club Lemon, ...

, a

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

. The first of these was directed by

Declan Lowney Declan Lowney (born 23 April 1960) is an Irish television and film director. Known initially for directing musical events such as the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, Lowney is perhaps best known for his work on Irish and British television comed ...

, the director of ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until ...

''. Lowney also directed ''

Moone Boy ''Moone Boy'' is an Irish sitcom created, co-written by and co-starring Chris O'Dowd for British broadcaster Sky One. The series is co-written by Nick Vincent Murphy and is produced by Baby Cow Productions, Sprout Pictures, Hot Cod Productions ...

'', a

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

television series in which Hickey played Granddad Joe.

Stage

On stage, Hickey favoured parts in the work of modern Irish playwrights such as Tom Murphy,

Frank McGuinness Professor Frank McGuinness (born 1953) is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include '' The Factory Girls'', ''Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'', ''Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and ''Dolly West's Kitchen'', ...

, Bernard Farrell, and

Marina Carr Marina Carr is an Irish playwright who has written almost thirty plays, including '' By the Bog of Cats'' (1998). Early life and education Carr was born in Dublin, Ireland, but spent the majority of her childhood in Pallas Lake, County O ...

. In the early 1980s, the playwright Tom MacIntyre asked him to play the lead role in his adaptation of

Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel '' Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life t ...

's poem ''The Great Hunger''. Following the success of that collaboration, he has become an acclaimed interpreter of MacIntyre's work, in such plays as ''Rise Up Lovely Sweeney'', ''The Gallant John Joe'' and ''What Happened Bridgie Cleary''.

Cinema

As a

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

, Hickey appeared in numerous films, including ''

My Left Foot ''My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown'', also known simply as ''My Left Foot'', is a 1989 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jim Sheridan adapted by Sheridan and Shane Connaughton from the 1954 memoir of the same name by Christy ...

'', ''

Fools of Fortune ''Fools of Fortune'' is a 1990 Irish romantic drama film directed by Pat O'Connor and written by Michael Hirst based on the 1983 novel by Irish writer William Trevor. It depicts a Protestant family caught up in the conflict between the Briti ...

'', ''

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

'', '' Inside I'm Dancing'', '' Stella Days'', ''

Breakfast on Pluto ''Breakfast on Pluto'' is a 1998 novel by Patrick McCabe. The book was shortlisted for the 1998 Booker Prize, and was adapted for the screen by McCabe and Neil Jordan; Jordan directed the 2005 film. The author derived the novel's title from t ...

'', and ''

Possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

''. He was also cast in two of director

Lenny Abrahamson Leonard Ian Abrahamson (born 30 November 1966) is an Irish film and television director. He is known for directing such praised independent films as ''Adam & Paul'' (2004), ''Garage'' (2007), '' What Richard Did'' (2012), and ''Frank'' (2014), a ...

's films: ''

Garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

'' and ''

What Richard Did ''What Richard Did'' is a 2012 Irish film directed by Lenny Abrahamson and written by Malcolm Campbell. The film is loosely based on Kevin Power's ''Bad Day in Blackrock'', a 2008 novel inspired by the real-life death of Brian Murphy in 2000. I ...

''.

Personal life

In 2013, Hickey was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. During an interview on ''

The Marian Finucane Show ''The Marian Finucane Show'' was an Irish radio programme, presented by Marian Finucane. It aired Saturday - Sunday at 11:00 to 13:00. According to statistics from 2009, it was then the highest-rating weekend radio show in Ireland. When Finucane ...

'' on 11 April 2015, he spoke of his determination to continue acting despite the onset of this condition. Hickey died on Saturday, 1 May 2021 at age 77, with tributes paid by President

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

References

External links

Tom Hickey at Irish Playography
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickey, Tom 1944 births 2021 deaths Irish male film actors Irish male soap opera actors Irish male stage actors Irish male television actors Male actors from County Kildare People with Parkinson's disease