Joseph O'Conor (14 February 1916 – 21 January 2001) was an Irish actor and playwright.

Early years

O'Conor was born in DublinAlan Strachan

''The Independent'', 2 February 2001Stephen Gilbert
Obituary
''The Guardian'', 25 January 2001 on 14 February 1916, the son of Frances (née Call) and Daniel O'Conor. His family moved to London, where he attended the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

. He made his professional stage debut in 1939 playing Flavius, Trebonius, and Titinius in a modern-dress production of ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'' at the Embassy Theatre, and subsequently at His Majesty's Theatre. Also in 1939 he married Naita Moore; they had two children.

After the war

Returning to the stage in 1946, he played a wide variety of roles in London, but with an emphasis on Shakespeare. He spent a season under

Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit (born Donald Woolfitt; 20 April 1902 – 17 February 1968) was an English actor-manager, known for his touring productions of Shakespeare. He was especially renowned for his portrayal of King Lear. Born to a conventional midd ...

at the Bedford, Camden Town, alternating Iago and Othello with him in ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' (1949) and taking the title role in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' (1949), with Wolfit as the Gravedigger. O'Conor had a strong spiritual side which found expression in a series of productions at religious-drama festivals and as Christ in the

York Mystery Plays The York Mystery Plays, or the York Corpus Christi Plays, are a Middle English play cycle, cycle of 48 mystery plays or pageants covering sacred history from the Genesis creation myth, creation to the Last Judgment. They were traditionally pres ...

(1951 and 1954). A prohibition on the representation of God or Christ on the public stage still existed in England at that time, so his name for the 1951 production was kept a secret. Seeking a change from London he played two seasons at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow where his roles included Benedick in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'' (1954). This he followed with three seasons (1956–1958) at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

. Bristol acted in several

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

classics. O'Conor played Higgins in '' Pygmalion'' and Undershaft in ''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

''. There was also a production of his own early play, ''The Iron Harp'', set in his Ireland. O'Conor wrote five others. He continued his theatre work, including major roles in several productions at

the Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

, but meanwhile he had been building up his television and film activities. In 1967 he played Old Jolyon Forsyte in the television series ''

The Forsyte Saga ''The Forsyte Saga'', first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by the English author John Galsworthy, who won the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature. They chronicle th ...

'' and in 1968 Mr Brownlow in the film ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

''. He spent a season with the National Theatre under Peter Hall for ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' (1974) playing Alonso to

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

's Prospero and, with a frightening sense of moral rectitude, Herr Gabor in

Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the developme ...

's '' Spring Awakening'' (1974). In a season in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

(1975) under

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, comedian and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 19 ...

, he played the King of France in ''

All's Well That Ends Well ''All's Well That Ends Well'' is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the First Folio in 1623, where it is listed among the comedies. There is a debate about the date of its composition, with possible dates ranging from 1598 to 1608. ...

''. He played the Duke in ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623. The play centers on the despotic and puritan Angelo (Measure for ...

'', set in Freud's Vienna. In the BBC serial '' The Barchester Chronicles'' (1982) he played Bunce.

Later life

Following his wife's death in 1977, he married the much younger actress Lizann Rodger. They had two children. He continued to take part in numerous plays, particularly Shakespeare, in the theatre and for television. In 1982 he took the part of the narrator and the voice of the urSkeks in the puppet film ''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy, dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell (actress), Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was prod ...

''. In the 1990s he appeared in several cinema productions. A highlight was the role of J. C. Sullivan in '' The Forbidden Quest'' (1993), directed by Peter Delpeut, which gave O'Conor a role as a polar survivor. His subsequent work included the Bishop of Oxford in the film of '' Tom & Viv'' (1994) and Mr. Nancarrow in '' The Wisdom of Crocodiles'' (1998). Today he is remembered chiefly by younger viewers for his appearance as Mr Brownlow in ''Oliver!'' As well as his extensive work as an actor, he also directed, and wrote six plays. He died in London on 21 January 2001.

Selected filmography

* '' Paul Temple's Triumph'' (1950) - Inspector Crane * '' Stranger at My Door'' (1950) - Michael Foley * '' Gorgo'' (1961) - Prof. Hendricks * '' The Devil-Ship Pirates'' (1964) - Don Jose Margella (uncredited) * '' Crooks in Cloisters'' (1964) - Father Septimus * '' The Gorgon'' (1964) - Coroner * ''

'' (1967) - Old Jolyon * ''

'' (1968) - Mr. Brownlow * '' A Walk with Love and Death'' (1969) - Pierre of St. Jean * '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969) - Bishop Fisher * '' Doomwatch'' (1972) - Vicar * '' Father, Dear Father'' (1973) - Vicar * '' Penny Gold'' (1973) - Blachford * '' Yellow Dog'' (1973) - Dover * '' Lost Hearts'' (1973) - Mr. Abney * '' The Black Windmill'' (1974) - Sir Edward Julyan * '' The Barchester Chronicles'' (1982) - Bunce * ''

'' (1982) - Narrator / urSkeks (voice) * '' The Forbidden Quest'' (1993) - J.C. Sullivan * '' Tom & Viv'' (1994) - Bishop of Oxford * '' Elizabeth'' (1998) - Earl of Derby * '' The Wisdom of Crocodiles'' (1998) - Mr. Nancarrow * '' The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'' (1999) - Poitiers' Chief Inquisitor

Writings

* ''The Iron Harp'', 1955 (published by Penguin in ''Three Irish Plays'', 1959) * ''Inca'', 1961 (play, published by Hutchinson, 1968) * ''The Tumble Stone'', 1962 * ''A Lion Trap'', 1963 (historical adventure, based on the life of Sir Walter Raleigh, published Hutchinson 1969) * ''The Third Picture'', 1964 * ''The Heiress'', 1971 * ''King Canoodlum and the Great Horned Cheese'' (children's story, published BBC 1979)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:OConor, Joseph 1916 births 2001 deaths Irish male stage actors Irish male film actors Male actors from Dublin (city) Irish male dramatists and playwrights Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century male writers