Patric Doonan (George William Doonan) (18 April 1926 in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

– 10 March 1958 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

) was a British stage and screen actor. He was the son of comedian George Vincent Doonan and Doris Mary (Nee Endsor) he was the brother of fellow actor Tony Doonan. He featured in films of the time such as ''

The Blue Lamp ''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that t ...

'', ''

Train of Events ''Train of Events'' is a 1949 British portmanteau film made by Ealing Studios and directed by Sidney Cole, Charles Crichton and Basil Dearden. It begins with a train that is heading for a crash into a stalled petrol tanker at a level crossing a ...

'' and ''

The Cockleshell Heroes ''The Cockleshell Heroes'' is a 1955 British Technicolor war film with Trevor Howard, Anthony Newley, Christopher Lee, David Lodge and José Ferrer, who also directed. The film depicts a heavily fictionalised version of Operation Frankton, the ...

'' but rarely played the leads. An exception was '' Wheel of Fate'' (1953), in which he did have the leading role and top billing. 1953 was probably Doonan's peak year in films, as in that same year he also had good supporting roles in '' The Net'' (1953) and ''

The Red Beret ''The Red Beret'' (aka ''The Red Devils'', ''The Big Jump'' and retitled ''Paratrooper'' for the US release) is a 1953 British-American war film directed by Terence Young and starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn and Susan Stephen. ''The Red Beret'' is ...

'' (1953). He played Detective Sergeant Trotter in ''

The Mousetrap ''The Mousetrap'' is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. ''The Mousetrap'' opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-1 ...

'' at the Ambassadors Theatre in

for three and a half years. He committed suicide by gas in 1958 at his home in Margaretta Terrace, Chelsea. At the time he was engaged to marry actress Ann Firbank, despite the fact that he was already married to actress Aud Johansen. In 1994 the singer Morrissey referenced Doonan in the song '

Now My Heart Is Full "Now My Heart Is Full" is a song by British singer Morrissey from his fourth solo album '' Vauxhall and I''. The song's refrain of "Dallow, Spicer, Pinkie, Cubitt" references the gangsters from Graham Greene's 1938 novel '' Brighton Rock'' and ...

Filmography

References

External links

* 1925 births 1958 suicides English male film actors Suicides in England English people of Irish descent 20th-century British male actors Suicides by gas 1958 deaths {{England-actor-stub