Milo O'Shea
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Milo O'Shea (2 June, 1926 – 3 April, 2013) was an Irish character actor.
Early life
He was born and raised in Dublin and educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street, along with his friend Donal Donnelly.
He was discovered in the 1950s by Harry Dillon, who ran the "37 Theatre Club" on the top floor of his shop The Swiss Gem Company, 51 Lower O'Connell Street Dublin.
O'Shea was once married to Maureen Toal, an Irish actress.
Career
He began acting on the stage, then moved into film in the 1960s. He became popular in the UK as a result of starring in the BBC sitcom Me Mammy alongside Yootha Joyce. In 1967-68 he appeared in the drama Staircase, co-starring Eli Wallach and directed by Barry Morse, which stands as Broadway’s first depiction of homosexual men in a serious way.
O'Shea starred as Leopold Bloom in Joseph Strick's 1967 film version of Ulysses. Among his other memorable film roles in the 1960s were as the well-intentioned Friar Laurence in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet and as the villainous Dr. Durand Durand (who tries to kill Jane Fonda's character by making her literally die of pleasure) in Roger Vadim's counterculture classic Barbarella (both films were released in 1968). He played Inspector Boot in the 1973 Vincent Price horror film Theatre of Blood.
He has been active in American films and TV, such as his memorable supporting role as the trial judge in the Sidney Lumet directed movie The Verdict with Paul Newman and portraying the Chief Justice of the United States in the TV series The West Wing. In a celebrated 1995 episode of Frasier entitled "Shrink Rap", he played Dr Schachter, a couples therapist who counsels the Crane brothers together.
He is currently married to the Irish actress Kitty Sullivan, with whom he has occasionally acted, most notably in a 1981 Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. He has two sons, Colm and Steven, but O'Shea and Sullivan have no children together. O'Shea and his wife have both adopted United States citizenship.
Other notable stage appearances include Mass Appeal (1981) in which he originated the role of "Father Tim Farley" (for which he was nominated for a Tony Award as "Best Actor"), Corpse! (1986) and a 1994 Broadway revival of Philadelphia, Here I Come.
O'Shea received an honorary degree from Quinnipiac University in 2010.
Selected filmography
- This Other Eden (1959)
- Bing Crosby in Dublin (1965)
- Ulysses (1967)
- Romeo and Juliet (1968)
- Barbarella (1968)
- The Adding Machine (1969)
- Me Mammy (1968–70)
- Loot (1970)
- Theatre of Blood (1973)
- Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973)
- Percy's Progress (1974)
- Arabian Adventure (1979)
- The Verdict (1982)
- The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
- The Dream Team (1989)
- Opportunity Knocks (1990)
- Only the Lonely (1991)
- The Playboys (1992)
- Murder in the Heartland (1993)
- The Matchmaker (1997)
