Cusack, Cyril (1910-1993), actor and playwright. Born in Kenya, son of an Irish member of the police, he was educated at UCD. In 1932 he abandoned law to join the Abbey Theatre. He had a stage triumph as Conn in a revival of The Shaughraun at the Abbey in 1968. Tar Éis an Aifrinn (1942) was his first play. He published poetry: Times Pieces (1970) and Between the Acts (1992).
Cyril Cusack
| Irish Literature Companion: Cyril Cusack |
| Actor: Cyril Cusack |
- Born: Nov 26, 1910 in Durban, Natal, South Africa
- Died: Oct 07, 1993 in London, England, UK
- Occupation: Actor
- Active: '40s-'80s
- Major Genres: Drama, Crime
- Career Highlights: Harold and Maude, 1984, Little Dorrit
- First Major Screen Credit: Odd Man Out (1947)
Biography
Born in South Africa, Cyril Cusack was the son of Irish actress Alice Cole. Cusack was seven years old when, in the company of his mother, he made his stage debut in East Lynne as the consumptive Willie. That same year (1917), he appeared in his first film. Extensively educated at the Dominican College in Newburgh (Ireland) and University College in Dublin, he launched his adult acting career with the Abbey Players in 1932. During his 14 years at the Abbey, he appeared in 65 productions; his favorite role, and the one with which he was most strongly identified, was Christy Mahon in Playboy of the Western World. In 1935, he became director of the Gaelic Players, and the following year made his London bow in Ah, Wilderness. He went on to appear with the Old Vic and the RSC, and in 1944 organized his own troupe, Cyril Cusack Productions. In 1947, his screen career, which had been moving in jumps and starts since 1935, went into full gear with Odd Man Out (1947). Generally shut out of leading roles because of his diminutive stature, he had a few starring films to his credit, notably 1968's Galileo. Otherwise, he was most often seen as a cleric or comic servant, and occasionally as a persuasive menace, notably as the Fire Chief in Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 (1967). He was also the author of two volumes of poetry. Twice married, Cusack is the father of six children, four of them actresses. In 1990, he appeared with his daughters, Niamh, Sinead, and Sorcha, in a Gate Theatre staging of Chekhov's Three Sisters. Though suffering from motor neuron disease in his final year, Cyril Cusack managed to make one last screen appearance in Ron Howard's Far and Away (1993). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide| Filmography: Cyril Cusack |
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| Wikipedia: Cyril Cusack |
| Cyril Cusack | |
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| Born | Cyril James Cusack 26 November 1910 Durban, Natal, South Africa |
| Died | 7 October 1993 (aged 82) London, England |
Cyril James Cusack[1] (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.[2]
Contents |
Early life
Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet (née Cole), an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant in the Natal mounted police.[1] His parents separated when he was young and his mother took him to England, and then to Ireland. Cusack's mother and her partner, Breifne O'Rorke, joined the O'Brien and Ireland Players. Cyril made his first stage performance at the age of seven. Cusack was educated in Newbridge College, Newbridge, County Kildare and University College Dublin. He left without a degree and joined the Abbey Theatre in 1932. Between then and 1945, he performed in over 60 productions, particularly excelling in the plays of Seán O'Casey. In 1947, Cusack formed his own company and staged productions in Dublin, Paris and New York.
Career
In 1963, Cusack joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, England and appeared there for several seasons. By this stage he had established a successful career in films. Also in 1963, Cusack won a Jacob's Award for his performance in the Telefís Éireann production of Triptych.[3] He received honorary degrees in 1977 and 1980 from the NUI and the University of Dublin respectively.
Cusack's last stage performance was in Chekhov's Three Sisters, in which three of his daughters played the sisters. His four daughters, Niamh (born 1959), Sorcha (born 1949), Sinéad (born 1948) and Catherine (born 1968) are actresses. His sons, Paul Cusack and Pádraig Cusack, work as a producer with Radio Telefís Éireann and as an associate producer at the National Theatre, London, respectively.
Personal life
Cusack was twice married:
- Maureen Kiely Cusack, an actress, died in 1977, with whom he had three daughters (Sinéad, Sorcha and Niamh) and two sons (Paul and Padraig).
- Mary Rose Cunningham (1979–1993); one daughter (Catherine)
Cusack in his later life became a campaigner for conservative causes in Ireland, notably in his opposition to abortion, where he became a frequent letter-writer into the main Liberal Irish newspaper, The Irish Times. His conservative credentials came under scrutiny following his death and the revelation that he had not been faithful in his first marriage, with a long-term mistress, Mary Rose Cunningham, who bore him a daughter, Catherine. Cusack married Cunningham following his first wife's death.
Regarding his religious faith, Cusack commented "Religion promotes the divine discontent within oneself, so that one tries to make oneself a better person and draw oneself closer to God."[4]
Cusack was a longtime friend of Irish attorney general, Chief Justice and President of Ireland Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, whom he got to know in University College Dublin in the early 1930s.[5]
In October 1993, Cusack died in Hounslow,[6] Greater London, from motor neurone disease, one month before what would have been his 83rd birthday.
Filmography
Film
- Mick Brian's son in Knocknagow (1918)
- Pat in Odd Man Out (1947) with James Mason
- James Carter in The Blue Lagoon (1949)
- Cpl. Taylor in The Small Back Room (1949)
- Edward Marston in Gone to Earth (1950)
- Chauvelin in The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)
- Garcia in The Spanish Gardener (1956)
- Captain Sandy Rendel in Ill Met by Moonlight (1957)
- Control in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
- Fireman captain in Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
- Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
- Chief Insp. Hubbard in Dial M for Murder (1967)
- Galileo in the eponymous feature by Italian director Liliana Cavani (1968)
- Glaucus in Harold and Maude (1971)
- An old man in All The Way, Boys (1973)
- The gunsmith Gozzi in The Day of the Jackal (1973)
- Father Manus in Catholics (1973)
- uncredited as Major O'Neill in Juggernaut (1974)
- Cardinal Danaher in True Confessions (1981)
- Mr. Charrington, shopkeeper and covert Thought Police agent, in the film version of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
- Lord Castlewelland in My Left Foot (1989) with Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker
- Doc Spencer in Danny the Champion of the World (1989) with Jeremy Irons, Jimmy Nail and Robbie Coltrane
- Danty Duff in Far and Away (1992)
Television
- Mayor Barthelemy Piechut in Clochemerle (1972)
- Uncle Peter in Glenroe
- Father Giffley in Strumpet City
References
- ^ a b http://www.filmreference.com/film/4/Cyril-Cusack.html
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159258
- ^ The Irish Times, "Presentation of television awards and citations," December 4, 1963.
- ^ source
- ^ Garret FitzGerald, All in a Life (Gill and Macmillan, 1991)
- ^ Deaths England and Wales 1984-2006
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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 | Irish Literature Companion. The Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature. Copyright © 1996, 2000, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Knocknagow (1918 Crime Film)
- Danny, the Champion of the World (1989 Children's/Family Film)
- The Last Circus Show (1974 Drama Film)
- The Homecoming (1973 Drama Film)
- Them (1972 Comedy TV Series)
- All the Way, Boys (1973 Comedy Film)
- Galileo (1968 Drama Film)
- Soldiers Three (1951 Adventure Film)
- The Eyes Have It (1974 Mystery Film)
- Memento Mori (1992 Comedy Film)
- The Elusive Pimpernel (1950 Adventure Film)
- King Lear (1971 Drama Film)
- Floods of Fear (1958 Drama Film)
- Once a Crook (1941 Crime Film)
