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Cyril Cusack

 
Actor: Cyril Cusack
 
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  • 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
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Irish Literature Companion: Cyril Cusack
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Home > Library > Literature & Language > Irish Literature Companion

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).

 
Wikipedia: Cyril Cusack
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Cyril Cusack
Born Cyril James Cusack
26 November 1910(1910-11-26)
Durban, Natal, South Africa
Died 7 October 1993 (aged 82)
London, England

Cyril James Cusack[1] (November 26, 1910 – October 7, 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:

  1. Maureen Kiely Cusack, an actress, died in 1977, with whom he had three daughters (Sinéad, Sorcha and Niamh) and two sons (Paul and Padraig).
  2. 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

Television

  • Mayor Barthelemy Piechut in Clochemerle (1972)
  • Uncle Peter in Glenroe
  • Father Murphy in "Strumpet City"

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.filmreference.com/film/4/Cyril-Cusack.html
  2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159258
  3. ^ The Irish Times, "Presentation of television awards and citations," December 4, 1963.
  4. ^ source
  5. ^ Garret FitzGerald, All in a Life (Gill and Macmillan, 1991)
  6. ^ 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)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Irish Literature Companion. The Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature. Copyright © 1996, 2000, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cyril Cusack".  Read more

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