Bonar Colleano
Encyclopedia
Bonar Colleano was an American-born
British stage and motion-picture performer.
. Following childhood experiences with the Ringling Brothers Circus
and in his family's famous circus, he entered films in 1944. He lived as a British
resident, spending several years performing in music hall
s, the legitimate stage, and radio.
(also known as Johnny in the Clouds, 1945) and later he starred in a Hollywood production, Stanley Kramer
's Eight Iron Men (1952). His later screen roles included Lenny, in the oddball Shakespeare derivation Joe MacBeth (1955).
Colleano's stage work included the role of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire
at the Aldwych Theatre
, London, with Vivien Leigh
.
n circus family and was a nephew of Con Colleano
, the first tightrope walker to perform a forward somersault on the wire.
In 1946 he married actress Tamara Lees, but the couple divorced in 1951. His second wife was actress Susan Shaw
, who declined into alcoholism after his death. Their son, Mark Colleano is also an actor.
In 1950,while living in the U.K., he fathered future Average White Band drummer, Robbie McIntosh. Colleano was not married to McIntosh's mother.
shortly after exiting the Queensway
tunnel. He was driving back from Liverpool's New Shakespeare Theatre
, where he had been appearing in a stage production of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
His passenger, fellow actor and friend Michael Balfour, required 98 stitches but eventually recovered.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
British stage and motion-picture performer.
Early life
Colleano was born Bonar Sullivan in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Following childhood experiences with the Ringling Brothers Circus
Ringling Brothers Circus
The Ringling Brothers Circus was a circus founded in the United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling Brothers: Albert , August , Otto , Alfred T. , Charles , John , and Henry...
and in his family's famous circus, he entered films in 1944. He lived as a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
resident, spending several years performing in music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
s, the legitimate stage, and radio.
Career
After years of playing caricatured Americans in British films, his first important role came with the popular wartime drama, The Way to the StarsThe Way to the Stars
The Way to the Stars, also known as Johnny in the Clouds, is a 1945 British war drama film made by Two Cities Films and released by United Artists. It was produced by Anatole de Grunwald and directed by Anthony Asquith...
(also known as Johnny in the Clouds, 1945) and later he starred in a Hollywood production, Stanley Kramer
Stanley Kramer
Stanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer. Kramer was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous "message" movies...
's Eight Iron Men (1952). His later screen roles included Lenny, in the oddball Shakespeare derivation Joe MacBeth (1955).
Colleano's stage work included the role of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
at the Aldwych Theatre
Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
, London, with Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
.
Personal life
He was from a well known AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n circus family and was a nephew of Con Colleano
Con Colleano
Con Colleano was an Australian tightrope walker who was the first person to successfully attempt a forward somersault on a tightrope and became one of the most celebrated and highly-paid circus performers of his time...
, the first tightrope walker to perform a forward somersault on the wire.
In 1946 he married actress Tamara Lees, but the couple divorced in 1951. His second wife was actress Susan Shaw
Susan Shaw
Susan Shaw was an English actress.Shaw began her film career in 1946 when she was signed to a contract by the J. Arthur Rank Organisation...
, who declined into alcoholism after his death. Their son, Mark Colleano is also an actor.
In 1950,while living in the U.K., he fathered future Average White Band drummer, Robbie McIntosh. Colleano was not married to McIntosh's mother.
Death
Colleano died at the age of 34, when he crashed his sports car in BirkenheadBirkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
shortly after exiting the Queensway
Queensway Tunnel
The Queensway Tunnel is a road tunnel under the River Mersey, in the north west of England, between Liverpool and Birkenhead. It is often called the Birkenhead Tunnel, to distinguish it from the Kingsway Tunnel, which serves Wallasey.-History:...
tunnel. He was driving back from Liverpool's New Shakespeare Theatre
New Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool
The New Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool, was a theatre in that British city's Fraser Street. The theatre opened in 1888 under the proprietorship of Mr Ellis Brammall jun...
, where he had been appearing in a stage production of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is a 1957 American satiric comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall, with Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones, Lili Gentle, Mickey Hargitay, and a cameo by Groucho Marx...
His passenger, fellow actor and friend Michael Balfour, required 98 stitches but eventually recovered.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
| 1945 | The Way to the Stars The Way to the Stars The Way to the Stars, also known as Johnny in the Clouds, is a 1945 British war drama film made by Two Cities Films and released by United Artists. It was produced by Anatole de Grunwald and directed by Anthony Asquith... |
Joe Friselli | known as Johnny in the Clouds in the USA |
| 1946 | Wanted for Murder Wanted for Murder (film) Wanted for Murder is a 1946 British crime film directed by Lawrence Huntington.-Plot:Anne Fielding is delayed on the London Underground making her late for a meeting with her friend, Victor James Colebrooke. There, she meets Jack Williams who is also delayed. The two take an immediate liking to... |
Cpl. Nick Mappolo | |
| A Matter of Life and Death | An American Pilot | Alternative title: Stairway to Heaven | |
| 1947 | While the Sun Shines While the Sun Shines While the Sun Shines is a 1947 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith. It was based on Terrence Rattigan's 1943 play of the same name. -Plot:... |
Joe Mulvaney | |
| 1948 | Merry-Go-Round | ||
| One Night With You | Piero Santellini | ||
| Good-Time Girl Good-Time Girl Good-Time Girl is a 1948 British drama film directed by David MacDonald. The film was based on Arthur La Bern's novel "Night Darkens the Street."-Plot:... |
Micky Malone | ||
| Sleeping Car to Trieste Sleeping Car to Trieste Sleeping Car to Trieste is a 1948 is a British film directed by John Paddy Carstairs. The film is a remake of the 1932 film Rome Express, with essentially the same characters and many of the same actors.-Plot:... |
Sergeant West | ||
| 1949 | Maniacs on Wheels | Tommy Possey | |
| Give Us This Day Give Us This Day Give Us This Day is a 1949 British film, directed by Edward Dmytryk. It was released in the United States as Christ in Concrete. Another alternate title was Salt and the Devil.... |
Julio | ||
| 1950 | Dance Hall Dance Hall (film) Dance Hall is a 1950 British film directed by Charles Crichton. Appealing mainly to a female audience, the film was an unusual departure for the studio, known at the time primarily for its classic comedies starring Alec Guinness.-Plot:... |
Alec | |
| 1951 | Pool of London | Dan MacDonald | |
| A Tale of Five Cities A Tale of Five Cities A Tale of Five Cities is a 1951 British-Italian drama film directed by Romolo Marcellini and five other directors.-Cast:* Bonar Colleano - Bob Mitchell* Barbara Kelly - Lesley - American Magazine Editor* Anne Vernon - Jeannine Meunier... |
Bob Mitchell | Alternative title: A Tale of Five Women | |
| 1952 | Eight Iron Men Eight Iron Men -Cast:* Bonar Colleano as Pvt. Collucci* Arthur Franz as Carter* Lee Marvin as Sgt. Joe Mooney* Richard Kiley as Pvt. Coke* Nick Dennis as Pvt. Sapiros* James Griffith as Pvt. Ferguson* Dickie Moore as Pvt. Muller * George Cooper as Pvt... |
Pvt. Collucci | |
| 1953 | Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey. The film was based on Vivian Tidmarsh's play by the same name.-Plot:... |
Cmdr. Laurie Vining | |
| Escape By Night Escape by Night (1953 film) Escape by Night is a 1953 British crime film directed and written by John Gilling.-Plot:Gino Rossi is an Italian crime boss on the run who hides in a theater with a British journalist who wants to extract his life story.-Cast:... |
Tom Buchan | ||
| 1954 | Flame and the Flesh Flame and the Flesh Flame and the Flesh is a 1954 drama film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Brooks and produced by Joe Pasternak from a screenplay by Helen Deutsch based on the novel by Auguste Bailly... |
Ciccio | |
| This Is My Enemy | Roommate | ||
| The Sea Shall Not Have Them The Sea Shall Not Have Them The Sea Shall Not Have Them is a 1954 British war film starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Steel. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based on the 1953 novel by John Harris, set during the Second World War. Musical soundtrack by composer Malcolm Arnold.A British aircraft is... |
Sgt. Kirby | ||
| 1955 | Joe MacBeth | Lennie | |
| 1956 | Stars in Your Eyes Stars in Your Eyes Stars in Your Eyes is a 1956 British musical film directed by Maurice Elvey.-Plot:As the world of vaudeville gradually loses its attraction, more and more entertainers are losing their jobs. In hopes of fixing their financial problems, a group of entertainers band together and buy a run-down... |
David Laws | |
| Zarak Zarak Zarak is a 1956 British Warwick Films CinemaScope action film based on the 1949 book The Story of Zarak Khan by A.J. Bevan. It was directed by Terence Young with assistance from John Gilling and Yakima Canutt... |
Biri | ||
| 1957 | Pickup Alley | Amalio | |
| Fire Down Below Fire Down Below (1957 film) Fire Down Below is a 1957 adventure drama film starring Rita Hayworth, Jack Lemmon and Robert Mitchum and was directed by Robert Parrish.It was based on Max Catto's 1954 novel and filmed by Warwick Films on location in Trinidad and Tobago in Technicolor and CinemaScope.-Plot:After the Korean War,... |
Lt. Sellars | ||
| 1958 | Them Nice Americans | Joe | |
| Death Over My Shoulder | Joe Longo | ||
| No Time to Die | The Polish POW | Also known as Tank Force | |
| The Man Inside The Man Inside The Man Inside is a 1958 British crime adventure film brought to the screen by Warwick Film Productions. The screenplay from David Shaw was based on a novel by M.E.Chaber and was directed by John Gilling. The film was Bonar Colleano's last role before he died in a car accident... |
Martin Lomer | ||
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1946 | In the Zone | Davis | TV-Movie |
| 1957 | ITV Television Playhouse | Sam Pickens | Episode: The Confidence Man |
| 1958 | East End, West End | 1 episode | |
| Doomsday for Dyson | Jackston | TV-Movie | |
External links
- The Importance of Being Bonar http://www.november3rdclub.com/08-07/nonfiction/williams.html