Cyril Cusack
Encyclopedia
Cyril James Cusack was an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.

Early life

Cusack was born in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

, Natal
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...

, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet (née Cole), an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

 in the Natal mounted police
Mounted police
Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. They continue to serve in remote areas and in metropolitan areas where their day-to-day function may be picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and...

. His parents separated when he was young and his mother took him to England, and then to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. 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 College
Newbridge College is a co-educational fee-paying secondary school in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, run by the Dominican Order. The Dominican Fathers founded Newbridge College in 1852 as a boarding school for boys...

, Newbridge, County Kildare
Newbridge, County Kildare
The earliest known mention of Newbridge was by traveller and bookseller John Dunton in 1698, though he does not refer to any settlement other than at Ballymany....

 and University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

. He left without a degree and joined the Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...

 in 1932. Between then and 1945, he performed in over 60 productions, particularly excelling in the plays of Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...

. 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
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...

 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
Jacob's Awards
The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients were selected by Ireland's national newspaper television...

 for his performance in the Telefís Éireann
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

 production of Triptych. He received honorary degrees in 1977 and 1980 from the NUI
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...

 and the University of Dublin
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...

 respectively.

Cusack's last stage performance was in Chekhov's
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...

 Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...

, in which three of his daughters played the sisters. His four daughters, Sinéad
Sinéad Cusack
Sinéad Moira Cusack is an Irish stage, television and film actress. She has received two Tony Award nominations: once for Best Leading Actress in Much Ado About Nothing , and again for Best Featured Actress in Rock 'n' Roll .-Background:...

 (born 1948), Sorcha
Sorcha Cusack
Sorcha Cusack Born in Dublin on 9 April 1949, She has made many film and television appearances including The Bill, Casualty , the 1973 BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre and the worldwide hit movie Snatch as the traveller mother of Mickey played by Brad Pitt...

 (born 1949), Niamh
Niamh Cusack
Niamh Cusack is an Irish actress. The daughter of late Irish actor Cyril Cusack, she is the sister of Sinéad Cusack and Sorcha Cusack, and half sister of Catherine Cusack. Cusack played Dr Kate Rowan in the television drama series Heartbeat...

 (born 1959 and Catherine
Catherine Cusack
Catherine Cusack is a British actress. She is the half-sister of the actresses Sinéad Cusack, Sorcha Cusack and Niamh Cusack, and the fourth daughter of the actor Cyril Cusack and his second wife Mary Rose Cunningham's only child...

 (born 1968) are actresses. His sons, Paul Cusack and Pádraig Cusack (born 1962), work as a producer with Radio Telefís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...

 and as an associate producer at the National Theatre, London, respectively.

Personal life

Cusack was twice married:
  • The actress Maureen Kiely (1920–18 December 1977) on 5 April 1945 with whom he had three daughters Sinéad
    Sinéad Cusack
    Sinéad Moira Cusack is an Irish stage, television and film actress. She has received two Tony Award nominations: once for Best Leading Actress in Much Ado About Nothing , and again for Best Featured Actress in Rock 'n' Roll .-Background:...

    , Sorcha
    Sorcha Cusack
    Sorcha Cusack Born in Dublin on 9 April 1949, She has made many film and television appearances including The Bill, Casualty , the 1973 BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre and the worldwide hit movie Snatch as the traveller mother of Mickey played by Brad Pitt...

     and Niamh
    Niamh Cusack
    Niamh Cusack is an Irish actress. The daughter of late Irish actor Cyril Cusack, she is the sister of Sinéad Cusack and Sorcha Cusack, and half sister of Catherine Cusack. Cusack played Dr Kate Rowan in the television drama series Heartbeat...

     and two sons Paul and Padraig.
  • Mary Rose Cunningham (1979–1993); one daughter (Catherine
    Catherine Cusack
    Catherine Cusack is a British actress. She is the half-sister of the actresses Sinéad Cusack, Sorcha Cusack and Niamh Cusack, and the fourth daughter of the actor Cyril Cusack and his second wife Mary Rose Cunningham's only child...

    )


Cusack in his later life became a campaigner for conservative causes in Ireland, notably in his opposition to abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

, where he became a frequent letter-writer into the main Liberal Irish newspaper, The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...

. 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."

Cusack was a longtime friend of Irish attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

, Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 and President of Ireland
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...

 Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh served as the fifth President of Ireland, from 1974 to 1976. He resigned in 1976 after a clash with the government. He also had a notable legal career, including serving as Chief Justice of Ireland.- Early life :Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, one of four children, was born on 12 February...

, whom he got to know in University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

 in the early 1930s.

In October 1993, Cusack died in Hounslow
London Borough of Hounslow
-Political composition:Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the...

, Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

, from motor neurone disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...

, one month before what would have been his 83rd birthday.

Film

  • Mick Brian's son in Knocknagow (1918)
  • Servants All
    Servants All
    Sevants All is a 1936 British short comedy film directed by Alex Bryce and starring Robb Wilton, Eve Lister and Cyril Cusack. A group of servants switch places with the aristocrats they work for.-Cast:* Robb Wilton ... Watkins* Eve Lister ... Pricilla...

    (1938)
  • Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It
    Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It
    Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It is a 1941 British detective film directed by Walter Forde and starring Gordon Harker, Alastair Sim, Phyllis Calvert and Edward Chapman. It was the third and final film adaptation of the Inspector Hornleigh stories...

    (1941)
  • Once a Crook
    Once a Crook
    Once a Crook is a 1941 British crime film directed by Herbert Mason and featuring Gordon Harker, Sydney Howard, Bernard Lee, Kathleen Harrison, and Raymond Huntley.-Cast:* Gordon Harker as Charlie Hopkins* Sydney Howard as Hallelujah Harry...

    (1941)
  • Pat in Odd Man Out
    Odd Man Out
    Odd Man Out is a 1947 Anglo-Irish film noir directed by Carol Reed, starring James Mason, and is based on a novel of the same name by F. L. Green.-Plot:The film's opening intertitle reads:...

    (1947) with James Mason
    James Mason
    James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...

  • James Carter in The Blue Lagoon
    The Blue Lagoon (1949 film)
    The Blue Lagoon is a 1949 British romance and adventure film produced and directed by Frank Launder, starring Jean Simmons and Donald Houston. The screenplay was adapted by John Baines, Michael Hogan and Frank Launder from the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole...

    (1949)
  • Cpl. Taylor in The Small Back Room
    The Small Back Room
    The Small Back Room is a film by the British producer-writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring David Farrar and Kathleen Byron and featuring Jack Hawkins and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin...

    (1949)
  • Edward Marston in Gone to Earth
    Gone to Earth (film)
    Gone to Earth is a film by the British-based director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Jennifer Jones, David Farrar and Cyril Cusack and features Esmond Knight. The film was significantly changed for the American market by David O...

    (1950)
  • Chauvelin
    Citizen Chauvelin
    Citizen Armand Chauvelin is the villain in Baroness Emmuska Orczy's classic novel The Scarlet Pimpernel and the various plays and movies derived from the work....

     in The Elusive Pimpernel
    The Elusive Pimpernel
    The Elusive Pimpernel is a 1950 British period adventure film by the British-based director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. Despite having been shot in color, it was released in the United States in black and...

    (1950)
  • Garcia in The Spanish Gardener
    The Spanish Gardener (film)
    The Spanish Gardener is a 1956 film based on the novel by A. J. Cronin, first published in 1950. The film stars Dirk Bogarde and Jon Whiteley, and was directed by Philip Leacock. The adaptation was filmed both at Pinewood Studios, situated outside of London, and in S'Agaro, on the Costa Brava...

    (1956)
  • Captain Sandy Rendel in Ill Met by Moonlight (1957)
  • Sam Bishop in Miracle in Soho
    Miracle in Soho
    Miracle in Soho is a 1957 British drama film directed by Julian Amyes and starring John Gregson, Belinda Lee and Cyril Cusack. The film depicts the lives of the inhabitants of a small street in Soho and the romance betweena local road-builder and the daughter of Italian immigrants.-Main cast:* John...

    (1957)
  • Inspector Dillon in The Rising of the Moon
    The Rising of the Moon (film)
    The Rising of the Moon is a 1957 anthology film directed by John Ford. It consists of three episodes all set in Ireland:*"The Majesty of the Law", based on the short story of that title by Frank O'Connor in Bones of Contention...

    (1957)
  • Jimmy Hannafin in A Terrible Beauty
    A Terrible Beauty (film)
    A Terrible Beauty is a 1960 drama film, directed by Tay Garnett and starring Robert Mitchum and Richard Harris. It was adapted from a novel of the same name, written by Arthur Roth.-Plot:...

    (1960)
  • Dr. Grogan in Waltz of the Toreadors
    Waltz of the Toreadors (film)
    Waltz of the Toreadors is a 1962 film directed by John Guillermin. It stars Peter Sellers and Dany Robin. It was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 1963.-Cast:*Peter Sellers as General Leo Fitzjohn*Dany Robin as Ghislaine...

    (1962)
  • Control in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (film)
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a 1965 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by John le Carré. It was adapted by Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper. The film stars Richard Burton as Alec Leamas, along with Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, Peter van Eyck, Sam Wanamaker, Rupert Davies and Cyril Cusack...

    (1965)
  • Fireman captain in Fahrenheit 451
    Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)
    Fahrenheit 451 is a 1966 film directed by François Truffaut, in his first colour film as well as his only English-language film. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury....

    (1966)
  • Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew
    The Taming of the Shrew (1967 film)
    The Taming of the Shrew is a 1967 film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare about a courtship between two strong-willed people...

    (1967)
  • Chief Insp. Hubbard in a TV version of Dial M for Murder (1967)
  • Galileo in the eponymous feature by Italian director Liliana Cavani
    Liliana Cavani
    Liliana Cavani is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She belongs to a generation of Italian filmmakers that came into prominence in the 1970s and includes Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Marco Bellochio. Cavani became internationally known after the success of her 1974 feature...

     (1968)
  • Frederick Katzmann in Sacco e Vanzetti
    Sacco e Vanzetti
    Sacco e Vanzetti is an Italian docudrama, made in 1971. It was written and directed by Giuliano Montaldo. The film presents a dramatization of the events surrounding the trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti...

    (1971)
  • Glaucus in Harold and Maude
    Harold and Maude
    Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold...

    (1971)
  • An old man in All The Way, Boys
    All the Way, Boys
    All The Way, Boys is a 1973 Italian film starring the popular comedy team of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.-Plot:Salud and Plata eke out a living as bush pilots in South America. They fake plane crashes in order to collect the insurance money, but one time the plane crashes for real in the middle...

    (1973)
  • The gunsmith Gozzi in The Day of the Jackal
    The Day of the Jackal (film)
    The Day of the Jackal is a 1973 Anglo-French film, set in August 1963 and based on the novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. Directed by Fred Zinnemann, it stars Edward Fox as the assassin known only as "the Jackal" who is hired to assassinate Charles de Gaulle.- Synopsis :The film opens...

    (1973)
  • Father Manus in Catholics
    Catholics (film)
    Catholics is a film, directed by Jack Gold and released in 1973. Based on the novel of the same name by Brian Moore, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, it stars Trevor Howard, Martin Sheen and Cyril Cusack....

    (1973)
  • uncredited as Major O'Neill in Juggernaut
    Juggernaut (film)
    Juggernaut is a 1974 British thriller film. It was produced by David V. Picker Productions and released in 1974 by United Artists. The film was directed by Richard Lester, who took over after directors Bryan Forbes and Don Medford each left the project in pre-production.On taking over the film,...

    (1974)
  • Cardinal Danaher in True Confessions
    True Confessions (film)
    True Confessions is a 1981 film directed by Ulu Grosbard, loosely based on the Black Dahlia murder case of 1947. The film stars Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall, was produced by Chartoff-Winkler Productions and is adapted from the novel of the same name by John Gregory Dunne.-Plot summary:In the...

    (1981)
  • Mr. Charrington, shopkeeper and covert Thought Police
    Thought Police
    The Thought Police is the secret police of Oceania in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.It is the job of the Thought Police to uncover and punish thoughtcrime and thought-criminals, using psychology and omnipresent surveillance from telescreens to monitor, search, find and kill...

     agent, in the film version of George Orwell
    George Orwell
    Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...

    's Nineteen Eighty-Four
    Nineteen Eighty-Four (film)
    Nineteen Eighty-Four is a 1984 British science fiction film, based upon George Orwell's novel of the same name, following the life of Winston Smith in Oceania, a country run by a totalitarian government...

    (1984)
  • Lord Castlewelland in My Left Foot
    My Left Foot (film)
    My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the true story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Christy Brown grew up in a poor, working class family, and...

    (1989) with Daniel Day-Lewis
    Daniel Day-Lewis
    Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...

     and Brenda Fricker
    Brenda Fricker
    Brenda Fricker is an Irish actress of theatre, film and television. She had appeared in more than 30 films and television roles...

  • Doc Spencer in Danny the Champion of the World (1989) with Jeremy Irons, Jimmy Nail and Robbie Coltrane
  • Danty Duff in Far and Away
    Far and Away
    Far and Away is a 1992 adventure-drama-romance film directed by Ron Howard from a script by Howard and Bob Dolman, and stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Cinematography by Mikael Salomon, with a music score by John Williams...

    (1992)

Television

  • Mayor Barthelemy Piechut in Clochemerle
    Clochemerle
    Clochemerle is a 1934 French satirical novel by Gabriel Chevallier. It is set in a French village in Beaujolais inspired by Vaux-en-Beaujolais and deals with the ramifications over plans to install a new urinal in the village square.-Adaptation:...

    (1972)
  • Uncle Peter in Glenroe
    Glenroe
    Glenroe was an Irish television drama series broadcast between September 1983 and May 2001 on RTÉ One. The programme was a spin-off from Bracken, a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from The Riordans. Glenroe was broadcast on Sunday nights at 20.30, generally from September to May. The show was...

  • Father Giffley in Strumpet City
    Strumpet City
    Strumpet City is a historical novel by James Plunkett set in Dublin, Ireland, at the time of the Dublin Lock-out. In 1980, it was adapted into a successful TV drama by Radio Telefís Éireann, Ireland's national broadcaster...

  • Rabbi Yehuda in Jesus of Nazareth (1977), a NBC miniseries
  • Mister Lorrimer in Death of an Expert Witness (1983), a production, for Britain's ITV
    ITV
    ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

     network, of the novel
    Death of an Expert Witness
    Death of an Expert Witness is an Adam Dalgliesh novel by P. D. James, published in 1977. It begins with the discovery of a murder of young girl. However, this is not the focus of the novel, but rather is used as a method to introduce us to the staff of a forensic laboratory, the background of this...

     of the same name by P.D.James

External links

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