Joseph O'Conor
Encyclopedia
Joseph O'Conor was an Anglo-Irish actor and playwright.
, the University of London
and RADA
. He made his professional stage debut in 1939 playing Flavius, Trebonius, and Titinius in a modern-dress production of Julius Caesar
at the Embassy Theatre
, and subsequently at His Majesty's Theatre
. Also in 1939 he married Naita Moore; they had two children.
at the Bedford, Camden Town, alternating Iago and Othello with him in Othello
(1949) and taking the title role in Hamlet
(1949), with Wolfit as the Gravedigger.
O'Conor had a strong spiritual side which most eloquently found expression in a series of productions at religious-drama festivals and, unforgettably, as Christ in the York Mystery Plays
(1951 and 1954). A prohibition on the representation of God or Christ still existed in England at that time, so his name for the 1951 production was kept a secret.
Seeking a change from London he played two seasons at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow where his roles included Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing
(1954). This he followed with three seasons (1956–1958) at the Bristol Old Vic
. Bristol acted in several Bernard Shaw
classics. O'Conor played Higgins in Pygmalion
and Undershaft in Major Barbara
. There was also a production of his own early play, The Iron Harp, set in his Ireland. O'Conor wrote five others.
He continued his theatre work, including major roles in several productions at the Old Vic
, but meanwhile he had been building up his television and film activities. In 1967 he played Old Jolyon Forsyte in the television series The Forsyte Saga
and in 1968 Mr Brownlow in the film Oliver!
He spent a season with the National Theatre
under Peter Hall for The Tempest
(1974) playing Alonso to John Gielgud
's Prospero and, with a frightening sense of moral rectitude, Herr Gabor in Frank Wedekind
's Spring Awakening (1974). In a season in Greenwich
(1975) under Jonathan Miller
, he played the King of France in All's Well That Ends Well
. The played the Duke in Measure for Measure
, set in Freud's Vienna.
.
In the 1990s he appeared in several cinema productions. A highlight was the role of J. C. Sullivan in The Forbidden Quest
(1993), directed by Peter Delpeut
, which gave O'Conor a one-man role as a polar survivor. His subsequent work included the Bishop of Oxford in the film of Tom & Viv
(1994) and Mr. Nancarrow in The Wisdom of Crocodiles
(1998).
As well as his extensive work as an actor, he also directed, and wrote six plays. He died in London on 21 January 2001.
Early years
O'Conor was born in Dublin (or perhaps Seattle) on 14 February 1916, the son of Frances (née Call) and Daniel O'Conor. His family moved to London, where he attended the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial SchoolCardinal Vaughan Memorial School
The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School is a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided comprehensive school in Holland Park, Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. And formerly one of several Selective Catholic Schools in England....
, the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
. He made his professional stage debut in 1939 playing Flavius, Trebonius, and Titinius in a modern-dress production of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
at the Embassy Theatre
Embassy Theatre (London)
The Embassy Theatre is a theatre at 64, Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London.- Early years :The Embassy Theatre was opened as a repertory company in September 1928 on the initiative of Sybil Arundale and Herbert Jay., when the premises of Hampstead Conservatoire of Music were adapted by architect...
, and subsequently at His Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
. Also in 1939 he married Naita Moore; they had two children.
After the war
Returning to the stage in 1946 he played a wide variety of roles in London, but with an emphasis on Shakespeare. He spent a season under Donald WolfitDonald Wolfit
Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE was a well-known English actor-manager.-Biography:Wolfit, who was "Woolfitt" at birth was born at New Balderton, near Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire and attended the Magnus Grammar School and made his stage début in 1920...
at the Bedford, Camden Town, alternating Iago and Othello with him in Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
(1949) and taking the title role in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(1949), with Wolfit as the Gravedigger.
O'Conor had a strong spiritual side which most eloquently found expression in a series of productions at religious-drama festivals and, unforgettably, as Christ in the York Mystery Plays
York Mystery Plays
The York Mystery Plays, more properly called the York Corpus Christi Plays, are a Middle English cycle of forty-eight mystery plays, or pageants, which cover sacred history from the creation to the Last Judgement. These were traditionally presented on the feast day of Corpus Christi...
(1951 and 1954). A prohibition on the representation of God or Christ still existed in England at that time, so his name for the 1951 production was kept a secret.
Seeking a change from London he played two seasons at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow where his roles included Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
(1954). This he followed with three seasons (1956–1958) at the Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
. Bristol acted in several Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
classics. O'Conor played Higgins in Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
and Undershaft in Major Barbara
Major Barbara (play)
Major Barbara is a three act play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907.-Setting:*London*Act I: Lady Britomart's house in Wilton Crescent*Act II: The Salvation Army shelter in West Ham...
. There was also a production of his own early play, The Iron Harp, set in his Ireland. O'Conor wrote five others.
He continued his theatre work, including major roles in several productions at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
, but meanwhile he had been building up his television and film activities. In 1967 he played Old Jolyon Forsyte in the television series The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga (1967 series)
The Forsyte Saga is a 1967 BBC television adaptation of John Galsworthy's series of The Forsyte Saga novels, and its sequel trilogy A Modern Comedy...
and in 1968 Mr Brownlow in the film Oliver!
Oliver! (film)
Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
He spent a season with the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
under Peter Hall for The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
(1974) playing Alonso to John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
's Prospero and, with a frightening sense of moral rectitude, Herr Gabor in Frank Wedekind
Frank Wedekind
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind , usually known as Frank Wedekind, was a German playwright...
's Spring Awakening (1974). In a season in Greenwich
Greenwich Theatre
The Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.-Building history:The building was originally a music hall created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was...
(1975) under Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
, he played the King of France in All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623....
. The played the Duke in Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...
, set in Freud's Vienna.
Later life
Following his wife's death in 1977, he married the much younger actress Lizann Rodger. They had two children. He continued to take part in numerous plays, particularly Shakespeare, in the theatre and for television. In 1982 he took the part of the narrator and the character Urskeks in the muppet film The Dark CrystalThe Dark Crystal
The Dark Crystal is a 1982 British-American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Although marketed as a family film, it was notably darker than previous material created by them. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking. The primary concept artist was the...
.
In the 1990s he appeared in several cinema productions. A highlight was the role of J. C. Sullivan in The Forbidden Quest
The Forbidden Quest
The Forbidden Quest is a 1993 mockumentary written and directed by Peter Delpeut.The film won the 1994 International Fantasy Film Special Jury Award at the Fantasporto in Portugal...
(1993), directed by Peter Delpeut
Peter Delpeut
Peter Delpeut is a Dutch filmmaker. Several of his films have heavily used found footage.-Partial filmography:*Lyrical Nitrate *The Forbidden Quest *Cinéma Perdu *Felice...Felice......
, which gave O'Conor a one-man role as a polar survivor. His subsequent work included the Bishop of Oxford in the film of Tom & Viv
Tom & Viv
Tom & Viv is a 1984 play by British playwright, Michael Hastings, which tells the story of the relationship between the American poet, T. S. Eliot, and his first wife, Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot...
(1994) and Mr. Nancarrow in The Wisdom of Crocodiles
The Wisdom of Crocodiles
The Wisdom of Crocodiles is a 1998 romantic thriller by Po-Chih Leong starring Jude Law. It is based on the book of the same name by Paul Hoffman.-Cast:Jude Law - Steven Grlscz Elina Löwensohn - Anne Levels...
(1998).
As well as his extensive work as an actor, he also directed, and wrote six plays. He died in London on 21 January 2001.
Selected filmography
- Anne of the Thousand DaysAnne of the Thousand DaysAnne of the Thousand Days is a 1969 costume drama made by Hal Wallis Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B. Wallis. The film tells the story of Anne Boleyn...
(1969) - Father, Dear FatherFather, Dear Father (film)Father, Dear Father is a 1973 film based on the popular Thames Television sitcom of the same name Father, Dear Father and directed by William G...
(1973) - The Black WindmillThe Black WindmillThe Black Windmill is a 1974 British spy thriller directed by Don Siegel and starring Michael Caine, John Vernon, Janet Suzman and Donald Pleasence The screenplay by Leigh Vance is based on Clive Egleton's novel Seven Days to a Killing. The story involves a British secret service agent, John...
(1974)
Writings
- The Iron Harp, 1955 (published by Penguin in Three Irish Plays, 1959)
- Inca, 1961 (play, published by Hutchinson, 1968)
- The Tumble Stone, 1962
- A Lion Trap, 1963 (historical adventure, based on the life of Sir Walter Raleigh, published Hutchinson 1969)
- The Third Picture, 1964
- The Heiress, 1971
- King Canoodlum and the Great Horned Cheese (children's story, published BBC 1979)