Barry Fitzgerald | |
|---|---|
 Fitzgerald in 1945 | |
| Born | William Joseph Shields (1888-03-10)10 March 1888 Portobello,Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 4 January 1961(1961-01-04) (aged 72) Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1924–1961 |
| Partner | Gus Taillon (died 1953) |
| Relatives | Arthur Shields (brother) |
William Joseph Shields (10 March 1888 – 4 January 1961), known professionally asBarry Fitzgerald, was an Irish stage, film, and television actor.[1] In a career spanning almost forty years, he appeared in such notable films asBringing Up Baby (1938),The Long Voyage Home (1940),How Green Was My Valley (1941),The Sea Wolf (1941),Going My Way (1944),None but the Lonely Heart (1944), andThe Quiet Man (1952). ForGoing My Way, he won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor and was simultaneously nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actor for the same performance. In 2020, he was listed at number 11 onThe Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.[2]
Fitzgerald was born William Joseph Shields in Walworth Road,Portobello,Dublin, Ireland, the son of Fanny Sophia (née Ungerland) and Adolphus Shields. His father was Irish and his mother was German.[3][4][5] He was the older brother of Irish actorArthur Shields. Although he would be frequently cast as stereotypicalIrish Catholics throughout his career, Fitzgerald was raised in theChurch of Ireland.[6]
He attendedSkerry's College in Dublin before going on to work in thecivil service, starting as a junior clerk at the Dublin Board of Trade in 1911.[7][8] He later went to work for the unemployment office. "It was an easy job, full of leisure," he later said.[9]
Interested in acting, he began appearing in amateur dramatic societies such as the Kincora Players. He joined his brother Arthur Shields in the Abbey in 1915. He chose the stage name Barry Fitzgerald so as not to get in trouble with his superiors in the civil service.[8]
Fitzgerald's early appearances at the Abbey included bit parts in plays such asThe Casting Out of Martin Whelan and a four-word part inThe Critic.[10][11]
His breakthrough performance at the Abbey came in 1919, when he was inThe Dragon by Lady Gregory.[12] However, he continued to act part-time until 1929, keeping his job in the civil service during the day.[9] He was inThe Bribe,An Imaginary Conversation,John Bull's Other Island and others.[12]
In 1924, Fitzgerald's salary at the Abbey was £2/10 a week.[13] That year he appeared in the world premiere ofJuno and the Paycock by famed playwrightSeán O'Casey.[14] Fitzgerald played Captain Jack Boyle.
He received much acclaim for his performance inPaul Twyning during 1925. The following year he was in the premiere of O'Casey'sThe Plough and the Stars, playing Fluther Good. The play was controversial, causing riots and protests. One night in February 1926, three gunmen turned up to Fitzgerald's mother's house intending to kidnap him and prevent the play from being performed, but they were unable to find him.[15]
In 1926, Fitzgerald was inThe Would-Be Gentleman.[16] Other appearances at the Abbey includedThe Far Off Hills,Shadow of a Gunman, andThe Playboy.[17]
O'Casey wrote a part especially for Fitzgerald in the playThe Silver Tassie, but it was rejected by the Abbey. The play was picked up for production in London in 1929. Fitzgerald decided to leave his civil service job to join the production and at age 41, he became a full-time actor.[10]
Fitzgerald made his film debut inAlfred Hitchcock's version ofJuno and the Paycock (1930), shot in London.
In early 1931, Fitzgerald toured England in a production ofPaul Twyning. He returned to Ireland in June of that year to perform the play at the Abbey.[18] Between 1931 and 1936, he appeared in three plays by Irish playwrightTeresa Deevy—A Disciple,[19]In Search of Valour,[20] andKatie Roche[21]—which were alsoAbbey Theatre productions.
In 1932, Fitzgerald travelled to the United States with the Abbey Players to appear inThings That Are Caesar's andThe Far-off Hills.[22]
Fitzgerald and the Players returned to the US in 1934 to tour a series of plays in repertory around the country. These includedThe Plough and the Stars,Drama at Inish,The Far-off Hills,Look at the Heffernans,The Playboy of the Western World,The Shadow of the Glen,Church Street,The Well of the Saints, andJuno and the Paycock.[23]
Fitzgerald appeared in a short Irish silent film,Guests of the Nation, released only in Ireland in 1935. The film was not seen or distributed outside of Ireland until 2011.
In March 1936, Fitzgerald and three other members of the Abbey arrived inHollywood to star in the film version ofThe Plough and the Stars (1936), directed byJohn Ford.[4] Fitzgerald decided to remain in Hollywood where he soon found constant employment as a character actor.[8] He had support roles inEbb Tide (1937) atParamount,Bringing Up Baby (1938) atRKO,Four Men and a Prayer (1938) directed by John Ford for20th Century-Fox, andThe Dawn Patrol (1938) atWarner Bros.
Fitzgerald made a series of films at RKO:Pacific Liner (1939) withVictor McLaglen, and two directed byJohn Farrow:The Saint Strikes Back (1939) andFull Confession (1939). In between the two Farrow films, Fitzgerald returned to Broadway in 1939 inThe White Steed.[24]
AfterFull Confession Fitzgerald went back to Broadway withKindred (1939–40) and a revival ofJuno and the Paycock (1940) which went for 105 performances.[10]
Back in Hollywood, Fitzgerald was reunited with John Ford inThe Long Voyage Home (1940). He appeared inSan Francisco Docks (1940) atUniversal andThe Sea Wolf (1941) at Warner Bros., before making another film with Ford,How Green Was My Valley (1941), for Fox. He went toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer forTarzan's Secret Treasure (1941).
Fitzgerald and Shields starred inTanyard Street (1941) on Broadway, directed by Shields, which had only a short run. However, Fitzgerald's personal notices were excellent,The New York Times calling him "the incarnation of the comic spirit. People start laughing the moment he pokes his squint face on set."[25]
Back in Hollywood, Fitzgerald appeared in a series of films for Universal:The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943),Two Tickets to London (1943), andCorvette K-225 (1943).
Fitzgerald unexpectedly became a leading man whenLeo McCarey cast him oppositeBing Crosby inGoing My Way, released by Paramount in 1944. The film was a huge success and Fitzgerald's performance as Father Fitzgibbon was nominated for both theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor (which he ultimately won) and theAcademy Award for Best Actor;.[4] Voting rules were changed shortly after this occurrence to prevent dual nominations for the same role. An avid golfer, Fitzgerald later accidentally decapitated his Oscar while practicing his golf swing. DuringWorld War II, Oscar statuettes were made of plaster instead of gold-plated bronze to accommodate wartime metal shortages. The academy provided Fitzgerald with a replacement statuette.[26]
AfterGoing My Way, Paramount signed Fitzgerald to a long-term contract. The studio cast him in a supporting role inI Love a Soldier (1944) and he was borrowed by RKO forNone But the Lonely Heart (1944).
In March 1944, Fitzgerald was involved in a car accident which resulted in the death of a woman and the injury of her daughter. He was charged withmanslaughter but was acquitted in January 1945 due to lack of evidence.[27]
Back at Paramount, Fitzgerald supportedAlan Ladd inTwo Years Before the Mast, made in 1944 by John Farrow, but not released until 1946. He supportedBetty Hutton inIncendiary Blonde (1945) andThe Stork Club (1945). In between he had a cameo as himself inDuffy's Tavern (1945) and was borrowed byUnited Artists to play the lead inAnd Then There Were None (1945), based on the novel and play byAgatha Christie. In January 1945 his fee was reported to be $75,000 a film.[28]
Fitzgerald made two more films with John Farrow:California (1947) withRay Milland andEasy Come, Easy Go (1947), where he was top billed.
Paramount reunited Fitzgerald with Bing Crosby inWelcome Stranger (1947) and appeared in another cameo as himself inVariety Girl (1947).
Mark Hellinger borrowed Fitzgerald to play the lead in a cop film at Universal,The Naked City (1948), which was a solid success. Back at Paramount, he was inThe Sainted Sisters (1948) andMiss Tatlock's Millions (1948), then appeared in a third film with Crosby,Top o' the Morning (1949).
Fitzgerald went to Warner Bros. forThe Story of Seabiscuit (1949) withShirley Temple, then to Paramount forUnion Station (1950) withWilliam Holden andSilver City (1951) withYvonne de Carlo. He made his television debut with an episode ofThe Ford Theatre Hour, "The White-Headed Boy" in 1950.
Fitzgerald went to Italy to star in the comedyHa da venì... don Calogero (1952). John Ford gave him third billing in the classicThe Quiet Man (1952) which was shot in Ireland. He then appeared inHappy Ever After (1954) with De Carlo andDavid Niven.
Fitzgerald appeared in TV on episodes ofLux Video Theatre,General Electric Theater, andAlfred Hitchcock Presents.
He had a supporting role in MGM'sThe Catered Affair (1956) and was top billed in the British comedyRooney (1958).
Fitzgerald was top billed in the Irish filmBroth of a Boy (1959).
Fitzgerald never married. In Hollywood, he shared an apartment with his stand-in, Angus Duncan "Gus" Taillon, anIroquois man, who died in 1953.[22][29] Fitzgerald returned to live in Dublin in 1959,[4] where he lived at 2 Seafield Ave, Monkstown. In October that year, he underwent brain surgery.[30] He appeared to recover, but in late 1960 he re-entered the hospital. He died, as William Joseph Shields, of aheart attack in St Patrick's Hospital, James Street, on 4 January 1961.[31][32][8]
Fitzgerald has two stars on theHollywood Walk of Fame, for motion pictures at 6252 Hollywood Boulevard and for television at 7001 Hollywood Boulevard.[33]
Source:"Barry Fitzgerald".IMDb. Retrieved9 October 2013.[unreliable source?]
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Lux Radio Theatre | Top o' the Morning[34] |
...was born at 1 Walworth Road, the son of an Irish father, Adolphus Shields, and a German mother, Fanny Ungerland.
The Only Oscar Winner to Destroy His Academy Award With a Golf Club – Barry Fitzgerald. 1945
