Dan O'Herlihy

About Dan O'Herlihy

Who is it?: Actor, Art Department
Birth Day: May 01, 1919
Birth Place:  Wexford, Ireland, Ireland
Died On: February 17, 2005(2005-02-17) (aged 85)\nMalibu, California, U.S.
Birth Sign: Gemini
Alma mater: University College Dublin
Occupation: Actor
Years active: 1944–1998
Political party: Democratic
Spouse(s): Elsa Bennett (m. 1945–2005); his death
Children: 5 children

Dan O'Herlihy Net Worth

Dan O'Herlihy was born on May 01, 1919 in  Wexford, Ireland, Ireland, is Actor, Art Department. Irish-born Dan O'Herlihy decided not to follow in his father's footsteps, forsaking the life of an architect in favour of the acting profession. The tall, distinguished-looking university graduate boasted a rich, resonant voice, which enabled him to easily find work in radio plays, as well on the stage. He first came to note as a small part actor with the Gate and Abbey Theatre Players, on occasion putting his architectural qualifications to use as a set designer. His first leading role was in Sean O'Casey's play 'Red Roses for Me' in 1944. During one of his performances in Dublin, he was spotted by the director Carol Reed and cast as an IRA terrorist in Odd Man Out (1947). This, and another London-produced film, Hungry Hill (1947), resulted in good critical notices , prompting another genial filmmaker, Orson Welles, to cast O'Herlihy in the role of Macduff for his Mercury/Republic production of Macbeth (1948). While this enterprise was far from successful, O'Herlihy's rugged, bearded appearance for the Scottish play sufficiently impressed Luis Buñuel to cast him in the titular role of Robinson Crusoe (1954).Until the arrival of 'Friday' - the only other featured character - this definitive version of Daniel Defoe's shipwrecked 17th century mariner was a tour-de-force one man show, a compelling, wordless portrayal of agonising solitude. However, since the Mexican production was considered merely a B-movie in Hollywood, O'Herlihy was forced to invest some of his own money to have the film exhibited in Los Angeles. While he was rewarded with an Oscar nomination, few worthy job offers came his way. For the remainder of the decade, he worked under short-term contracts as a character actor (often billed as 'Daniel O'Herlihy') for Universal and 20th Century Fox, typically cast in costume dramas like The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), The Purple Mask (1955) and The Virgin Queen (1955). When movie roles became scarce, he branched out into anthology television, eventually becoming a much sought-after guest star on popular prime time shows like The Untouchables (1959), Bonanza (1959) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964). Work on radio shows, like 'Johnny Dollar', 'Suspense' and 'Lux Radio Theatre', also continued to provide him with a steady source of income.From the mid-1960's, he was afforded several better film opportunities: first, in a memorable dual role as the sinister, voyeuristic Dr. Caligari, and the handsome psychiatrist treating repressed mental patient Jane Lindstrom (Glynis Johns), in Robert Bloch's off-beat psycho-thriller, The Cabinet of Caligari (1962). Secondly, giving an absolutely mesmerizing performance, as an anguished Air Force general contemplating orders to drop a hydrogen bomb over New York, in Sidney Lumet's gripping anti-war drama Fail-Safe (1964). He was also, among later big screen appearances, one of many name actors in the star-studded military epic Waterloo (1970) (as Napoleon's Marshal Ney); unrecognisable in make-up as a reptilian alien in the 'Star Wars' clone The Last Starfighter (1984); as irredeemable villains in Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) and RoboCop (1987); and as the inscrutable Andrew Packard in Thi Tran Twin Peaks (1990) on TV. O'Herlihy continued to alternate film work with acting on stage in Los Angeles and at the Abbey Theater. He died in February 2005 at the age of 85, leaving his papers to the care of the University College Dublin, from where he had obtained his degree in architecture way back in 1945.
Dan O'Herlihy is a member of Actor

💰Dan O'Herlihy Net worth: $2 Million

Some Dan O'Herlihy images

Biography/Timeline

1919

O'Herlihy was born in Wexford Town, Ireland, in 1919. His family moved to Dublin at a young age. He was educated at Christian Brothers College in Dún Laoghaire and later studied at University College Dublin, graduating in 1944 with a degree in Architecture.

1944

His first acting role came in 1944, when he played the lead in the play Red Roses For Me written and directed by Sean O'Casey. O'Herlihy first appeared in film in Carol Reed's Odd Man Out in 1947. His first American film role was as Macduff in Orson Welles' version of Macbeth (1948). In 1952, he starred in the Red Scare film Invasion U.S.A. and, in 1954 in Luis Buñuel's Robinson Crusoe, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. O'Herlihy recalled that the producers of the film wanted Buñuel to use Orson Welles for the role, with Buñuel refusing saying he was too big and too fat. They arranged a screening of Welles' Macbeth to show how a bearded Welles would look but Buñuel demanded O'Herlihy who appeared in the film.

1945

Dan O'Herlihy married Elsie Bennett in 1945. He was the brother of Director Michael O'Herlihy (1929–1997) and the father of actor Gavan O'Herlihy, visual Artist Olwen O'Herlihy, and Architect Lorcan O'Herlihy. He was a Democrat.

1959

O'Herlihy was later featured in The Young Land in 1959 as Judge Millard Isham. In 1960, he played Sir Harry Ivers, an upper-class English drifter who joins Alan Ladd in a plot to ruin an Arizona cattle town by robbing its bank in the western One Foot in Hell. In 1964, he starred in Fail Safe in the role of General Black, or "Blackie". In 1969, he was cast in The Big Cube and 100 Rifles. In 1970, he starred in the epic Waterloo, playing the part of Michel Ney, the Marshal of France. In 1982, he starred in Halloween III: Season of the Witch and in 1984 he appeared in The Last Starfighter as Grig, Alex Rogan's reptilian copilot, navigator, and sidekick. In 1986's The Whoopee Boys he played a judge and in 1987, he was cast in John Huston's The Dead. In 1990, he appeared in RoboCop 2, the sequel to the 1987 film.

1960

O'Herlihy had a fairly extensive career in television, having appeared in such shows as CBS's anthology series, CBS's Rawhide, as John Cord in "The incident at Dragoon Crossing", which aired in October 1960, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, on Adventures in Paradise and the crime drama, Target: The Corruptors, both on ABC. He portrayed Larry "Ace" Banner in the first season of another ABC series, The Untouchables in the episode entitled "The Big Squeeze". He was cast as Stephen Jordan in the last season of CBS's Checkmate episode " "Referendum on Murder". He appeared too on NBC's The Americans and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in the episodes "The Fiddlesticks Affair" and "The Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum Affair." In 1962, he was cast as Glenn Kassin in "The Earth Mover" episode of the modern NBC western series, Empire.

1963

In 1963–1964, he appeared as the wandering gold-seeker father, "Doc" Sardius McPheeters, in the ABC western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters with co-star Kurt Russell as Doc's son, Jaimie. On another ABC series, The Long, Hot Summer, O'Herlihy became the lead star, having replaced Edmond O'Brien in the part of Will Varner midway through the program's one-season run. In 1966, he appeared in the episode "Have You Seen the Aurora Borealis?" of NBC's western series The Road West, starring Barry Sullivan. In 1974 he appeared in QB VII, and played the Senior American Officer, Col. Max Dodd in the second series of BBC's POW drama Colditz. Hawaii Five O 1975. In 1976, he guest-starred in an episode of NBC's dramatic series Gibbsville. In 1978, he guest starred in the second part of the Battlestar Galactica episode "Gun on Ice Planet Zero" as Dr. Ravishol. O'Herlihy also portrayed the ill-fated lumber tycoon Andrew Packard in the cult television program Twin Peaks (1991), and in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Deep Freeze", voicing the villainous theme park mogul Grant Walker. In 1998, O'Herlihy acted in his last film, The Rat Pack, playing Joseph P. Kennedy.

2005

O'Herlihy died of natural causes in Malibu, California in 2005, aged 85. His personal papers are held in the University College Dublin Archives.