Dan O'Herlihy

Actor

Birthday May 1, 1919

Birth Sign Taurus

Birthplace Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland

DEATH DATE 2005-2-17, Malibu, California, U.S. (85 years old)

Nationality Ireland

#24414 Most Popular

1919

Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (1 May 1919 – 17 February 2005) was an Irish actor of film, television and radio.

O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, County Wexford in 1919, but moved with his family to Dublin when he was young.

1944

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, following in his father's footsteps.

He developed a keen interest in acting during his university studies.

He joined several amateur theatre groups and joined the Abbey Theatre as a bit player.

After graduating from the university, he decided to pursue acting full-time, working at the Abbey and Gate Theatre, first as a set designer, then later as an actor.

O'Herlihy's first acting role came in 1944, when he played the lead in the Gate's production of Red Roses For Me, written and directed by Seán O'Casey.

He appeared in some fifty plays at the Gate.

1945

Dan O'Herlihy married Elsie Bennett in 1945.

He was the brother of director Michael O'Herlihy and the father of actor Gavan O'Herlihy, visual artist Olwen O'Herlihy and architect Lorcan O'Herlihy.

He and his wife had nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

One grandchild, Mica O'Herlihy, is a filmmaker whose work has been shown at the Sundance Film Festival.

1947

He made his film debut in Carol Reed's Odd Man Out in 1947, which was shot on-location in Belfast, and also worked extensively in radio.

1948

His first American film role was as Macduff in Orson Welles' version of Macbeth (1948).

1952

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.

1954

O'Herlihy's best-known roles included his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the lead character in Luis Buñuel's Robinson Crusoe (1954), Brigadier General Warren A. Black in Fail Safe (1964), Marshal Ney in Waterloo (1970), Conal Cochran in Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), Grig in The Last Starfighter (1984), "The Old Man" in RoboCop (1987) and its 1990 sequel, and Andrew Packard in the television series Twin Peaks (1990–91).

1959

O'Herlihy was later featured in The Young Land in 1959 as Judge Millard Isham.

1960

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.

1962

He was cast as Stephen Jordan in the last season of Checkmate episode " "Referendum on Murder". He also appeared on 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" and on Route 66 in the episode "To Walk with the Serpent". In 1962, he was cast as Glenn Kassin in "The Earth Mover" episode of Empire. He appeared on Bonanza (episode: "The Artist" as Matthew Raine).

1963

In 1963–1964, he was in The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters.

On 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 single-season run.

1964

In 1964, he starred in Fail Safe in the role of General Black, or "Blackie", who nukes New York on presidential orders.

1966

In 1966, he appeared in the episode "Have You Seen the Aurora Borealis?"

of The Road West, starring Barry Sullivan.

1969

In 1969, he was cast in The Big Cube and 100 Rifles.

1970

In 1970, he starred in the epic Waterloo, playing the part of Michel Ney, the marshal of France.

1974

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.

In the same year he took a role in the film, The Tamarind Seed, which starred Omar Sharif and Julie Andrews.

1976

In 1976, he guest-starred in an episode of Gibbsville.

1978

In 1978, he guest-starred in the second part of the Battlestar Galactica episode "Gun on Ice Planet Zero" as Dr. Ravishol.

1982

In 1982, he starred in Halloween III: Season of the Witch as Conal Cochran and in 1984, he appeared in The Last Starfighter as Grig, Alex Rogan's reptilian co-pilot, navigator and sidekick.

1986

In 1986's The Whoopee Boys he played a judge and in 1987, he appeared in RoboCop as "The Old Man".

That same year, he was cast in John Huston's The Dead.

1990

In 1990, he appeared in RoboCop 2, the sequel to the 1987 film.

O'Herlihy had a fairly extensive career in television, having appeared on Rawhide, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, Adventures in Paradise and Target: The Corruptors!.

He portrayed Larry "Ace" Banner in the first season of The Untouchables in the episode titled "The Big Squeeze".

1991

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.

1998

In 1998, O'Herlihy acted in his last film, The Rat Pack, playing Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.