O’Shea ‘a giant of stage and screen’

The Irish actor, Milo O’Shea, has died after a short illness.

He was 86.

The Dubliner, who had a long career on the stage and screen, died in a New York hospital on Tuesday night.

He is survived by his wife, actress Kitty Sullivan, his sons Colm and Steven, and his three grandchildren.

His first wife, actress Maureen Toal, who was best known for playing the role of Teasie in RTÉ’s Glenroe, died last year at the age of 81.

O’Shea’s bushy eyebrows and impish smile endeared him to many. He may not have been Hollywood’s idea of a leading man, but he carved a successful stage and screen career that spanned seven decades.

Among his other memorable film roles in the 1960s were as Friar Laurence in Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet and as the mad scientist Dr Durand Durand in Roger Vadim’s counter-culture classic Barbarella.

He received many plaudits for his performance as Leopold Bloom in Joseph Strick’s 1967 film version of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

In 1984, O’Shea reprised his role (credited as Dr Duran Duran) for the Duran Duran concert film Arena, since his character inspired the band’s name.

He had an astonishing 140 guest roles in many hit American TV shows over the years, including Cheers and The Golden Girls. More recently, he featured in cult HBO prison drama Oz and Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing.

O’Shea began his acting career as a schoolboy in Dublin. He moved to New York in the 1970s and lived there until his death.

He was born in Dublin on Jun 2, 1926. He attended Synge St school run by the Christian Brothers. He took to the stage at a young age and was soon performing with the Abbey Players.

He made his Broadway debut in 1968 in Staircase, which was the first serious depiction of gay men.

In Britain, he was best known in the late 1960s for his starring role in the BBC sitcom Me Mammy, written by Hugh Leonard.

In 1966, he appeared in the Whose Been Sleeping in Our Beds? episode of the Coronation Street spin-off Pardon the Expression as the Traveller, Uncle Mike.

Paying tribute, Arts Minister Jimmy Deenihan said: “Milo O’Shea was a giant of stage and screen.

“During his career in theatre and film, both at home and abroad, he is remembered for the quality of his performances in a range of challenging and often ground-breaking roles.

“His portrayal of Leopold Bloom in Ulysses was a particular highlight of his film career, a role that many people recall when they think of him. His performance in Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet also stands out.

“But many audiences will also remember him with great fondness for the roles he played in some of the most popular television series of recent times including Frasier and The West Wing. Over his life, he reached the widest audiences from across the globe — on stage, on film, and on television — and was internationally recognised for the quality of his work.

“I would like to express my deep condolences to his family, and to his many friends, at this time.”