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1-14 of 14
- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Sean McClory was born in Dublin, Ireland, but spent his early life in Galway. He was the son of Hugh Patrick, an architect and civil engineer, and Mary Margaret Ball, who had been a model. Sean decided to become an actor and joined Dublin's renowned Abbey Theater (also known as the National Theater of Ireland, opened in 1904). He rose through the ranks playing in productions of the works of such authors as William Butler Yeats and George Bernard Shaw, and soon began to play leads mostly in comedies (popular through most of the 1940s and into the 1950s). When comedies began to fade from the theater after World War II, McClory with turned an eye toward film. In early 1947 he decided to make the jump to America and break into Hollywood. His first roles were that of a staple in American films: the Irish cop, which he played in two of the "Dick Tracy" series in 1947. In 1949 he signed a short contract with 20th Century-Fox. By 1950 he was showing up in more notable films - though uncredited, particularly in The Glass Menagerie (1950). Within a year McClory's talents were being showcased in various small feature roles. John Ford finally began casting - a painstaking process for the finicky director -- for his long conceived The Quiet Man (1952) and chose McClory for a small but showy part, in which he was seen throughout the film feature with Charles B. Fitzsimons, the younger brother of the film's star, Maureen O'Hara, playing an Irish villager. Although some of the cast were familiar members of the "John Ford Stock Company", many roles were filled by actual Irish villagers (the film was shot on location) and included a generous helping of Abbey Theater alumni: the Shields brothers (Barry Fitzgerald and Arthur Shields) and Jack MacGowran, in addition to O'Hara McClory. Ford wanted him for roles in several of his subsequent films, however McClory's busy film and TV schedule only allowed him to accept roles in two other Ford films, The Long Gray Line and Cheyenne Autumn.
In 1953 McClory played one of his standout roles as menacing, shady archaeologist Jefferson in Plunder of the Sun (1953), a good adventure thriller helped along by location shooting in Mexico. McClory, with a white-tinted crewcut and dark glasses (very effective), had the opportunity to reveal the depth of his talent and really stole the picture from star Glenn Ford, who couldn't get away from his usual mumbling delivery.
McClory had a cultured, neutral Irish brogue that fit well in small- or big-screen performances, unlike such Irish actors as Barry Fitzgerald who, though very effective and beloved, had a thick brogue that kept him forever cast as an Irishman. As a result, McClory was much more at home in American TV and had many memorable roles from 1953 onward, appearing in a gamut of episodic TV in addition to his feature film work. However, it was his frequent appearances on the small screen that enabled McClory to stand out in viewers' memories, especially in a range of western and adventure series (in which he played a good sprinkling of Irish characters) well into the 1970s. Though not as busy in the 1980s as he was in the '70s, one role in which he truly stood out was in an adaptation by John Huston of Irish writer James Joyce's famous 1907 short story "The Dead" made in 1987 (The Dead (1987)), his final film appearance. McClory's role as Mr. Grace was not a character in the original story but was created by Huston and his son Tony Huston to provide McClory with a reading of the medieval Irish poem "Young Donal", which was very effective to the mood of this look at Irish family remembrance.- Writer
- Actress
Betty Louise Foss was born during the final days of World War I in Alameda, California as the country plagued by a flu epidemic. Within six weeks, her mother died, her father had a nervous breakdown, and relatives passed her care around. As babies were thought to draw the deadly flu, Betty was eventually placed in a San Francisco orphanage where she was later adopted by Scottish immigrants William and Jessie Harrower and raised in Berkeley and Los Angeles. During the Great Depression her adoptive father's salary was cut in half and her adoptive mother decided to take Betty out of school and off to Hollywood to begin an acting career. After trying out several alter egos in the hopes of making an impression on someone in the industry, Betty Foss eventually settled on the identity of Elizabeth Harrower. Elizabeth Harrower appeared in Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature-length color film in 1935. She would continue to appear in hundreds of radio, television, film and stage productions over the next decades, most notably True Grit (1969). In 1942, Harrower married Harry Seabold, an Air Force cadet she had met in fifth grade. Their daughter, actress Susan Seaforth Hayes, was born in 1943. Her husband was called into war even before that and the marriage subsequently did not last. By the 1970s Elizabeth Harrower had met soap opera scribe William J. Bell and she would eventually start her writing career and became head writer of Days of Our Lives (1965) from 1979-1980. She went on to write for Bell's The Young and the Restless (1973) in the 1980s. Her last writing stint was on the short-lived soap opera Generations (1989) in 1991. In 2003, already while taking chemotherapy she had a prominent limited run as Charlotte Ramsey on The Young and the Restless (1973). She died shortly thereafter at age 85.- Bill Morey was born on 19 December 1919 in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Death Race 2000 (1975), Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) and G.I. Joe (1985). He died on 10 December 2003 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- Actress
Mary Meade was born on 24 November 1923 in Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for T-Men (1947), In This Corner (1948) and In Like Flint (1967). She died on 10 December 2003 in Apple Valley, California, USA.- George Archambeault was born on 13 October 1913. He was an actor, known for Machine-Gun Kelly (1958), Gunsmoke (1955) and Union Pacific (1958). He died on 10 December 2003 in Fallbrook, California, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Ron Aspery was born on 9 June 1946 in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, UK. He is known for Highlander (1992), Little Manhattan (2005) and The Hunting of the Snark (1987). He was married to Jenny. He died on 10 December 2003 in the UK.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Robert Spencer was born on 25 March 1909 in Mobile, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for Jet Job (1952), Scandal Sheet (1939) and Because of You (1952). He died on 10 December 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Composer
- Soundtrack
Bill Deal was born on 8 December 1944 in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. Bill was a composer, known for Trees Lounge (1996) and The Last Game (1980). Bill was married to Janice Burton and Barbara Lerner. Bill died on 10 December 2003.- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
János Szirtes was born in 1948 in Hungary. He was an assistant director and actor, known for Tiszta lap (2002), György barát (1972) and Történetek a vonaton (1983). He died on 10 December 2003 in Hungary.- Sheila McCarthy was born on 19 July 1913 in Greenwich, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Sleeping Princess (1939), Job (1936) and The Rake's Progress (1939). She died on 10 December 2003 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Writer
- Actor
Günter Seuren was born on 18 June 1932 in Wickrath, Germany. He was a writer and actor, known for Schonzeit für Füchse (1966), Spielst Du mit schrägen Vögeln (1969) and Der Angriff (1987). He died on 10 December 2003 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.- Actor
John Gannon was born on 19 July 1921 in Montana. He was an actor. He died on 10 December 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Hilda Smith was born on 22 August 1942 in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. She died on 10 December 2003 in Lexington, South Carolina, USA.
- Leonard Malek was born on 2 October 1928 in Harlem, New York, USA. He was an editor, known for The Manipulator (1971), Charlie's Angels (1976) and Eight Is Enough (1977). He died on 10 December 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.