Cyril Cusack

Cyril Cusack
Cusack as the fireman captain in Fahrenheit 451, 1966
Born	Cyril James Cusack (1910-11-26)26 November 1910 Durban, Natal, Union of South Africa
Died	7 October 1993(1993-10-07) (aged 82) Chiswick, London, England
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1918–1993
Spouse(s)	Mary Margaret "Maureen" Kiely ​ ​ (m. 1945; died 1977)​ Mary Rose Cunningham ​ ​ (m. 1979)​
Children	6, including Sinéad, Sorcha, Niamh, Pádraig and Catherine Cusack
Relatives	Richard Boyd Barrett (grandson) Max Irons (grandson) Calam Lynch (grandson)

Cyril James Cusack^[1] (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish^[2][3] actor. He appeared in numerous films and television productions in a career lasting more than 70 years.^[4] In 2020, he was listed at number 14 on The Irish Times' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.^[5]

Early life[]

Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa. His mother, Alice Violet (née Cole), was an English Cockney actress and chorus girl, and his father, James Walter Cusack, was an Irish mounted policeman in Natal Colony, South Africa.^[1][2] His parents separated when he was young and his mother took him to England, and then to Ireland. Cusack's mother and her partner, Brefni O'Rorke, joined the O'Brien and Ireland Players. Cyril made his first stage performance at the age of seven. Cusack was educated at Newbridge College in Newbridge, County Kildare, then read law at University College Dublin. He left without a degree and joined the Abbey Theatre in 1932. Between then and 1945, he performed in over 60 productions,^[6] particularly excelling in the plays of Seán O'Casey. He also performed in plays by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy Katie Roche^[7] and The King of Spain's Daughter.^[8] In 1932 he also joined the Gate Theatre company, appearing with them in many notable productions over the years. In 1947, Cusack formed his own company and staged productions in Dublin, Paris and New York.

Career[]

In 1963, Cusack joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and appeared there for several seasons. By this stage he had established a successful career in films, which had started at the age of eight. Also in 1963, Cusack won a Jacob's Award for his performance in the Telefís Éireann production of Triptych.^[9] He received honorary degrees in 1977 and 1980 from the NUI and the University of Dublin respectively.

Cusack was offered the role of the First Doctor in Doctor Who.

Cusack, who was bilingual in English and Irish, had a leading part in the controversial Irish language film Poitín (1977).

Cusack's last stage performance was in Chekhov's Three Sisters (1990), in which three of his daughters played the sisters.

Personal life[]

Cusack was twice married:

• The actress Mary Margaret "Maureen" Kiely (1920–1977), on 5 April 1945

Paul (1946) worked as a producer with RTE
Sinéad (1948) actress
Sorcha (1949) actress
Niamh (1959) actress
Pádraig (1962) associate producer at the National Theatre in London.^[10]

• Mary Rose Cunningham (1979–1993)

Catherine (1968) actress

In later life, Cusack became a campaigner for conservative causes in Ireland, notably in his opposition to abortion, where he became a frequent letter-writer to the main liberal Irish newspaper, The Irish Times. Regarding his Catholic faith,^[11] he commented "Religion promotes the divine discontent within oneself, so that one tries to make oneself a better person and draw oneself closer to God."^[12] His religious credentials came under scrutiny following his death and the revelation that he had been unfaithful in his first marriage, with a long-term mistress, Mary Rose Cunningham, who bore him a daughter, Catherine. Cusack married Cunningham following his first wife's death.

Cusack was a longtime friend of Irish attorney general, Chief Justice and President of Ireland Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, whom he got to know when they were students at University College Dublin in the early 1930s.^[13]

Death[]

In October 1993, Cusack died at home in Chiswick,^[14] Greater London, from MND.^[A] His acting career had lasted 75 years.

Cusack is the maternal grandfather of Irish Socialist Workers Party TD Richard Boyd Barrett and English actor Max Irons.

Complete filmography[]

Selected television[]

• St. Patrick's Day (1938)
• The Moon and Sixpence (1959) as Dr. Coutras
• The Power and the Glory (1961) as Tench
• The Chairs (1962) as the Old Man
• Dial M for Murder (1967) as Chief Insp. Hubbard
• Red Peppers (1969) as Bert Bentley
• David Copperfield (1969, US TV Movie) as Barkis
• Poet Game (1971) as Dr. Saunders
• The Golden Bowl (1972), as Bob Assingham
• Clochemerle (1972) (UK) as Mayor Barthelemy Piechut
• The Hands of Cormac Joyce (Hallmark Hall of Fame, 1972) as Mr. Reece
• Glenroe (Ireland 1974) as Uncle Peter
• Jesus of Nazareth (1977), as Rabbi Yehuda
• Les Misérables (1978, TV Movie) as Fauchelevent
• Cry of the Innocent (1980) as Detective Inspector Tom Moloney
• Strumpet City (Ireland 1980) as Father Giffley
• Tales of the Unexpected, episode "The Hitch-Hiker" (1980) as Michael Fish
• No Country for Old Men (1981)
• Andrina (1981) as Captain Bill Torvald
• The Ghost Downstairs (1982) as Mr. Fishbane
• The Comedy of Errors, (BBC/Time-Life Shakespeare, 1983) as Aegeon
• Death of an Expert Witness, based on the novel by P.D.James (1983) as Mister Lorrimer
• One of Ourselves (1983) as Quigley
• Dr. Fischer of Geneva (1984) as Steiner
• Two by Forsyth (1984)
• Privilege (1984), based on Frederick Forsyth stories, adapted by Michael Feeney Callan (1984), Mobile Showcase Network (US) as Martin Pound
• Tales of the Unexpected, episode "Accidental Death" (1984) as Percy Hampton
• The Kingfisher (1985) as Hawkins
• The Tenth Man (1988) as the Priest
• Danny the Champion of the World (1989) as Doc Spencer

Theatre work[]

• The King of Spain's Daughter (1935)
• Jo Mahony in Katie Roch (1936)

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cyril Cusack.

• Cyril Cusack at IMDb
• Cyril Cusack at the BFI's Screenonline
• Cyril Cusack at The Teresa Deevy Archive