Christopher Casson
Encyclopedia
Christopher Casson was an English
-born actor who became a citizen of Ireland
in 1946. His work included stage, screen, radio and television roles. His portrayal of a Church of Ireland
canon in the long-running series The Riordans
made him known nationwide.
, England
, the youngest son of actors Sybil Thorndike
and Lewis Casson
. He made his stage debut at age three in Julius Caesar at the Old Vic
.
After a brief naval career he enrolled at the Central School of Dramatic Art at the Albert Hall
. He began his professional career in 1930. He toured Egypt, Palestine, Australia and New Zealand during the 1930s.
In 1938 he joined the Hilton Edwards
and Micheál Mac Liammóir company at the Gate Theatre
in Dublin. He married the Irish stage designer and artist Kay O'Connell in 1941, with Mac Liammóir as his best man. They had two daughters. He became a Roman Catholic in 1946. He worked with Longford Productions until 1950, when he became a freelance actor.
Casson achieved national fame with his portrayol of Canon Browne in The Riordans. He also had parts in The Irish RM, Autumn Sunshine and Strangers and Brothers. His film credits included Captain Lightfoot
, Shake Hands with the Devil and Frankie Starlight
.
He was part of a Jacob's Award winning production in 1982, as a member of the RTÉ Players
, when he acted the part of Virag in RTÉ Radio
's unabridged, 30 hour, marathon broadcast
of James Joyce
's novel, Ulysses
.
He was an accomplished harpist and ballad-singer.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born actor who became a citizen of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
in 1946. His work included stage, screen, radio and television roles. His portrayal of a Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
canon in the long-running series The Riordans
The Riordans
The Riordans was the second Irish soap opera made by Raidio Telefís Éireann . It ran from 1965 to 1979 and was set in the fictional townland of Leestown in County Kilkenny...
made him known nationwide.
Life and work
He was born in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the youngest son of actors Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
and Lewis Casson
Lewis Casson
Sir Lewis Thomas Casson MC was a British actor and theatre director and the husband of Dame Sybil Thorndike.-Early life:...
. He made his stage debut at age three in Julius Caesar at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
.
After a brief naval career he enrolled at the Central School of Dramatic Art at the Albert Hall
Albert Hall
Albert P. Hall is an American actor.Born in Brighton, Alabama, Hall graduated from the Columbia University School of the Arts in 1971. That same year he appeared Off-Broadway in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and on Broadway in the Melvin Van Peebles musical Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death...
. He began his professional career in 1930. He toured Egypt, Palestine, Australia and New Zealand during the 1930s.
In 1938 he joined the Hilton Edwards
Hilton Edwards
Hilton Edwards was an English-born Irish actor and theatrical producer. He was the son of Thomas George Cecil Edwards and Emily Edwards ....
and Micheál Mac Liammóir company at the Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
in Dublin. He married the Irish stage designer and artist Kay O'Connell in 1941, with Mac Liammóir as his best man. They had two daughters. He became a Roman Catholic in 1946. He worked with Longford Productions until 1950, when he became a freelance actor.
Casson achieved national fame with his portrayol of Canon Browne in The Riordans. He also had parts in The Irish RM, Autumn Sunshine and Strangers and Brothers. His film credits included Captain Lightfoot
Captain Lightfoot
Captain Lightfoot is a 1955 film starring Rock Hudson and Barbara Rush.It is a historical drama set in Ireland and was filmed at Clogherhead, County Louth, Ireland.-Cast:* Rock Hudson as Michael Martin* Barbara Rush as Aga Doherty...
, Shake Hands with the Devil and Frankie Starlight
Frankie Starlight
Frankie Starlight is a 1995 film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. The screenplay was written by Ronan O'Leary and Chet Raymo, based on the internationally best-selling novel The Dork of Cork by Raymo.-Plot:...
.
He was part of a Jacob's Award winning production in 1982, as a member of the RTÉ Players
Radio Éireann Players
The Radio Éireann Players were a repertory company for radio in Ireland, formed in 1947, which performed in regular drama productions for Irish broadcaster, Radio Éireann. After the depredations of the war-time years and a devastating fire in the Abbey Theatre in 1951, the Radio Éireann Players'...
, when he acted the part of Virag in RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio is a department of Irish national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels....
's unabridged, 30 hour, marathon broadcast
Ulysses (broadcast)
The Ulysses broadcast occurred on Bloomsday 1982 when the Irish state broadcaster, RTÉ Radio, transmitted an uninterrupted, 30 hour, dramatised performance, by 33 actors of the RTÉ Players, of the entire text of James Joyce's epic novel, Ulysses, to commemorate the centenary of the author's birth,...
of James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's novel, Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
.
He was an accomplished harpist and ballad-singer.