Ray McAnally
Encyclopedia
Ray McAnally was an Irish
actor famous for his performances in films such as The Mission, My Left Foot
, and A Very British Coup
.
Peninsula of County Donegal
, Ireland
. The son of a bank manager, he was educated at St. Eunan's College
in Letterkenny
where he wrote, produced and staged a musical called 'Madame Screwball' at the age of 16. He entered a seminary at the age of 18. However, he left the seminary after a short time having decided that the priesthood was not his vocation. He joined the Abbey Theatre
in 1947 where he met and married actress Ronnie Masterson
.
, opposite Constance Cummings
, at the Piccadilly Theatre
.
On television he was a familiar face, often in glossy thriller series like The Avengers
,
Man in a Suitcase
and Strange Report
. In 1968 he took the title role in Spindoe
, a series charting the return to power of a London gangster, Alec Spindoe, after a five-year prison term. This was a spin-off from another series, The Fellows
(1967) in which McAnally had appeared in several episode as the Spindoe character.
He regularly acted in the Abbey Theatre and Irish festivals, but then, in the last decade of life, achieved award-winning notice on TV and films. His impressive performance as Cardinal Altamirano in the film The Mission (1986) earned him Evening Standard
and BAFTA awards. His role in the BBC's A Perfect Spy
(1987) also earned him a second BAFTA award. In 1988 he won the BAFTA for Best Actor for his performance in A Very British Coup
, a role that also brought him a Jacob's Award. In the last year of his life, he portrayed the father of Christy Brown
(played by Daniel Day-Lewis
) in the Academy Award-winning film, My Left Foot
(1989).
on 15 June 1989, aged 63 at his home which he shared with his partner, Irish actress Britta Smith. He received a posthumous BAFTA award for his last movie in 1990.
At the time of his death, he was due to play "Bull McCabe" in Jim Sheridan
's film The Field
, the part eventually going to Richard Harris
(who would receive an Oscar
nomination for his performance). McAnally had also been cast in the lead role of First and Last, a drama about a man who walked from Land's End
to John o' Groats
. Filming was almost complete when he died, but the whole play had to be re-filmed, with Joss Ackland
taking the role instead.
McAnally had four children; Conor, Aongus, Máire and Niamh. Conor is a producer, based in Los Angeles, and Aonghus is a television presenter in Ireland.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
actor famous for his performances in films such as The Mission, My Left Foot
My Left Foot (film)
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the true story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Christy Brown grew up in a poor, working class family, and...
, and A Very British Coup
A Very British Coup
A Very British Coup is a 1982 novel by British politician Chris Mullin. In 1988, the novel was adapted for television, directed by Mick Jackson, with a screenplay by Alan Plater and starring Ray McAnally...
.
Background
Ray McAnally was born in Buncrana, a seaside town located on the InishowenInishowen
Inishowen is a peninsula in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in the north of Ireland. It is also the largest peninsula in all of Ireland. Inishowen is a picturesque location with a rich history...
Peninsula of County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The son of a bank manager, he was educated at St. Eunan's College
St. Eunan's College
Saint Eunan's College is an all-male voluntary secondary school. Located in Glencar, Letterkenny , County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, the building is a three-storey castle with four round towers at each corner of the building. The school is named after the Abbot of Iona St...
in Letterkenny
Letterkenny
Letterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...
where he wrote, produced and staged a musical called 'Madame Screwball' at the age of 16. He entered a seminary at the age of 18. However, he left the seminary after a short time having decided that the priesthood was not his vocation. He joined the Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...
in 1947 where he met and married actress Ronnie Masterson
Ronnie Masterson
Ronnie Masterson is an Irish actress.Masterson trained at the Abbey Theatre and first appeared on stage there in 1944. At the Abbey, she met and then married actor Ray McAnally in 1945, and they remained married until his death, although they resided in different homes; her husband with Irish...
.
Career
The couple would later form Old Quay Productions and present an assortment of classic plays in the 1960s and 1970s. He made his theatre debut in 1962 with A Nice Bunch of Cheap Flowers and gave a well-received performance as George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick. It was directed by Alan Schneider...
, opposite Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
, at the Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...
.
On television he was a familiar face, often in glossy thriller series like The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
,
Man in a Suitcase
Man in a Suitcase
Man in a Suitcase is a 1967 television series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.-Origins and overview:Man in a Suitcase was effectively a replacement for Danger Man, whose production had been curtailed when its star Patrick McGoohan had decided to create his own series, The Prisoner...
and Strange Report
Strange Report
Strange Report is a British television drama starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969....
. In 1968 he took the title role in Spindoe
Spindoe
Spindoe is a British television series which was shown on ITV in the spring of 1968. It was named after the lead character, Alec Spindoe, a South London gangster; the plot of the series showed how Spindoe re-established his gangland empire after he had been supplanted during a term of imprisonment,...
, a series charting the return to power of a London gangster, Alec Spindoe, after a five-year prison term. This was a spin-off from another series, The Fellows
The Man In Room 17/The Fellows (Late of Room 17)
The Man in Room 17 is a British television series which ran for two seasons in the mid-1960s, produced by the Northern ITV franchise, Granada Television...
(1967) in which McAnally had appeared in several episode as the Spindoe character.
He regularly acted in the Abbey Theatre and Irish festivals, but then, in the last decade of life, achieved award-winning notice on TV and films. His impressive performance as Cardinal Altamirano in the film The Mission (1986) earned him Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
and BAFTA awards. His role in the BBC's A Perfect Spy
A Perfect Spy (TV series)
A Perfect Spy is a BBC miniseries adaptation of John le Carré's spy novel of the same name. It follows the career of the British MI6 spy Magnus Pym from his early days as a schoolboy to his eventual disappearance as a suspected agent of the Czech secret service.-Episode one:As a young boy Magnus...
(1987) also earned him a second BAFTA award. In 1988 he won the BAFTA for Best Actor for his performance in A Very British Coup
A Very British Coup
A Very British Coup is a 1982 novel by British politician Chris Mullin. In 1988, the novel was adapted for television, directed by Mick Jackson, with a screenplay by Alan Plater and starring Ray McAnally...
, a role that also brought him a Jacob's Award. In the last year of his life, he portrayed the father of Christy Brown
Christy Brown
Christy Brown was an Irish author, painter and poet who had cerebral palsy. He is most famous for his autobiography My Left Foot, which was later made into an Academy Award-winning film of the same name....
(played by Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
) in the Academy Award-winning film, My Left Foot
My Left Foot (film)
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the true story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Christy Brown grew up in a poor, working class family, and...
(1989).
Death
McAnally died suddenly of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on 15 June 1989, aged 63 at his home which he shared with his partner, Irish actress Britta Smith. He received a posthumous BAFTA award for his last movie in 1990.
At the time of his death, he was due to play "Bull McCabe" in Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...
's film The Field
The Field
The Field is a play written by John B. Keane, first performed in 1965. It tells the story of the hardened farmer "Bull" McCabe and his love for the land he rents. The play debuted at Dublin's Olympia Theatre in 1965, with Ray McAnally as "The Bull" and Eamon Keane as "The Bird" O'Donnell. The play...
, the part eventually going to Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
(who would receive an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for his performance). McAnally had also been cast in the lead role of First and Last, a drama about a man who walked from Land's End
Land's End
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....
to John o' Groats
John o' Groats
John o' Groats is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland. Part of the county of Caithness, John o' Groats is popular with tourists because it is usually regarded as the most northerly settlement of mainland Great Britain, although this is not a claim made by the inhabitants...
. Filming was almost complete when he died, but the whole play had to be re-filmed, with Joss Ackland
Joss Ackland
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
taking the role instead.
McAnally had four children; Conor, Aongus, Máire and Niamh. Conor is a producer, based in Los Angeles, and Aonghus is a television presenter in Ireland.
Filmography
- Sea of Sand (1958)
- Shake Hands with the DevilShake Hands with the Devil (1959 film)Shake Hands with the Devil is a 1959 film directed by the English director Michael Anderson.It is set in 1921 Dublin, where the Irish Republican Army battles the "Black and Tans," the ex-British soldiers sent to suppress the IRA with excessively harsh measures.The film stars James Cagney as Sean...
(1959) - The Naked EdgeThe Naked EdgeThe Naked Edge is a 1961 thriller film starring Gary Cooper and Deborah Kerr. The movie was a British-American co-production distributed by United Artists, directed by Michael Anderson and produced by George Glass and Walter Seltzer with Marlon Brando Sr. as executive producer...
(1961) - Billy BuddBilly Budd (film)Billy Budd is a 1962 film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov. Adapted from the stage play version of Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd, it starred Terence Stamp as Billy Budd, Robert Ryan as John Claggart, and Ustinov as Captain Vere...
(1962) - He Who Rides a TigerHe Who Rides a TigerHe Who Rides a Tiger is a 1965 British crime drama directed by Charles Crichton, and starring Tom Bell and Judi Dench.-Cast:* Tom Bell as Peter Rayston* Judi Dench as Joanne* Paul Rogers as Superintendent Taylor* Kay Walsh as Mrs...
(1965) - The Looking Glass War (1969)
- Quest for Love (1971)
- Fear Is the KeyFear is the KeyFear Is the Key is a 1961 thriller novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and a 1972 British film based upon it.-Plot introduction:In the prologue, set in May 1958, Talbot, owner of "Trans Carib Air Charter Co" was in radio contact with one of his planes en route to Tampa, Florida, as it is...
(1972) - The Outsider (1979)
- The Sleep of DeathThe Sleep of DeathThe Sleep of Death is a 1981 Swedish-Irish historical horror film directed by Calvin Floyd and starring Per Oscarsson, Patrick Magee and Marilù Tolo. It is based on the novel The Room at the Flying Dragon by Sheridan Le Fanu. In 1815 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, a young Englishman travels to...
(1981) - Angel Angel (1982 film)Angel is a 1982 film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Stephen Rea. The film was Neil Jordan's directorial debut, and the executive producer was John Boorman.-Plot summary:...
(1982) - CalCal (film)Cal is a 1984 British drama film directed by Pat O'Connor, and starring John Lynch and Helen Mirren. Based on the novella Cal written by Bernard MacLaverty who also wrote the script, the film was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, where Helen Mirren won the award for Best Actress.-Plot:Cal...
(1984) - No SurrenderNo Surrender (film)No Surrender is a 1985 comedy film starring Michael Angelis and Ray McAnally.The film is black comedy about the Northern Ireland conflict, set in Liverpool on New Year's Eve. The plot focuses on the Irish Catholic and Protestant communities in the city, and the action is seen through the eyes of...
(1985) - The Mission (1986)
- White MischiefWhite MischiefWhite Mischief is a 1987 film dramatising the events of the Happy Valley murder case in Kenya in 1941, when Sir Henry "Jock" Delves Broughton was tried for the murder of Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll....
(1987) - TaffinTaffinTaffin is a 1988 Irish thriller film directed by Francis Megahy and starring Pierce Brosnan in the title role of Mark Taffin. It also featured Ray McAnally, Alison Doody and Jeremy Child...
(1987) - The SicilianThe Sicilian (film)The Sicilian is a 1987 action film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo. It was directed by Michael Cimino and stars Christopher Lambert, Joss Ackland and Terence Stamp.-Plot:...
(1987) - The Fourth ProtocolThe Fourth Protocol (film)The Fourth Protocol is a 1987 Cold War spy film starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan, based on the novel The Fourth Protocol by Frederick Forsyth.- Plot :The plot centres on a secret 1968 East-West agreement to halt nuclear proliferation...
(1987) - Empire State (1987)
- A Very British CoupA Very British CoupA Very British Coup is a 1982 novel by British politician Chris Mullin. In 1988, the novel was adapted for television, directed by Mick Jackson, with a screenplay by Alan Plater and starring Ray McAnally...
(1988) - British TV movie - High SpiritsHigh SpiritsHigh Spirits may refer to:* High Spirits , a Broadway production based on the Noel Coward play Blithe Spirit* High Spirits , a comedy starring Peter O'Toole* High Spirits , a book by Robertson Davies...
(1988) - Jack the RipperJack the Ripper (1988 TV series)Jack the Ripper is a 1988 four-part television movie/mini-series portraying a fictionalized account of the hunt for Jack the Ripper, the unidentified serial killer responsible for the Whitechapel murders of 1888...
(1988) - TV movie - We're No AngelsWe're No Angels (1989 film)We're No Angels is a 1989 comedy film directed by Neil Jordan. It stars Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, and Demi Moore.-Plot:A couple of 1930s Great Depression-era convicts, Ned and Jim, jailed on never-specified charges and abused by a ruthless warden, are dragged along when a vicious killer named...
(1989) - Venus PeterVenus PeterVenus Peter is a 1989 British drama film directed by Ian Sellar and produced by Christopher Young for Young films. The film is an adopation of the novel A Twelvemonth and a Day by Christopher Rush. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. It was filmed on...
(1989) - My Left FootMy Left Foot (film)My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the true story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Christy Brown grew up in a poor, working class family, and...
(1989)