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Séan Joseph McClory, Seán McClory, Sean McGlory, Shawn McGlory
description About
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 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. 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.
Info
- wc Gender: Male
- calendar_month Birth Date: 1924-03-08
- event Death Date 2003-12-10
- school Known for: Acting
- star Popularity: 6.3
- info Birth Place Dublin, Ireland
- visibility Views: 4 views
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star User Ratings:
image Images
smart_display Movies and TV shows by Sean McClory
7.3
The Quiet Man
1952-07-21
6.8
Them!
1954-06-16
6.2
Body Bags
1993-08-08
6.1
The Gnome-Mobile
1967-07-19
6.8
The Happiest Millionaire
1967-11-30
5.5
Charade
1953-09-16
6.6
Follow Me, Boys!
1966-12-01
6.2
Island in the Sky
1953-09-05
5.5
Man in the Attic
1953-12-23
6.7
Cheyenne Autumn
1964-10-15
6.5
Moonfleet
1955-06-24
6.9
The Long Gray Line
1955-01-04
5.9
My Chauffeur
1986-01-24
5.6
Roller Boogie
1979-12-19
6.1
Plunder of the Sun
1953-08-26
5.5
Valley of the Dragons
1961-10-31
5.4
Les Miserables
1952-08-14
6.2
The King's Thief
1955-08-05
5
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
1950-04-29
5
Ring of Fear
1954-07-23
4.6
Lorna Doone
1951-05-31
6.5
Bandolero!
1968-06-01
7
The King's Pirate
1967-07-20
0
Kate McShane
1975-04-11
6.7
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
1951-10-16
6
I Cover the Underworld
1955-05-19
5.4
Dick Tracy's Dilemma
1947-05-20
7.3
Beyond Glory
1948-08-03
7.6
Mary Poppins
1964-12-17
6.3
The Guns of Fort Petticoat
1957-04-01
6.8
Niagara
1953-01-26
6.6
Storm Warning
1951-02-10
5.7
Diane
1956-01-12
6.7
The Day of the Wolves
1971-11-01
6.4
Anne of the Indies
1951-10-18
6.9
The Dead
1987-09-03
0
The Child
1954-01-01
5.3
Roughshod
1949-05-11
0
The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe
1976-05-29
5.4
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
1947-09-26
5.7
Falcon Crest
1981-12-04
7.6
Murder, She Wrote
1984-09-30
6.6
Family Affair
1966-09-12
0
The Great Adventure
1963-09-27
6.9
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962-09-26
6.7
Mannix
1967-09-16
5
Surfside 6
1960-10-06
7.1
Lost in Space
1965-09-15
7.7
Perry Mason
1957-09-21
6.6
Gunsmoke
1955-09-10
6
General Electric Theater
1953-02-01
6.2
Lassie
1954-09-12
8
The Islanders
1960-10-02
5
The Californians
1957-09-24
7.8
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
7.2
Rawhide
1959-01-09
7.4
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957-09-14
5.3
The Outcasts
1968-09-23
6.9
Daniel Boone
1964-09-24
6.5
The High Chaparral
1967-09-10
7
S.W.A.T.
1975-02-24
6.4
The Virginian
1962-09-19
4.7
Lancer
1968-09-24
5.7
Bring 'Em Back Alive
1982-09-24
6.4
Thriller
1960-09-13
6
Lux Video Theatre
1950-10-02
6.7
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
1955-09-06
5.6
One Step Beyond
1959-01-20
6.2
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957-07-01
3
Climax!
1954-10-07
5.5
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963-10-04
5.7
Adventures in Paradise
1959-10-05
4.8
Bronco
1958-09-23
5.2
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955-10-05
4.6
Matinee Theater
1955-10-31
6.7
Tarzan
1966-09-08
3.7
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
1956-09-07
6.9
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958-09-06
7.1
The Rifleman
1958-09-30
5.7
The Dakotas
1963-01-07
6.3
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967-09-08
5.6
The Detectives
1959-10-16
5
Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers
1956-10-21
3.5
Cavalcade of America
1952-10-01
5.5
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956-10-05
7
Honey West
1965-09-17
6.7
The Swamp Fox
1959-10-23
0
General Electric True
1962-09-30
6.3
Telephone Time
1956-04-08
5
Frontier
1955-09-25
6.3
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959-09-21
5
Kate McShane
1975-09-10
8.1
Columbo
1971-09-15
5.7
Adventures in Paradise
1959-10-05
6.6
Gunsmoke
1955-09-10
7.8
The Outer Limits
1963-09-16
6.2
Four Star Playhouse
1952-09-25
6.9
Daniel Boone
1964-09-24
6.9
Daniel Boone
1964-09-24
4.1
Checkmate
1960-09-17
6.4
Thriller
1960-09-13
7.7
Perry Mason
1957-09-21
7.7
Perry Mason
1957-09-21
7.8
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
7.1
Battlestar Galactica
1978-09-17