Actor / Director Profile

Born in Limerick and educated at NUI, Irish actor Liam Redmond joined the Abbey Theatre in 1935 and made his debut in Sean O'Casey's "The Silver Tassie." In 1939, he made his first stage appearance in New York in "The White Steed." He left America at the outbreak of WWII and played regularly on the London stage, returning from time to time to the Abbey for a season or performance. He joined the Dublin Verse-Speaking Society and occasionally read poety on radio. Redmond went back to Broadway in the 50s to play Canon McCooey in "The Wayward Saint" and won the George Jean Nathan Award for his performance. His easygoing nature and style proved quite suitable for film and TV character parts, and he was a regular presence on such British TV series as "Z Cars" and "The Avengers." Flavorful roles in films include The Adventuress (1947), Captain Boycott (1947), High Treason (1951), The Cruel Sea (1953), The Playboy of the Western World (1962), the Elvis Presley starrer Kid Galahad (1962), The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964), Tobruk (1967) and his last Barry Lyndon (1975). Over the years he played various captains, priests, inspectors and professors. Redmond eventually retired to his Irish countryside. He died in Dublin in 1989, predeceased by his wife, Barbara MacDonagh.