Barry Fitzgerald
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Barry Fitzgerald (March 10, 1888 – January 14, 1961) was an Academy Award winning Irish actor. Born William Joseph Shields in Dublin, he joined the Abbey Theatre, and starred in such plays as Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock, a role he recreated for Alfred Hitchcock in his screen debut in 1930. He is the older brother of Irish actor Arthur Shields. Fitzgerald was an avid golfer, and known to be a "hacker," Fitzgerald could easily lull opponents into small "bets" and once on the putting green would relieve them of their money. His small stature did nothing to aid in the distance required to be a truly good golfer, but it was his keen eye for the greens that kept others from wagering too great a bet once the tad of a man had a putter in his hand. He once shared his "loot" with a caddie who provided him greater insight into the putting greens of his own country club in Woodland Hills, California.
Fitzgerald went to Hollywood to star in another O'Casey work, The Plough And The Stars, directed by John Ford. He had a successful Hollywood career in such films as The Long Voyage Home, How Green Was My Valley, And Then There Were None and The Quiet Man. He performed a feat never otherwise done in the history of the Academy Awards when he was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for the same performance, in 1944's Going My Way. He won the Supporting Actor Oscar, and later broke the head off it while practicing his golf swing.
Fitzgerald has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for movies at 6220 Hollywood Blvd. and for television at 7001 Hollywood Blvd.
| Preceded by Charles Coburn for The More the Merrier |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor 1944 for Going My Way |
Succeeded by James Dunn for A Tree Grows In Brooklyn |
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