Arthur Shields

Arthur Shields

Shields in The Fabulous Dorseys (1947)
Born February 15, 1896
Dublin, Ireland
Died April 27, 1970 (aged 74)
Santa Barbara, California United States
Resting place
Deans Grange Cemetery
Occupation Actor
Years active 1918–62
Spouse(s) Laurie Bailey (1955–1970) (his death) 2 children; Aideen O'Connor (1943-1950); Bazie Morgan (1920-1943)
Partner(s) n

Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish stage and film actor.

Biography

Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, he started acting in the Abbey Theatre when still a young man. He was the younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Barry Fitzgerald. An Irish nationalist, he fought in the Easter Rising of 1916. He was captured and interned in the Frongoch internment camp in Frongoch, Wales, as were the prominent Irish revolutionaries Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith.[1] He afterwards returned to the Abbey Theatre. In 1936, John Ford brought him to the United States to act in a film version of The Plough and the Stars.

He later returned to the U.S. and for health reasons, he decided to reside in California. He died at his home in Santa Barbara, California, aged 74.[1]

Some of his memorable roles were in John Ford films. Shields portrayed the Reverend Playfair in Ford's The Quiet Man, opposite John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and his brother, Barry Fitzgerald. He played Dr. Laughlin in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon with Wayne and Joanne Dru, and appeared yet again with Wayne and Barry Fitzgerald in Ford's Long Voyage Home. His other films include: Little Nellie Kelly, The Keys of the Kingdom, The Fabulous Dorseys, Gallant Journey, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, Drums Along the Mohawk, Lady Godiva, National Velvet and The River.[2] He also made television appearances including a 1958 role on Perry Mason as Dr. George Barnes in "The Case of the Screaming Woman."

Birthplace of Arthur Shields on Walworth Road, Portobello

Selected filmography


Television

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Boylan, Henry (1999). A Dictionary of Irish Biography. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. ISBN 0-7171-2945-4.
  2. IMDB

External links

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