Gavan O'Herlihy
| Gavan O'Herlihy | |
|---|---|
| Born |
29 July 1951 Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1973–present |
Gavan O'Herlihy (born 29 July 1951) is an Irish character actor. He is best known for his role as the first Chuck Cunningham on Happy Days.
Early life and career
O'Herlihy was born in Los Angeles, the son of Elsie Bennett and Irish actor Dan O'Herlihy.[1] In his youth, he was an avid tennis player, and became Irish National Tennis Champion. He has over thirty screen credits to his name, most of them in villainous or antagonistic roles such as Never Say Never Again, Superman III, Death Wish 3 and The Last Outlaw. His role as Airk Thaughbaer in the 1988 fantasy Willow is one of the few heroic roles that the burly, fair-haired Gavan has managed to get, as well as that of the dashing British officer from Virginia Captain Leroy in Sharpe's Eagle. He has also appeared in Rich Man, Poor Man and Tales From The Crypt. In 1994, he starred as John Garrideb in The Mazarin Stone from Granada TV's Sherlock Holmes series. The events of the story were rewritten and merged with The Adventure of the Three Garridebs.[2]
He was cast as the eldest sibling, Chuck Cunningham, on Happy Days. Gavan left "Happy Days".[3] He was eventually replaced by Randolph Roberts until the episode "Guess Who's Coming to Christmas". O'Herlihy did not want to become stuck in television roles, preferring films. Gavan appeared in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Voyager, "Caretaker", as the Kazon First Maje, Jabin.[2] He also appeared in The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman television series.
Gavan was cast as sadistic killer Dan Suggs in the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove.
| Preceded by Ric Carrott |
Charles "Chuck" Cunningham Actor January 15 – March 26, 1974 |
Succeeded by Randolph Roberts |
| Preceded by Brad Flock |
Brad Wilson Actor (from Superman III) 1983 |
None |
| Preceded by Paul Stassino as Major François Derval |
Jack Petachi Actor (from Never Say Never Again) 1983 |
Succeeded by Matthew Wolf (In a radio play) as Giuseppe Petacchi |
Selected filmography
- The California Kid (1974) - Tom
- A Death in Canaan (1978) - Father Mark
- A Wedding (1978) - Wilson Briggs
- We'll Meet Again (1982) - Captain "Red" Berwash
- Superman III (1983) - Brad Wilson
- Never Say Never Again (1983) - Jack Petachi
- The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission (1985) - Conrad E. Perkins
- Death Wish 3 (1985) - Manny Fraker
- Willow (1988) - Airk Thaughbaer
- Space Riders (1989) - Ron Harris
- Lonesome Dove (1989) - Dan Suggs
- The Last Outlaw (1993) - Marshal Sharp
- The Shooter (1995) - Dick Powell
- Prince Valiant (1997) - King Thane
- Top of the World (1997) - Lieutenant Logan
- Command Approved (2000) - Arms Dealer
- Butterfly Man (2002) - Bill Kincaid
- Seven Days of Grace (2006) - MacNab
- The Descent Part 2 (2009) - Vaines
References
- ↑ Dan O'Herlihy Biography (1919-)
- 1 2 "Gavan O'Herlihy". IMDB. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ↑ What happened to Richie's brother "Chuck" from "Happy Days?"