Harry O'Donovan

Harry O'Donovan (c. 1896 – 3 November 1973) was an Irish comedy scriptwriter, stage manager and actor.

Life

He was born in Dublin, Ireland and was apprenticed to a painter. In his spare time, he took part in amateur dramatics, finally joining a troupe of actors and touring Ireland for several years. In 1924 he got to know Jimmy O'Dea in a production of You Never Can Tell at the Abbey Theatre.[1]

In 1927 he formed a partnership with Jimmy O'Dea. Their first show was Look Who's Here in the Queens Theatre. Their first pantomime was Sinbad in 1929 in the Olympia Theatre. Together they created O'Dea's most famous character, Biddy Mulligan. The character Biddy Mulligan is referenced in many Dublin music hall songs such as "Biddy Mulligan the Pride of the Coombe", "Daffy the Belle of the Coombe" (written by Harry with music by Eva Brennan) and "The Charladies' Ball".

For thirty years from 1929 they produced two shows a year in Dublin, first in the Oympia, later in the Gaiety.[2]

He wrote many scripts for Radio Éireann. He also acted as business manager and stage manager for O'Dea and the rest of the cast, and acted in bit parts in plays, sketches and pantomimes.[2]

Songs

References

  1. ↑ Quidnunc (5 January 1950), "An Irishman's Diary", The Irish Times
  2. 1 2 Boylan, Henry (1998). A Dictionary of Irish Biography, 3rd Edition. Dublin: Gill and MacMillan. p. 319. ISBN 0-7171-2945-4.
  3. ↑ Songs of Dublin by Frank Harte
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