Dan O'Herlihy

• Name — Dan O'Herlihy • Birth Name — Daniel Peter O'Herlihy • Born — 1 May 1919 • Birthplace — Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland • Died — 17 February 2005 • Place of death — Malibu, California, U.S. • Citizenship — * Ireland • United States (after 1983) • Education — University College Dublin • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1944–1998 • Children — 5, including Gavan and Lorcan • Relatives — Michael O'Herlihy (brother) Micaela O'Herlihy (granddaughter)

O'Herlihy was born on 1 May 1919 in Wexford, County Wexford, but moved with his family to Dublin when he was young. He was educated at Christian Brothers College in Dún Laoghaire and later studied at University College Dublin, graduating in 1944 with a degree in architecture, following in his father's footsteps. He developed a keen interest in acting during his university studies. He joined several amateur theatre groups and joined the Abbey Theatre as a bit player. After graduating from the university, he decided to pursue acting full-time, working at the Abbey and Gate Theatre, first as a set designer, then later as an actor.

O'Herlihy's first notable acting role came in 1944, when he played the lead in the Gate's production of Red Roses For Me, written and directed by Seán O'Casey. He appeared in some fifty plays at the Gate. He made his film debut in 1947 in Carol Reed's Odd Man Out, which was shot on location in Belfast, and also worked extensively in radio. His first American film role was as Macduff in Orson Welles' version of Macbeth (1948), followed by supporting roles in films such as the Red Scare fantasy Invasion, U.S.A., the Kiplingesque Soldiers Three and a series of swashbucklers, such as The Black Shield of Falworth (1954). His career took an upward turn in 1954 when he played the title role in Luis Buñuel's Robinson Crusoe, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. O'Herlihy recalled that the producers of the film wanted Buñuel to use Orson Welles for the role, with Buñuel refusing, saying he was too big and too fat. They arranged a screening of Welles' Macbeth to show how a bearded Welles would look, but O'Herlihy's performance as Macduff convinced Buñuel to cast O'Herlihy instead. O'Herlihy was later featured in 1959 in The Young Land as Judge Millard Isham and as Dave Edwards in Douglas Sirk's remake of Imitation of Life. The following year he played Sir Harry Ivers, an upper-class English drifter who joins Alan Ladd in a plot to ruin an Arizona cattle town by robbing its bank, in the western One Foot in Hell. O'Herlihy was also cast as Dr. Caligari in The Cabinet of Caligari, Robert Bloch's reimagining of the German silent classic, in 1962. In 1964, he starred in Fail Safe in the role of General Black, or "Blackie", who nukes New York on presidential orders. In 1969, he was cast in The Big Cube and 100 Rifles. In 1970, he starred in the epic Waterloo, playing the part of Michel Ney, the marshal of France. In 1982, he starred in Halloween III: Season of the Witch as Conal Cochran and in 1984, he appeared in The Last Starfighter as Grig, Alex Rogan's reptilian co-pilot, navigator and sidekick. In 1986's The Whoopee Boys he played a judge and in 1987, he appeared in RoboCop as "The Old Man". That same year, he was cast in John Huston's The Dead. In 1990, he appeared in RoboCop 2, the sequel to the 1987 film. O'Herlihy had a fairly extensive career in television, having appeared on Rawhide, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, Adventures in Paradise and Target: The Corruptors!. He portrayed Larry "Ace" Banner in the first season of The Untouchables in the episode titled "The Big Squeeze". He was cast as Stephen Jordan in the last season of Checkmate episode " "Referendum on Murder". He also appeared on The Americans and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in the episodes "The Fiddlesticks Affair" and "The Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum Affair" and on Route 66 in the episode "To Walk with the Serpent". In 1962, he was cast as Glenn Kassin in "The Earth Mover" episode of Empire. He appeared on Bonanza (episode: "The Artist" as Matthew Raine). In 1963–1964, he was in The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters. On The Long, Hot Summer, O'Herlihy became the lead star, having replaced Edmond O'Brien in the part of Will Varner midway through the program's single-season run. In 1966, he appeared in the episode "Have You Seen the Aurora Borealis?" of The Road West, starring Barry Sullivan. In 1974, he appeared in QB VII and played the Senior American Officer, Col. Max Dodd in the second series of BBC's POW drama Colditz. In the same year he took a role in the film, The Tamarind Seed, which starred Omar Sharif and Julie Andrews. In 1976, he guest-starred in an episode of Gibbsville. In 1978, he guest-starred in the second part of the Battlestar Galactica episode "Gun on Ice Planet Zero" as Dr. Ravishol. O'Herlihy also portrayed the ill-fated lumber tycoon Andrew Packard in the cult television program Twin Peaks (1991) and in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Deep Freeze", voicing the villainous theme park mogul Grant Walker. In 1998, O'Herlihy acted in his last film, The Rat Pack, playing Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.

Dan O'Herlihy married Elsie Bennett in 1945. He was the brother of director Michael O'Herlihy, and the father of actor Gavan O'Herlihy, architect Lorcan O'Herlihy, and visual artist-turned-theatrical producer Olwen O'Herlihy. One grandchild, Micaela O'Herlihy, is a filmmaker whose work has been shown at the Sundance Film Festival. Another, Alana O'Herlihy, is a photographer and director who has collaborated with Miley Cyrus. O'Herlihy became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1983. O'Herlihy died of natural causes in Malibu, California in 2005, aged 85. His personal papers are held in the University College Dublin Archives.

Dan O'Herlihy television credits • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1951 — The Last Half Hour: The Mayerling Story — Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria — TV movie • 1955 — The Final Tribute — Directors Showcase • 1960 — The DuPont Show with June Allyson — Davide — 1 episode • 1960 — The Untouchables — Larry "Ace" Banner — Episode: "The Big Squeeze" • 1960 — Rawhide — John Cord — 1 episode • 1961 — The Americans — Col. Fry — 1 episode • 1961 — Target: The Corruptors! — Walter Cannon — 1 episode • 1961–1962 — Adventures in Paradise — Seth Wilkerson / Colonel Tomlinson — 2 episodes • 1962 — Route 66 — John Westerbrook — Episode: "To Walk with the Serpent" • 1962 — Checkmate — Stephen Jordan — Episode: "Referendum on Murder" • 1962 — Bonanza — Matthew Raine — Episode: "The Artist" (S4.E3) • 1962 — Empire — Glenn Kassin — Episode: "The Earth Mover" • 1963 — The Alfred Hitchcock Hour — Simon Carter — Episode: "Forecast: Low Clouds and Coastal Fog" (S1.E17) • 1963 — Combat! — "The Chateau" • 1963–1964 — The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters — Dr. Sardius McPheeters — 26 episodes • 1965 — The Man from U.N.C.L.E. — Marcel Rudolph — Episode: "The Fiddlesticks Affair" • 1966 — The Long, Hot Summer — "Boss" Will Varner — 12 episodes • 1966 — The Road West — Seamus O'Flaherty — Episode: "Have You Seen the Aurora Borealis?" • 1967 — Mission: Impossible — Jack Cole — 1 episode • 1967 — The Man from U.N.C.L.E. — Capt. Rupert Oliver Morton — Episode: "The Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum Affair" • 1972 — The People — Sol Diemus — TV movie • 1974 — Colditz — Lt. Col. Max Dodd — 5 episodes • 1974 — QB VII — David Shawcross — 2 episodes • 1976 — Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free — "Tip" Conaker — TV movie • 1976 — The Quest: The Longest Drive — Mathew Hatcher — TV movie • 1976 — Gibbsville — Walter Culligan — 1 episode • 1977 — Good Against Evil — Father Kemschler — TV movie • 1977 — Woman on the Run — Crandell — TV movie • 1977 — The Bionic Woman — Harry Walker — 1 episode • 1977 — Deadly Game — Colonel Edward Stryker — TV movie • 1978 — Battlestar Galactica — Dr. Ravashol — Episode: "Gun on Ice Planet Zero" • 1979 — Mark Twain: Beneath the Laughter — Mark Twain — TV movie • 1979 — A Man Called Sloane — The Director — 12 episodes • 1981 — Death Ray 2000 — The Director — TV movie • 1981 — Artemis 81 — Albrecht Von Drachenfels — TV movie • 1983 — The Last Day — American Ambassador — TV movie • 1984 — The Secret Servant — Professor John Tyler — 3 episodes • 1986 — Dark Mansions — Alexander Drake — TV movie • 1988 — A Waltz Through the Hills — Uncle Tom — TV movie • 1988 — L.A. Law — Vernon Kepler — Episode: "Chariots of Meyer" (S2.E20) • 1989 — The Equalizer — Randall Payne — Episode: "Prisoners of Conscience" • 1991 — Twin Peaks — Andrew Packard — 6 episodes • 1993 — Love, Cheat & Steal — Hamilton Fisk — TV movie • 1994 — Batman: The Animated Series — Grant Walker (voice) — Episode: "Deep Freeze" (S3.E10) • 1998 — The Rat Pack — Joe Kennedy — TV movie (final screen role)

Dan O'Herlihy is recorded as actor.