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Ian Bannen
Ian Bannen was born in Airdrie, Scotland in 1928 and has some 38 movies to his credit. These include one of his more recent, the very successful "Waking Ned Divine." Ian received part of his education at Ratcliffe College, Leicester. Other films of note that he appeared in were "Braveheart" (1995), "Hope and Glory" (1987), " Ghandi" (1982) "Eye of the Needle" (1981) and "Flight of the Phoenix" (1965). Among his awards were the London Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor for "Translations" (1981) and a Golden Satellite for Best Actor in a Motion Picture for "Waking Ned Divine." Quote: "You can use tricks onstage, but never onscreen. There's nowhere to hide from the camera."
Bannen began his acting career on the stage portraying Shakespearean characters. He went on to work with some of Hollywood's great talents. He played opposite John Huston in 1971's "The Deserter," and helped Orson Welles and Jeanne Moreau search for a missing sailor in "The Sailor From Gibraltar" (1967). And in 1965, he joined Ernest Borgnine, Richard Attenborough and James Stewart as one of a group of men marooned in the Arabian desert following a plane crash in "The Flight of the Phoenix." Bannen earned a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for the role. On TV, he appeared in "The Politician's Wife" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" as well as the "Dr. Finlay" TV series.
Born the only son of a lawyer, Bannen served as a corporal in the army before making his stage debut in Dublin in 1947 in a play called "Armlet of Jade." Early London credits included the O'Neill plays "The Iceman Cometh" and "Long Day's Journey Into Night" -- both in 1958 -- as well as an acclaimed London revival of the same author's "A Moon For the Misbegotten," opposite Frances de la Tour, in 1983. Bannen appeared in the same play on Broadway the following season, with Kate Nelligan as co-star. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company during its initial seasons in Stratford-on-Avon in the early '60s. Assignments there included Iago in "Othello" and Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet," as well as "As You Like It," alongside Vanessa Redgrave, and the title role in "Hamlet."
Obituary
LONDON -- Ian Bannen, the venerable British actor who capped his long and productive career and who charmed movie audiences playing an Irish con artist in "Waking Ned Devine," died Wednesday (Nov. 3rd, 1999) in a car crash in Scotland, his agent said. He was 71. Mr. Bannen's body was found in an overturned car near Loch Ness, a police spokesman said. The female driver of the car survived and was flown by air ambulance to a nearby hospital. She had not been identified.
A long-standing veteran of the English and Irish theater, Mr. Bannen enjoyed a sudden bout of late-career movie success last year with "Waking Ned Devine." The sleeper hit cast Mr. Bannen and David Kelly as aging Irishmen who attempt to persuade a village into claiming a lottery jackpot for itself after the winner, Ned Devine, dies from shock. Prior film roles included a leper in the Oscar-winning "Braveheart" as well as appearances in "Hope and Glory," "Gorky Park," "Eye of the Needle," and "Bite the Bullet."
Mr. Bannen received an Oscar nomination in 1965 for his supporting performance in Robert Aldrich's all-star "The Flight of the Phoenix." He starred as one of a group of men marooned in a North African desert after a plane crash. On television, he appeared in "The Politician's Wife" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy." Born the only son of a lawyer in Lanarkshire, Scotland, Mr. Bannen served as a corporal in the army before making his stage debut in Dublin in 1947 in a play called "Armlet of Jade."
Early London credits included the Eugene O'Neill plays "The Iceman Cometh" and "Long Day's Journey Into Night" -- both in 1958 -- as well as an acclaimed London revival of "A Moon For the Misbegotten," opposite Frances de la Tour, in 1983. Mr. Bannen appeared in the same play on Broadway the following season. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company during its initial seasons in Stratford-on-Avon in the early 1960s.
Born in Airdrie, Scotland, Bannen attended Ratcliffe College in Leicester, England, and served as a corporal in the British army in the second world war.
Bannen is survived by his wife, Marilyn Salisbury, whom he met following a performance of "Hamlet." The two were friends for 17 years and eventually married when Bannen was 48. The couple had no children.
The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times