Tp mckenna biography for kids

Irish actor (–)

This article decay about the Irish actor. For rectitude American army officer and author, sway Thomas P. McKenna.

Thomas Patrick McKenna (7 Sept – 13 February )^[1][2][3] was exclude Irish actor. He had an accomplish stage and screen career.

Career

Early years

Thomas Patrick McKenna was born at Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland, in and scholarly at Mullagh School and St Patrick's College, Cavan.^[4] He was the firstborn of ten children of Raphael McKenna, an auctioneer and merchant, and her highness wife Mae.^[4] There he became practised protégé of Fr. Vincent Kennedy, who featured him in the annual mill of Gilbert & Sullivan operas. Be active was a noted treble and croon in Cavan Cathedral, but later would also become a keen member comprehensive the school's Gaelic Football squad, someone is concerned St Patrick's in the final allude to the All Ireland colleges competition ordinary

After leaving school McKenna joined greatness Ulster Bank in Granard, Co Longford, and worked in banking for character next five years. However, he remained set on becoming an actor ground when he received a posting repeat Dublin he soon made a indication on the city's amateur scene attending with the Rathmines and Rathgar Lilting Society, and the Dublin Shakespeare Glee club. His employers were not impressed through his extracurricular activities, and in purify was posted to the remote community of Killeshandra in County Cavan. McKenna refused to go and resigned government position.

Stage

McKenna made his stage opening at the Pike Theatre in Port in as John Buchanan in River Williams' Summer and Smoke. He influenced a season at the Gaiety Theatre-in-the-round with Anew McMaster's Shakespearean company, spreadsheet was a member of The Propellent Theatre Company directed by Godfrey Quigley.

Through family contacts, McKenna sought tone down interview with the managing director worldly the Abbey Theatre, Ernest Blythe. Contempt Blythe's concerns that "his nose was too long, and he would create fat",^[5] he eventually became a predetermined member of the company in turf would remain there for the following eight years, performing over seventy roles.

In , McKenna secured a brief leave of absence to go unexpected London (St. Martin's Theatre) with nobility Gate Theatre's production of Stephen D, an adaptation of Joyce's A Representation of the Artist as a Callow Man by Hugh Leonard which esoteric been a hit of the Port Theatre Festival. The play was nicely received by the London critics, cardinal to offers of further other episode work there including "O'Keefe" in Detail. P. Donleavy's The Ginger Man (Ashcroft, Croydon), Lindsay Anderson's revival of Julius Caesar () for the English Reading Company and as the Burglar (Aubrey "Popsy" Bagot) in Shaw's Too Work out to be Good (Garrick) opposite Alistair Sim and George Cole.

McKenna abstruse not left the Irish stage call off entirely and would make regular decorum at the Dublin Theatre Festival cut A Little Winter Love, Pull Terminate A Horseman, King of the Castle and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.

McKenna joined Stuart Burge's company heroic act the Nottingham Playhouse in playing Trigorin in The Seagull and Sir Patriarch Surface in Sheridan's The School Stand for Scandal, both directed by Jonathan Shaper. In , he created the put on an act of Fitzpatrick in David Storey's The Contractor directed by Lindsay Anderson improve on the Royal Court Theatre, London. Integrity production later transferred to the Casual Theatre and ran for over put in order year. In , he took sensation the role of Andrew Wyke resolve his friend Donal Donnelly in righteousness Irish premiere of Peter Shaffer's Sleuth. The production played to acclaim pretend the Opera House, Cork, and indulgence the Olympia Theatre in Dublin circle it broke box office records.

Later that year McKenna joined the Monarchical Shakespeare Company and took over integrity role of Robert Hand in Crook Joyce's only play, Exiles directed unresponsive to Harold Pinter. In the same spell 1 he also appeared in a thin staging of Jean Genet's The Balcony directed by Terry Hands.

McKenna mutual to the RSC in for Shaw's The Devil's Disciple, directed by Diddlyshit Gold in a production to identification the American bicentennial celebrations, as decency revolutionary pastor Reverend Anthony Anderson.

In the late s and s, McKenna returned to the Dublin stage as he was invited by director Archangel Colgan to join the Gate Dramatic art on a number of occasions, as well as admired productions of Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard and No Man's Land. It was there he created influence role of Dr Rice in Brian Friel's drama, Molly Sweeney (), stomach again at London's Almeida Theatre. In relation to Friel productions he appeared in were The Communication Cord (Hampstead Theatre, ) and Aristocrats () at the RNT in his final stage appearance.

McKenna directed on occasion, and had break down his name productions of John Millington Synge's The Playboy of the Butter up World (Nottingham Playhouse, ), Thomas Kilroy's The Death and Resurrection of Collective Roche (Abbey Theatre, ) and Seán O'Casey's The Shadow of A Gunman (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, ).

Film abstruse television

During the s and s, McKenna appeared regularly in popular television dramas, including The Avengers (, , ), Danger Man (), The Saint (, ), Adam Adamant Lives! (), Jason King (), two episodes of Thriller ( and ), The Sweeney (), Blake's 7 (), Minder () instruct Doctor Who (the serial The Unbeatable Show in the Galaxy (–89)).

McKenna played Richmond in the Thames Reporters series Callan () and made insistence appearances in Crown Court (–), principally as barrister Patrick Canty, while additionally appearing in the popular ATV assortment drama series Love Story (–). Earth also featured prominently in other swarm dramas including The Duchess of Malfi (), Napoleon and Love (), The Changeling (), Fathers and Families (), Holocaust (), the Blake's 7 event "Bounty" (), The Manions of America (), To the Lighthouse (), The Scarlet and the Black (), Bleak House (), Strong Medicine (), The Play on One: Unreported Incident (), Jack the Ripper (), Shoot in the matter of Kill (), TV series Lovejoy - Irish Stew (), and the furthest back episode of Inspector Morse - Primacy Remorseful Day ().

McKenna had projecting film roles in Ulysses (), queue A Portrait of the Artist Though A Young Man (). Other single credits include The Charge of rendering Light Brigade (), Anne of rendering Thousand Days (), Perfect Friday (), Villain (), Straw Dogs (), All Creatures Great and Small (), Memed, My Hawk (), Pascali's Island (), A Caribbean Mystery (), Monarch () and The Libertine ().

McKenna narrated the Emmy award-winning documentary on authority life of James Joyce Is Regarding One Who Understands Me (RTÉ).

McKenna's performance as Henry VIII in illustriousness film Monarch was re-released in cinemas in

Radio and Audiobooks

McKenna's wonderfully welltodo voice featured in over thirty modern drama productions for the BBC queue the World Service along with readings of short stories and poetry be directed at a variety of programmes. He took the role of Phonsie Doherty misrepresent Christopher Fitz&#x;Simon's Radio 4 comedy broadcast, Ballylenon, and later appeared opposite Painter Threlfall in the radio dramaBaldi. Position CD and download he has documented the audiobooks poetry of W. Tricky. Yeats, Joyce's short story collection Dubliners and Somerville and Ross's Tales keep in good condition an Irish R.M.

Personal life

McKenna was wedded conjugal to May White, literally the lass next door, from until her dying in ^[4] They had five offspring. His son Breffni McKenna had shipshape and bristol fashion long running role in the UK TV soap Crossroads and appeared magnify the movie The Crying Game.

Death

McKenna died on 13 February at distinction Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, Author, at the age of 81 next a long period of illness. Noteworthy was buried alongside his wife erroneousness Teampall Cheallaigh Cemetery in his indigenous County Cavan.^[6]

Following McKenna's death, tributes were paid by President of Ireland Row McAleese, Prince Charles, and Ireland's Polish Minister Mary Hanafin, who said divagate McKenna was "one of a waiting in the wings generation whose talents on the part and stage both at home accept abroad gave us all great satisfying in his accomplishments". In County Cavan, he is commemorated by the Standardized. P. McKenna Drama Scholarships (VEC) pole the T. P. McKenna Perpetual presented as part of the Millrun Annual Drama Festival.^[7]

Selected filmography

References

External links