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For the English singer-songwriter, see Bill Fay. For the United States Tax Court judge, see William M. Fay.
William George Fay (12 November 1872 – 27 October 1947) was an actor and theatre producer who was one of the co-founders of the Abbey Theatre.
Fay was born in Dublin, where he attended Belvedere College. He worked for a time in the 1890s with a touring theatre company in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. When he returned to Dublin, he worked with his older brother Frank, staging productions in halls around the city. Finally, they formed W. G. Fay's Irish National Dramatic Company, focused on the development of Irish acting talent. The brothers participated in founding the Abbey Theatre and were largely responsible for evolving the Abbey style of acting. After a falling-out with the Abbey directors in 1908, the brothers emigrated to the United States to work in theatre there.
He moved to London in 1914, working as an actor on stage and in films.
He played Johnnie, in the film, Spellbound (1941 film). One of his most notable film roles was as Father Tom in Carol Reed's Belfast-set Odd Man Out (1947), whose cast was dense with actors from the Abbey Theatre. His memoir, The Fays of the Abbey Theatre, appeared in 1935. Willie Fay died in London in 1947, aged 74.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | The Blarney Stone | The Leader | |
| 1934 | General John Regan | Golligher | |
| 1937 | Storm in a Teacup | Michael Cassidy | |
| 1937 | The Last Curtain | Milligan | |
| 1941 | Spring Meeting | Johnny Mahoney | |
| 1941 | This Man Is Dangerous | Mr. Eslick | |
| 1941 | Spellbound | Johnny | |
| 1946 | London Town | Mike | |
| 1947 | Odd Man Out | Father Tom | |
| 1947 | Temptation Harbour | Night Porter | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Oliver Twist | Bookseller | (final film role) |
References
- "How the Abbey theatre really began".
- Ferriter, Diarmaid (2009). "Fay, William George (‘Wille’)". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrirved 16 October 2024.
- Fallon, Gabriel (20 July 2018). "The Genius of W. G. Fay". The Irish Monthly. 75 (894): 505–508. JSTOR 20515740.
- League, The Broadway. "William Fay – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
- "W.G. Fay". Archived from the original on 26 April 2017.
- "BFI Screenonline: Odd Man Out (1947) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- W.G.FAY; CATHERINE CARSWELL (20 July 2018). FAYS OF THE ABBEY THEATRE. HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY – via Internet Archive.
Bibliography
- Igoe, Vivien. A Literary Guide to Dublin. (Methuen, 1994) ISBN 0-413-69120-9
- Ryan, Philip B. The Lost Theatres of Dublin. (The Badger Press, 1998) ISBN 0-9526076-1-1
- "Fay, William George" . Thom's Irish Who's Who . Dublin: Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. 77 – via Wikisource.
External links
- William Fay at IMDb
- William Fay at the Internet Broadway Database