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Tag Archives: Micheál MacLiammóir
“You cannot write and answer the phone.” — Paul Durcan
Today is his birthday. I love him. He died in May of this year. Paul Durcan’s poems are chatty, observant, scathing, often very funny. He uses long humorous titles: “The Divorce Referendum, Ireland, 1986”, or “Irish Hierarchy Bans Colour Photography”. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Ireland, Irish poetry, Micheál MacLiammóir, poetry
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“I started at the top and worked my way down.” — Orson Welles
It’s his birthday today. When Orson Welles was just a teenager, he traveled to Ireland. And although it seems improbable (perhaps not, because this is Orson Welles we’re talking about), he decided to audition for the newly-formed Gate Theatre, and … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, On This Day, Theatre
Tagged Micheál MacLiammóir, Orson Welles
18 Comments
Happy Birthday, Orson Welles
Much of the Welles story is difficult to put together because he himself was such a teller of tall tales. You know, he went to Morocco when he was 16 years old and the hung out with a sheik in … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, On This Day
Tagged Citizen Kane, Micheál MacLiammóir, Orson Welles, Simon Callow, War of the Worlds
23 Comments
Othello (1952); Dir. Orson Welles
Made with his own money and with tremendous difficulties, Orson Welles’ Othello took two years to actually complete, due to money running out, and cast having to take other jobs, and all kinds of problems involving costumes, locations, and logistics. … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Micheál MacLiammóir, Orson Welles, Peter Bogdanovich, William Shakespeare
24 Comments
Celluloid and the Actor: By Micheál MacLiammóir
Micheál MacLiammóir, co-founder of The Gate Theatre in Dublin, has recently become of great interest to me – through my reading of Simon Callow’s marvelous multi-part biography of Orson Welles. I haven’t written much about it yet because I am … Continue reading

