Sean McClory was born in Dublin, Ireland, but spent his early life in Galway. He was the son of Hugh Patrick, an architect and civil engineer, and Mary Margaret Ball, who had been a model. Sean decided to become an actor and joined Dublin's renowned Abbey Theater (also known as the National Theater ... of Ireland, opened in 1904). He rose through the ranks playing in productions of the works of such authors as William Butler Yeats and George Bernard Shaw, and soon began to play leads mostly in comedies (popular through most of the 1940s and into the 1950s). When comedies began to fade from the theater after World War II, McClory turned an eye toward film. In early 1947 he decided to make the jump to America and break into Hollywood. His first roles were that of a staple in American films: the Irish cop, which he played in two of the Dick Tracy series in 1947. In 1949 he signed a short contract with 20th Century-Fox. By 1950 he was showing up in more notable films - though uncredited, particularly in The Glass Menagerie (1950). Within a year McClory's talents were being showcased in various small feature roles. John Ford finally began casting - a painstaking process for the finicky director - for his long conceived The Quiet Man (1952) and chose McClory for a small but showy part, in which he was seen throughout the film feature with Charles B. Fitzsimons, the younger brother of the film's star, Maureen O'Hara, playing an Irish villager. Although some of the cast were familiar members of the "John Ford Stock Company", many roles were filled by actual Irish villagers (the film was shot on location) and included a generous helping of Abbey Theater alumni: the Shields brothers (Barry Fitzgerald and Arthur Shields) and Jack MacGowran, in addition to O'Hara McClory. Ford wanted him for roles in several of his subsequent films, however McClory's busy film and TV schedule only allowed him to accept roles in two other Ford films, The Long Gray Line and Cheyenne Autumn. McClory had a cultured, neutral Irish brogue that fit well in small- or big-screen performances, unlike such Irish actors as Barry Fitzgerald who, though very effective and beloved, had a thick brogue that kept him forever cast as an Irishman. As a result, McClory was much more at home in American TV and had many memorable roles from 1953 onward, appearing in a gamut of episodic TV in addition to his feature film work. However, it was his frequent appearances on the small screen that enabled McClory to stand out in viewers' memories, especially in a range of western and adventure series (in which he played a good sprinkling of Irish characters) well into the 1970s. Though not as busy in the 1980s as he was in the '70s, one role in which he truly stood out was in an adaptation by John Huston of Irish writer James Joyce's famous 1907 short story "The Dead" made in 1987 (The Dead (1987)), his final film appearance. McClory's role as Mr. Grace was not a character in the original story but was created by Huston and his son Tony Huston to provide McClory with a reading of the medieval Irish poem "Young Donal", which was very effective to the mood of this look at Irish family remembrance.
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| Organization | Category | Movie |
|---|
The Californians
as Jack McGivern
Episodes: 69
First Aired: Sep 24, 1957
Kate McShane
as Pat McShane
Episodes: 10
First Aired: Sep 10, 1975
Rawhide
as Finn
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Jan 09, 1959
Falcon Crest
as Frank O'Neal
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 04, 1981
Murder, She Wrote
as Ross Barber
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 30, 1984
The Great Adventure
as Major Carlton
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 27, 1963
Lost in Space
as Hamish
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 15, 1965
Perry Mason
as Fred Wenzel
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 21, 1957
Gunsmoke
as Clete Bolden
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1955
The Islanders
as Quinn
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1960
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Brother Gerard
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1955
Daniel Boone
as Liam O'Hara
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 24, 1964
The High Chaparral
as Sandy McIntire
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1967
The Virginian
as Cobb
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 19, 1962
Thriller
as Sean O'Danagh
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 13, 1960
Lux Video Theatre
as Albert
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1950
One Step Beyond
as Michael Barry
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 20, 1959
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
as Ted O'Malley
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jul 01, 1957
Climax!
as Mark Yorke
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 07, 1954
Adventures in Paradise
as Mike Milligan
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 05, 1959
Wanted: Dead or Alive
as 'Doc' Phillips
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 06, 1958
Cavalcade of America
as Andrew Johnson
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 01, 1952
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Graham Clague
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 05, 1956
Honey West
as Insurance Investigator Booth
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 17, 1965
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
as Father Ray
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 21, 1959
Columbo
as Captain
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 15, 1971
Adventures in Paradise
as Shay
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 05, 1959
Gunsmoke
as Sham
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1955
The Outer Limits
as Karl Emmet
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 16, 1963
Four Star Playhouse
as Robert Upton
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 25, 1952
Daniel Boone
as Bartender
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 24, 1964
Daniel Boone
as Ephron Marsh
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 24, 1964
Checkmate
as Stamper
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 17, 1960
Thriller
as Patrick Galt
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 13, 1960
Perry Mason
as Harry Fothergill
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 21, 1957
Perry Mason
as Hannibal Harvey
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 21, 1957
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Irish Bar Patron
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1955
Battlestar Galactica
as Assault 9
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 17, 1978
Bring 'Em Back Alive
Episodes: 17
First Aired: Sep 24, 1982
The Swamp Fox
Episodes: 8
First Aired: Oct 23, 1959
General Electric Theater
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Feb 01, 1953
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 07, 1956
The Rifleman
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 30, 1958
The Guns of Will Sonnett
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 08, 1967
Family Affair
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 12, 1966
The Beverly Hillbillies
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 26, 1962
Mannix
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 16, 1967
Surfside 6
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 06, 1960
Lassie
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 12, 1954
Have Gun, Will Travel
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 14, 1957
The Outcasts
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 23, 1968
S.W.A.T.
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 24, 1975
Lancer
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 24, 1968
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 06, 1955
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 04, 1963
Bronco
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 23, 1958
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 05, 1955
Matinee Theater
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 31, 1955
Tarzan
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 08, 1966
The Dakotas
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 07, 1963
The Detectives
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 16, 1959
Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 21, 1956
General Electric True
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 30, 1962
Telephone Time
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Apr 08, 1956
Frontier
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 25, 1955
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 4 |
| 2024 | 7 | 13 | 24 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 12 | 30 | 5 |
| 2024 | 9 | 8 | 25 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |