Sean McClory
Born
March 8, 1924
Died
December 10, 2003 (79 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Dublin, Ireland
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.

Body Bags
Minister
1993

The Dead
Mr. Grace
1987

Young Harry Houdini
Sean O'Casey
1987

My Chauffeur
O'Brien
1986

Murder, She Wrote
Ross Barber · (1 episode)
1984

Bring 'Em Back Alive
(17 episodes)
1982

Falcon Crest
Frank O'Neal · (1 episode)
1981

Roller Boogie
Jammer Delany
1979

Battlestar Galactica
Assault 9 · (1 episode)
1978

The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe
Codge Collier
1976

Kate McShane
Pat McShane · (10 episodes)
1975

Kate McShane
Pat McShane
1975

S.W.A.T.
(1 episode)
1975

The Day of the Wolves
The Sheriff
1971

Columbo
Captain · (1 episode)
1971

Lancer
(1 episode)
1968

The Outcasts
(1 episode)
1968

Bandolero!
Robbie O'Hare
1968

The Happiest Millionaire
Police Sgt.
1967

Mannix
(1 episode)
1967

The High Chaparral
Sandy McIntire · (1 episode)
1967

The Guns of Will Sonnett
(2 episodes)
1967

The King's Pirate
Sparkes
1967

The Gnome-Mobile
Horatio Quaxton
1967

Follow Me, Boys!
Edward White, Sr.
1966

Family Affair
(1 episode)
1966

Tarzan
(1 episode)
1966

Honey West
Insurance Investigator Booth · (1 episode)
1965

Lost in Space
Hamish · (1 episode)
1965

Cheyenne Autumn
Dr. O'Carberry
1964

Daniel Boone
Liam O'Hara · (1 episode)
1964

Daniel Boone
Bartender · (1 episode)
1964

Daniel Boone
Ephron Marsh · (1 episode)
1964
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
(1 episode)
1963

The Great Adventure
Major Carlton · (1 episode)
1963

The Outer Limits
Karl Emmet · (1 episode)
1963

The Dakotas
(1 episode)
1963
General Electric True
(1 episode)
1962

The Beverly Hillbillies
(1 episode)
1962

The Virginian
Cobb · (1 episode)
1962

Valley of the Dragons
Michael Denning
1961

Surfside 6
(1 episode)
1960

The Islanders
Quinn · (1 episode)
1960

Checkmate
Stamper · (1 episode)
1960

Thriller
Sean O'Danagh · (1 episode)
1960

Thriller
Patrick Galt · (1 episode)
1960

The Swamp Fox
(8 episodes)
1959

The Detectives
(1 episode)
1959

Adventures in Paradise
Mike Milligan · (1 episode)
1959

Adventures in Paradise
Shay · (1 episode)
1959

The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Father Ray · (1 episode)
1959

One Step Beyond
Michael Barry · (1 episode)
1959

Rawhide
Finn · (2 episodes)
1959

The Rifleman
(2 episodes)
1958

Bronco
(1 episode)
1958

Wanted: Dead or Alive
'Doc' Phillips · (1 episode)
1958

The Californians
Jack McGivern · (69 episodes)
1957

Perry Mason
Fred Wenzel · (1 episode)
1957

Perry Mason
Harry Fothergill · (1 episode)
1957

Perry Mason
Hannibal Harvey · (1 episode)
1957

Have Gun, Will Travel
(1 episode)
1957

Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Ted O'Malley · (1 episode)
1957

The Guns of Fort Petticoat
Emmett Kettle
1957

Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers
(1 episode)
1956

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Graham Clague · (1 episode)
1956

The Adventures of Jim Bowie
(2 episodes)
1956

Telephone Time
(1 episode)
1956

Diane
Count Michel Montgomery
1956

Matinee Theater
(1 episode)
1955

The 20th Century Fox Hour
(1 episode)
1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Brother Gerard · (1 episode)
1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Irish Bar Patron · (1 episode)
1955

Frontier
(1 episode)
1955

Gunsmoke
Clete Bolden · (1 episode)
1955

Gunsmoke
Sham · (1 episode)
1955

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
(1 episode)
1955

The King's Thief
Sheldon
1955

Moonfleet
Elzevir Block
1955

I Cover the Underworld
Gunner O'Hara / John O'Hara
1955

The Long Gray Line
Dinny Maher
1955

Climax!
Mark Yorke · (1 episode)
1954

Lassie
(1 episode)
1954

Ring of Fear
Dublin O'Malley
1954

Them!
Maj. Kibbee
1954
The Child
Reverend Smith
1954

Man in the Attic
Constable #1
1953

Charade
Jack Stuydevant
1953

Island in the Sky
Frank Lovatt, Dooley's co-pilot
1953

Plunder of the Sun
Jefferson
1953

General Electric Theater
(2 episodes)
1953

Niagara
Sam (uncredited)
1953

Cavalcade of America
Andrew Johnson · (1 episode)
1952
Four Star Playhouse
Robert Upton · (1 episode)
1952

Les Miserables
Bamtasbois (uncredited)
1952

The Quiet Man
Owen Glynn
1952

Anne of the Indies
Hackett
1951

The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
Jock
1951

Lorna Doone
Charleworth Doone
1951

Storm Warning
Shore
1951
Lux Video Theatre
Albert · (1 episode)
1950

The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
James Moore
1950

Roughshod
Fowler (as Shawn McGlory)
1949

Beyond Glory
Barney
1948

Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
Officer Carney (uncredited)
1947

Dick Tracy's Dilemma
Officer Dillon (uncredited)
1947