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Oscar O'Shea

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Oscar O'Shea
O'Shea in The Bashful Bachelor (1942)
Born(1881-10-08)October 8, 1881
DiedApril 6, 1960(1960-04-06) (aged 78)
OccupationActor
Years active1937-1953

Oscar O'Shea (8 October 1881 – 6 April 1960) was a Canadian-American character actor with over 100 film appearances from 1937 to 1953.

Early years

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O'Shea was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.[1]

Acting

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O'Shea was a comic actor who earned a million dollars but lost it all in the Great Depression. His first straight role came in a Federal Theatre Project production of It Can't Happen Here, a play based on the novel of the same name.[2]

O'Shea's first film was Captains Courageous (1937).[1]

Management

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Beginning in 1929, O'Shea operated the Oscar O'Shea Players repertory theater company in the Embassy Theatre in Ottawa, Canada.[3] He eventually ended the enterprise "to seek a field where his art would be more widely appreciated."[4] He then set up an operation in Chicago, "where he managed his own theatre and stock company during good and bad years."[4]

Death

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O'Shea died in Hollywood, California, in 1960 at age 78.[1]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Feramisco, Thomas M. (2007). The Mummy Unwrapped: Scenes Left on Universal's Cutting Room Floor. McFarland. pp. 189–190. ISBN 9781476607924. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. ^ Quinn, Susan (2011). Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9780802779717. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Oscar O'Shea Players to Open Season of Repertoire Next Week". The Ottawa Journal. No. The Ottawa Journal. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. December 21, 1929. p. 13. Retrieved July 6, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b "Oscar O'Shea Comes Back". The Ottawa Journal. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. July 3, 1937. p. 20. Retrieved July 6, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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