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George Coulouris

( 1903 Births )

Early life
Early career
Return to Britain
Personal life
Legacy
Broadway roles

Actor
Director

Filmography
References
External links

C O N T E N T S

Broadway Coulouris George Theatre

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George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. He was perhaps best known for his collaborations with Orson Welles, most notably Citizen Kane.

Early life

Of Anglo-Greece origin, Coulouris was brought up both in Manchester and nearby Urmston and was educated at Manchester Grammar School.

Early career

Coulouris made his stage debut in 1926 with Henry V at the Old Vic. In 1928 and 1929 he appeared in several productions at the Cambridge Festival Theatre including Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape.. By 1929, he made his first Broadway theatre appearance, followed by his first Hollywood film role in 1933.

A major impact on his life was Orson Welles, whom he met in 1936 when they both had roles in the Broadway production of Sidney Kingsley's Ten Million Ghosts. Welles invited Coulouris to become a charter member of his Mercury Theatre, and in 1937 Coulouris performed the role of Mark Antony in the company's debut production, Caesar, an innovative modern-dress production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.Collins, Glenn, "George Coulouris, 85, Is Dead; Actor Relished Villainous Roles". The New York Times, 27 April 1989

In 1938, he appeared in the Mercury stage productions of The Shoemaker's Holiday and Heartbreak House, George Cououris, Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 12013-12-28. and became part of the repertory company that presented CBS Radio's The Mercury Theatre on the Air and its sponsored continuation, The Campbell Playhouse (1938–40). Also for CBS, in 1943 he appeared in the radio series Suspense, in the episode "The Last Letter of Dr. Bronson" with Laird Cregar and in 1944, "Portrait without a Face".Blackstone Audio 'Suspense' Vol. 2 issued 2015

In Citizen Kane (1941), Coulouris played Walter Parks Thatcher, a financier similar to J. P. Morgan. Coulouris and Welles each received a 1941 National Board of Review Award for their performances.

During the 1940s, Coulouris remained a regular figure on the stage and screen, starring in his own Broadway production of Richard III in 1943. His films in this period included For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), Between Two Worlds (1944), Mr. Skeffington (1944) and Watch on the Rhine (1943), in which he repeated the role he originated in the Broadway production. He also performed as Robert de Baudricourt in Joan of Arc (1948), starring Ingrid Bergman.

Coulouris was the first actor to star in the title role of the Bulldog Drummond radio program on the Mutual Broadcasting System.

John Dunning (1998). 9780195076783, Oxford University Press. . ISBN 9780195076783

Return to Britain

After his return in 1950 Coulouris joined the Bristol Old Vic company for its Spring season, appearing as Tartuffe, Brutus and Sir John Brute, among other roles. Living in Putney and later in Hampstead. he appeared in more films, theatre and television productions. His stage work was the most well regarded and included the title role in King Lear at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre (1952); the lead (Dr. Stockmann) in An Enemy of the People (1959) at the Arts Theatre, Cambridge; Peter Flynn in Seán O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars at the Mermaid Theatre (1962); a part in August Strindberg's The Dance of Death; and Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1970).

Later film roles included parts in The Heart of the Matter (1953), Doctor in the House (1954), Papillon (1973), Mahler and Murder on the Orient Express (both 1974). He had rare leading roles in the British horror movies The Man Without a Body (1957) and The Woman Eater (1958).

He played in over 80 films, but radio roles were also numerous, and his television roles included parts in Hancock's Half Hour ("The Missing Page"), Danger Man and The Prisoner ("Checkmate", 1967). Other appearances included the recurring role of science writer Harcourt Brown in the ABC serials Pathfinders to Mars and Pathfinders to Venus, which were sequels to earlier serials ( Target Luna and Pathfinders in Space). He appeared as Arbitan in the Doctor Who serial The Keys of Marinus (1964).

Personal life

Coulouris was married to Louise Franklin from 1930 until her death in 1976, and then to Elizabeth Donaldson from 1977 until his death in 1989. He was the father of computer scientist George Coulouris and artist Mary Louise Coulouris.Phil Davison, Mary Louise Coulouris obituary, heraldscotland.com, 17 February 2012. His home in Hampstead between 1951 and 1989 is shown in the Camden Notables Map.

Legacy

In Me and Orson Welles (2008), Richard Linklater's period drama set in the days surrounding the premiere of the Mercury Theatre's production of Caesar, Coulouris is portrayed by Ben Chaplin.

Broadway roles

George Coulouris's Broadway credits are listed at the Internet Broadway Database. George Coulouris at the Internet Broadway Database

Actor

The Novice and the Duke (9 December 1929 – January 1930) as Friar Peter
The Late Christopher Bean (31 October 1932 – May 1933) as Tallant
Best Sellers (3 May – June 1933) as Julian Mosca
Mary of Scotland (27 November 1933 – July 1934) as Lord Burghley and as Lord Erskine
Valley Forge (10 December 1934 – January 1935) as Lieutenant Cutting
Blind Alley (24 September 1935 – January 1936) as Dr. Anthony Shelby
Saint Joan (9 March – May 1936) as John de Stogumber
Ten Million Ghosts (23 October – November 1936) as Zacharey
Caesar (11 November 1937 – March 1938) as Marc Antony
The Shoemaker's Holiday (1 January – 28 April 1938) as The King
(1992). 9780060166168, HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780060166168
Heartbreak House (29 April – 11 June 1938) as Boss Mangan
Madame Capet (October 1938) as Mirabeau
The White Steed (10 January 1939 –?) as Father Shaughnessy
Cue for Passion (19–28 December 1940) as John Elliott
Watch on the Rhine (1 April 1941 – 21 February 1942) as Teck de Brancovis
King Richard III (24 March – 3 April 1943) as Richard, Duke of Glouchester (Richard III)
The Master Race (1944) American drama as Von Beck
The Alchemist (6–16 May 1948) as Subtle
S.S. Glencairn (20–30 May 1948) as The Donkey Man
The Insect Comedy (3–12 June 1948) as The Vagrant
Beekman Place (7–31 October 1964) as Samuel Holt
The Condemned of Altona (3 February – 13 March 1966)