Denys Vernon Hawthorne (9 August 1932 â€" 16 October 2009) was an
actor from Northern Ireland who was known for his work in theatre,
film, television and radio.Denys Hawthorne was born into an upper
middle-class Protestant family in Portadown, County Armagh in 1932;
his father had a linen business. He studied law at Queen's University
Belfast, and afterwards joined the Ulster Group Theatre; other actors
in the company included Patrick Magee, James Ellis, Stephen Boyd and
Colin Blakely. The company produced modern classics, and plays by new
Irish writers including Joseph Tomelty and Brian Friel.He moved to
London. He was a success as the Old Man in The Chairs by Eugène
Ionesco, at the Royal Court Theatre (1957), and also in 1960 playing
Stephen Dedalus in Bloomsday, a dramatization of James Joyce's
Ulysses, at the Unity Theatre. He joined the BBC radio drama repertory
company, where during his career he was much in demand. He read poetry
on the radio, particularly of Louis MacNeice's poetry after his death
in 1963. In 1972 he became producer of BBC Northern Ireland radio
drama, holding the position for 18 months.On TV, Hawthorne appeared in
46 episodes of the series Within These Walls (1974â€"1978). He
appeared as Mr Starling, the first-ever headteacher, in Grange Hill
(1978), the Doctor Who adventure Terror of the Vervoids (1986), in
Capital City (1989â€"1990), in the BBC drama Dangerfield (1995) and in
the Father Ted episode Tentacles of Doom (1996).
actor from Northern Ireland who was known for his work in theatre,
film, television and radio.Denys Hawthorne was born into an upper
middle-class Protestant family in Portadown, County Armagh in 1932;
his father had a linen business. He studied law at Queen's University
Belfast, and afterwards joined the Ulster Group Theatre; other actors
in the company included Patrick Magee, James Ellis, Stephen Boyd and
Colin Blakely. The company produced modern classics, and plays by new
Irish writers including Joseph Tomelty and Brian Friel.He moved to
London. He was a success as the Old Man in The Chairs by Eugène
Ionesco, at the Royal Court Theatre (1957), and also in 1960 playing
Stephen Dedalus in Bloomsday, a dramatization of James Joyce's
Ulysses, at the Unity Theatre. He joined the BBC radio drama repertory
company, where during his career he was much in demand. He read poetry
on the radio, particularly of Louis MacNeice's poetry after his death
in 1963. In 1972 he became producer of BBC Northern Ireland radio
drama, holding the position for 18 months.On TV, Hawthorne appeared in
46 episodes of the series Within These Walls (1974â€"1978). He
appeared as Mr Starling, the first-ever headteacher, in Grange Hill
(1978), the Doctor Who adventure Terror of the Vervoids (1986), in
Capital City (1989â€"1990), in the BBC drama Dangerfield (1995) and in
the Father Ted episode Tentacles of Doom (1996).
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