In the 1930s, Orson Welles, the renowned director, spent a short but significant time in Ireland that contributed to his development both as an artist and a storyteller. He first graced the stage at the Gate Theatre, and the relationships he developed with Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir formed the basis for many of his future exaggerated stories.
However, Welles was not the only well-known American director to initiate his acting career in Dublin, let alone the most commercially prolific. During the 1940s, a young man from Minnesota named George Hill moved to Dublin to pursue his education in music and literature at Trinity College. The US GI Bill, which offered financial aid to war veterans wishing to continue their education, allowed Hill to do this after he served as a transport pilot in the Marine Corps during the South Pacific war.
While in Dublin, Hill found himself drawn to the local theatre scene and was mentored by actor and producer Ria Mooney, who was also the head of the first Gaiety School of Acting. Hill performed minor roles in several Gaiety plays, often working with Cyril Cusack’s recently established company. In the 1947 play ‘The Silver Tassie’ by O’Casey, Hill played a soldier under the direction of Mooney alongside Noel Purcell.
When Hill returned to America, he continued his acting, featuring in off-Broadway productions and trying his hand at radio and film. To distinguish himself from others with the same name at auditions, he began to use the name George Roy Hill. After resuming his role as a pilot during the Korean War, by the late 1950s, Hill shifted his focus to directing television and theatre.
Hill maintained regular communications with his old friends from Dublin such as Mooney and Purcell, even as his career skyrocketed. He steered the direction of ‘Look Homeward, Angel’, a 1957 adaptation of Thomas Wolfe’s novel, starring a then-unknown Anthony Perkins leading the cast. Hill tried to lure Noel Purcell away from his existing commitments to take on the role of WO Gant, the principal’s father, in New York, but Purcell denied.
Hill’s reputation, however, was etched in Hollywood thanks to two major films, both showcasing the legendary Paul Newman-Robert Redford duo: ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ in 1969 and ‘The Sting’ in 1973. The latter won seven Academy Awards, including best director, best picture, and best original screenplay, making it one of the most triumphant movies in the early 70s.
The appeal of Newman and Redford in their roles as sly swindlers of the Great Depression-era Chicago, immensely contributed to the success of ‘The Sting.’ Yet, their target, gangster Doyle Lonnegan, played by Robert Shaw, certainly matched their game.
At the time of Newman’s call to consider the script, Shaw resided in Tourmakeady. Initially hesitant to assume the part due to the requirement of third billing behind the lead pair, he consented after his 11-year-old son gave a favourable review of the script. Despite the film’s huge success, Shaw expressed dissatisfaction with his character’s limited screen time.
Despite his discontent, Shaw extended an invitation to Hill to come to Drimbawn House, his newly-purchased Georgian mansion on the bank of Lough Mask. Prior to this, Shaw and his family rented Casa Orson Welles just outside of Madrid. Hill agreed to travel to Ireland and joined Shaw on a two-day pub tour across southern Mayo and Connemara. During their pub expedition, under a hazy trance, Shaw thought it proper to visit Clifden’s bog, the landing site of Alcock and Brown’s historic 1919 Atlantic crossing.
After reaching his career peak with “The Sting”, Hill decided to step away from the film industry for good by the late 80s and dedicated his time to teaching. Shaw sadly passed away in 1978 due to a heart attack that he suffered while driving back from Castlebar. However, before his death, he had a prominent role as Quint, an Ahab-like character in Steven Spielberg’s film “Jaws”. This film marked the beginning of the blockbuster era, and it is in this film that Shaw truly outshone his fellow cast members.