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George Coulouris

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For his son, the computer scientist, see George Coulouris (computer scientist).

George Coulouris
Coulouris as Thatcher in Citizen Kane (1941)
Born
George Alexander Coulouris

(1903-10-01)1 October 1903
Manchester, Lancashire, England
Died25 April 1989(1989-04-25) (aged 85)
London, England
Alma materRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama
OccupationActor
Years active1926–1985
Spouses
Louise Franklin
​
​
(m. 1930; died 1976)​
Elizabeth Donaldson
​
​
(m. 1977)​
ChildrenGeorge Coulouris
Mary Louise Coulouris

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

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Of Anglo-Greek origin, Coulouris was brought up both in Manchester and nearby Urmston and was educated at Manchester Grammar School.[1]

Early career

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Marc Antony (George Coulouris) addresses the crowd in the Mercury Theatre production of Caesar (1937), a modern-dress production that evoked comparison to contemporary Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany
Marian Warring-Manley as Margery, Whitford Kane as Simon Eyre and George Coulouris as the King in the Mercury Theatre production of The Shoemaker's Holiday (1938)
Harry Shannon, George Coulouris and Agnes Moorehead in Citizen Kane (1941)
The National Board of Review recognised both Orson Welles and George Coulouris for their performances in Citizen Kane (1941)

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'Niell's The Hairy Ape..[2] By 1929, he made his first Broadway 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.[3]

In 1938, he appeared in the Mercury stage productions of The Shoemaker's Holiday and Heartbreak House,[4] 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".[5]

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.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

Return to Britain

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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.[9] 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

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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.[9] His home in Hampstead between 1951 and 1989 is shown in the Camden Notables Map.

Legacy

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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.[10]

Broadway roles

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George Coulouris's Broadway credits are listed at the Internet Broadway Database.[11]

Actor

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  • 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[12]: 340–341 
  • Heartbreak House (29 April – 11 June 1938) as Boss Mangan[12]: 342 
  • 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)

Director

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Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "George Coulouris". 1989. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  2. ^ Cornwell, Paul (2005). "American Drama at the Cambridge Festival Theatre, 1928-1935". The Eugene O'Neill Review (27): 61–75. JSTOR 29784775.
  3. ^ Collins, Glenn, "George Coulouris, 85, Is Dead; Actor Relished Villainous Roles". The New York Times, 27 April 1989
  4. ^ George Cououris, Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 12013-12-28.
  5. ^ Blackstone Audio 'Suspense' Vol. 2 issued 2015
  6. ^ "Ten Best 1941". National Board of Review Magazine. Vol. XVII, no. 1. National Board of Review. January 1942. p. 6. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Watch on the Rhine". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
  8. ^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b Phil Davison,Mary Louise Coulouris obituary, heraldscotland.com, 17 February 2012.
  10. ^ McCarthy, Todd (6 September 2008). "Film Review: Me and Orson Welles". Variety. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  11. ^ George Coulouris at the Internet Broadway Database
  12. ^ a b Welles, Orson; Bogdanovich, Peter; Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1992). This is Orson Welles. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-016616-9.
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