Micheál MacLíammóir (born Alfred Willmore) (October 25, 1899 - March 6, 1978) was an Irish actor, dramatist, impresario, writer, poet and painter. MacLíammóir was born to a Protestant family living in the Kensal Green neighbourhood of London.
As Alfred Willmore he was one of the leading child actors on the English stage, in the company of Noel Coward. He studied painting at London's Slade School of Art, continuing to paint throughout his lifetime. In the 1920s he travelled all over Europe. Willmore was captivated by Irish culture: he learnt the Irish language which he spoke and wrote fluently in and changed his name to an Irish version, presenting himself in Ireland as a descendant of Irish Catholics.
While acting in Ireland with the touring company of his brother-in-law Anew MacMaster, Mac Liammoir met his partner and lover, Hilton Edwards. Deciding to remain in Dublin where he lived at Harcourt Terrace, the pair assisted with the inaugural production of Galway's Irish-language theatre, An Taibhdhearc; the play was Mac Liammoir's version of the mythical story Diarmuid agus Gráinne. Mac Liammoir and Edwards then threw themselves into their own venture, co-founding the Gate Theatre in Dublin in 1928 with Edwards. The Gate became a showcase for modern plays and design (even as Mac Liammoir himself maintained an ongoing fascination with Celticism). Mac Liammoir's set and costume designs were key elements of the Gate's success. His many notable acting roles included Robert Emmet/The Speaker in Denis Johnston's The Old Lady Says "No!" and the title role in Hamlet.
In 1948, he appeared in the NBC television production of Great Catherine with Gertrude Lawrence. He played Iago in Orson Welles's film version of Othello (1952). His Iago is unusual in that MacLíammóir was about fifty (and looked older) when he played the role, while the play gives Iago's age as 28. This may have been because of Welles' intended interpretation - he wanted Iago played as an older "impotent" consumed by envy for the younger Othello. The following year, he went on to play 'Poor Tom' in another Welles project, the TV film of King Lear (1953) for CBS. He narrated the 1963 film, Tom Jones. He was the Irish storyteller in 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia (1968) which starred Dudley Moore and, in 1971, he played an elocution teacher in Curtis Harrington's What's the Matter with Helen?.
In 1951, during a break in the making of Othello, MacLíammóir produced Welles' ghost-story Return to Glennascaul which was directed by Hilton Edwards.
In 1970 MacLíammóir performed the role of narrator on the cult album Peace On Earth by the Northern Irish showband, The Freshmen.
MacLíammóir wrote and performed a one-man show, The Importance of Being Oscar, based on the life and work of Oscar Wilde. The Telefís Éireann production won him a Jacob's Award in December 1964. It was later filmed by the BBC with MacLíammóir reprising the role.
MacLíammóir claimed when talking to Irish playwright, Mary Manning, to have had a homosexual relationship with General Eoin O'Duffy, former Garda Siochana Commissioner and head of the quasi-fascist Blueshirts in Ireland, during the 1930s. The claim was revealed publicly by RTÉ in a documentary, The Odd Couple, broadcast in 1999. However, MacLíammóir's claims have not been substantiated by any evidence.
MacLíammóir is the subject of the 1990 play The Importance of Being Micheál (also published as a book) by John Keyes.
Micheal MacLimmoir was a theatrical giant who dominated Irish theatre for over 50 years. Actor, designer, playwright and brilliant raconteur he was very much his own creation. He cut an imposing figure under the spotlight and in real life dressed flamboyantly wearing full make-up at all times and a jet black hairpiece. When he died in 1978 aged 79 The Irish Times wrote that 'Nobody can assess the contribution that Micheal MacLiammoir made to Irish theatre'. Throughout his life MacLiammoir closed guarded the fact that he was not in fact Irish at all but had been born in London. As Alfred Willmore he had been a child actor on the London stage in the company of Noel Coward. He later travelled widely throughout Europe, studying arts and languages, before reaching Ireland where he met his future partner, the actor Hilton Edwards. In 1928 the two men started the world famous Gate Theatre in Dublin and among the early players were James Mason and Orson Welles. MacLiammoir appeared on Broadway in the 1930's and from the 1950's onwards toured the world in an accalimed one man show The Importance of Being Oscar, based on the life of Oscar Wilde. He followed this in 1963 with I Must Be Talking to My Friends, a show about Irish writers, and lastly with Talking About Yeats, his final one man entertainment. On MacLiammoir's death Sir John Gielgud commented "Designer, wit, linguist and boon companion as well as actor, he was a uniquely talented and delightful creature."
